Is your tent fly sticky?
Thursday August 2, 2007
Question: Tacky tent fly?
I have an old Eureka geo-dome tent that has been packed away for several years. When I set it up to air out, the inside of the fly is sticky. It's not sap or anything like that. It is just a uniform stickiness across the whole inside of the fly. The non-mesh portion of the tent has the same tacky feel. I don't use the tent much anymore, but always pack the tent away dry. I don't believe this is a mildew type problem. I notice no odor. I tried washing the fly with mild soap, but it didn't help (or didn't do much). Can you tell me what is causing this and how to get rid of, or at least reduce, this problem? ~ Rich
I have an old Eureka geo-dome tent that has been packed away for several years. When I set it up to air out, the inside of the fly is sticky. It's not sap or anything like that. It is just a uniform stickiness across the whole inside of the fly. The non-mesh portion of the tent has the same tacky feel. I don't use the tent much anymore, but always pack the tent away dry. I don't believe this is a mildew type problem. I notice no odor. I tried washing the fly with mild soap, but it didn't help (or didn't do much). Can you tell me what is causing this and how to get rid of, or at least reduce, this problem? ~ Rich
Answer: Sounds like you have a tent probably made out of nylon or polyester that had a weatherproof coating. These older tents had the coating applied to the underside of the fly and the inside of the tent walls... read more
Comments
Most tents are still made of nylon & polyester with a weatherproof vinyl coating. They breathe better now because most of the have large mesh panels in the roof, under the fly. My Eureka Sunrise, a current Eureka model, is made this way. The fly is polyester, with a vinyl coating and the tent is nylon with a vinyl coating.
I suspect you’re right about the coatings breaking down. I also believe it could eventually happen on the newer tents made this way. Hopefully, over time the coatings have been improved and have a longer lifespan.
I had the same problem and used some spray silicon and wiped the fly and inside of the tent down. Seems to have corrected the problem for now, but not sure how long this will last.
I have this problem with my tent fly. Mine is a Sierra Design, circa 1998 - not an inexpensive item. So, I don’t think I’ll just ditch it.
Robin