Well, I did my last outdoor show for the year and it rained Saturday
night and Sunday morning which turn the event into a mud fest. I
arrived early to get in and packed up before the other vendors
crammed in and got stuck in the mud. One thing I did differently from
the last time I tore down in the rain. Instead of just tossing my wet
tent in the truck I put a lawn sized garbage bag over the canopy. The
last wet tear down my wet tent was laying on some particle board
shelving and left yellow stains that I can’t get out.
So today I put up my tent and sidewalls to scrub off the mud. And
thought even if I wouldn’t have gotten my tent wet and muddy this is
something I should do after the last outdoor show for the season.
This is how I went about it:
I have a EZ-Up Eclipse II but this method should work for other
brands. I folded out my tent and locked it. I didn’t extend the legs
so I could scrub it off. I scrubbed it with an extendable car wash
brush (we used to have a big conversion van) and bucket of soap
water. I used a BC cup of laundry soap. Rinse, scrub, and rinse and
rinse. Then I extended the legs and got underneath and sprayed,
scrubbed, and sprayed again. A rain poncho with a hood might come in
handy because I got soaked.
Then attach the sidewalls and rinse, scrub, and rinse. Leave the
tent set up for a couple hours until it dries completely. Then while
folding up and disassembling note any parts that are worn, bent,
torn, etc. and need replacing. Order them now so you will be ready
for next season.
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com