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Care + Cleaning

All of our quality fabric materials are created to be tough and resilient, but no fabric can last forever, and the elements can speed up degradation. It is important to pitch and care for your fabric products properly.

All of our woven fabrics are treated for water repellency and mildew retardancy. The treatments are durable but with constant 24/7 exposure, the treatments become less effective over time. Our products— yurts, tipis, and tents—are often installed and left fully exposed to the elements for years at a time. The biggest enemies to the longevity of a fabric structure are extreme weather conditions, UV ray degradation, as well as mold and mildew. Depending on your environmental conditions and climate—hot and dry, rainy and humid, high elevation, or high wind exposure—your structure may be affected by severe extremes of these conditions. Here are some tips to care for your yurt, tipi, or tent!

 

Pitch It Correctly

Our yurts are four-season engineered structures however, our tipis and tents are not. The fabric skin, or membrane on a fabric structure, should be stretched and attached with the proper hardware at all the points provided to minimize fabric movement. Excessive fabric movement, or “wind whip” can wear and tear on the framework of the structure to become misshapen and unsound. If you don’t plan to visit your tent or tipi over a long period of time, consider taking it down and storing it. Always store it completely dry, in a ventilated area away from rodents.

 

Keep It Clean

Although fabric structures, particularly canvas ones with cotton content, tend to take on an overall “patina” with constant exposure to dust and precipitation, it is important to keep them generally clean. Excessive dirt and moisture can create an environment prone to mildew. If mold and mildew spores exist at the site where you pitch your structure (in the soil or plant life for example), they can cause mildew to grow on the fabric. Although all our fabrics are mildew retardant, they are not warranted against the occurrence of mildew. The best way to prevent or arrest the spread of mildew is to choose a site where your fabric will dry out completely as often as possible. If mildew does begin to occur it is important to treat and clean it as soon as possible. Below are some examples of mold and mildew growing on canvas.

Mold Example 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cleaning Products

If you need to clean or treat for mold or mildew, listed below are the products we recommend. It’s important to use products that are safe for treating your canvas and acrylic products. Do not use any caustic cleaning products on any of the canvas or structure components as this could cause damage.

Suggested Canvas cleaning products include:

After cleaning, let the canvas dry completely and treat it with a canvas preservative. There are many choices such as CANVAK, StarBrite, 303 Canvas Guard, or other products designed to treat outdoor canvas. This will restore water, mold, and mildew resistance. Once the canvas is completely dry, store it in a well-ventilated area away from rodents.

Suggested cleaning products for acrylic (windows and yurt domes):

When cleaning your acrylic windows (sliding windows, rollup windows, or rollup wall) or yurt dome do not use regular glass cleaner or ammonia-based cleaners on acrylic as it creates a film and breaks down the acrylic.

 

Cleaning Supplies

When cleaning a large surface outdoors, most want to use a pressure sprayer to clean. The high psi of a commercial-rated pressure sprayer can cause damage to your canvas. We suggest using a sprayer with a gentle setting and scrubbing lightly with a soft brush. Avoid using detergent or bleach which is harsh on canvas and tough to rinse out. Your standard home cleaning tools work well for cleaning your yurt, tipi, or tent.

 

If you have any further questions about cleaning or caring for your yurt, tipi, or tent, please give us a call!

970-240-2111

 

Download our Cleaning+Care Instructions 2023 

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