Vicky Having a leaky tent can absolutely ruin your camping holiday after the first bout of rain that you get. When you are camping in the rain or even snow, you need a fully waterproof tent. This will keep you and your belongings dry and warm throughout your stay. A leaky tent can be dangerous if you are camping in cold weather because once you get wet you will become ill. Today, I’ll break down how to fix a leaky tent by improving the waterproofing on the seams, DWR coating, and urethane coating.
Here’s exactly how to waterproof a tent on your camping trip.
How to Waterproof a Tent
Even the very best tents experience wear and tear over the years. If you notice your tent is leaking, here are three of the most common culprits (with quick fixes).
Reseal Your Tent Seams
Your tent is likely to be leaking because of the seams. They can let the rainwater in. But most tents do come with sealed seams when you buy them. If they don’t, you can buy tape seams from places like Amazon. Even if your tent comes with sealed seams, they do wear out over time and water will start leaking into the tent. This can be rather uncomfortable in the middle of a rainstorm.
To fix this, you just need to put your tent up, and remove the seam tape that is peeling away. Then with some rubbing alcohol, you wipe and clean the seams. Apply the new seam sealer over the freshly cleaned seams then leave it to dry. Some seam sealants need to be dried with a hairdryer.
It is best to reseal your tent all in one go and replace all of the seams if it is quite an old tent. Hopefully, this will keep you dry inside your tent on your next camping trip. You can buy this at Amazon
Reapplying DWR to a Tent
You may see the label DWR when you buy a tent. This stands for durable water repellent. This means that in addition to the natural water resistance of the tent. A layer of water-repellent has been applied to the exterior surface. So if it rains or gets wet for another reason, the water will roll right off. If the water is not rolling off the tent, then it is time to replace the rainfly. Because your waterproofing has failed you.
Applying DWR is really easy because it comes in a spray can. It can be bought from a camping shop or Amazon. All you need to do is clean the outside of the tent and spray all over the outside of the tent. Leave it to dry for a few minutes and wipe any excess off with a damp cloth. Let the new DWR dry completely before you pack it away because you don’t want it going mouldy.
Refreshing a Tent’s Urethane Coating To Waterproof A Tent
The final way to better waterproof a tent is to refresh your tent’s urethane coating. If there is any flaking on the inside of your tent (usually white). Then you know that the urethane coating needs redoing. You can easily do this by scrubbing the inside of your tent. Use some rubbing alcohol and the rough side of a washing up sponge. When you have do this, leave it to dry and then apply a layer of tent sealant. Again you can get it from Amazon or a camping shop. Make sure that you seal the whole of the inside of the tent and always follow the instructions that come with it. Leave it to dry for a day or 2 to make sure it is fully covered and ready to pack away
Buy a Good Quality Tent to Begin With
- If you only go camping in the summer, or the kids just want to camp in the garden, then a budget tent is perfect.
- In fact, a tent from Asda will work perfectly fine for most casual campers who camp just a few times a year and always make sure to avoid the rain. But it probably isn’t any good for hardcore campers. For those who want to camp as soon as Spring arrives or later into the Autumn. For those that go camping in all weathers, a quality tent is essential. Spending more on a tent, means you get more for your money, a better quality tent and superior durability and waterproofing.
- Look for a tent with a Porchway area is great so you can place dirty things and it doesn’t make the inside of the tent messy.
- Another benefit of spending a bit more on a higher quality tent is that the waterproofing should last much longer, than a budget tent. But you do need to make sure that you look after it.
How to Prevent Tent Damage in the Future
Looking after your tent is so important, to help it last longer. But you also need to look at how you store your tent too.
- Your tent must be dry when you put it away. Otherwise, it will get mouldy in storage and it will be unusable when you get it out again. After a camping trip, take your tent out and air it, to make sure it is dry.
- Keep your tent clean because if there is any debris in there, you can easily rip the tent. Look for stains too, especially sticky stains from kids sweets etc.
- Repair any damage to the tent. Fix small tears and replace broken tent poles before you put the tent away. This means you are not running around just before you leave on your next camping trip.
Other Reasons That Your Tent Might Be Leaking
Water might be coming into your tent because it hasn’t been put together correctly. Recently on a camping trip our tent leaked badly. It turned out that we were missing a rod to hold the tent up properly. Make sure the tent isn’t put together too tightly or too loosely. This will cause it to leak. Make sure you close the doors of the tent properly when the weather is rubbish and it’s raining. This will help to keep your tent dry. Lastly, if your tent isn’t on flat ground it could cause water to come into your tent. Always make sure the ground is flat.
