How to clean a canopy tent

Just like the rest of your outdoor equipment, you should perform periodic maintenance on your pop up canopy tent. Sun shelters are easy to maintain, and with a little bit of extra effort, you increase the lifespan and durability of your EZ-up significantly. The good news is that you don’t have to perform maintenance often. Once a year should be enough. The main goals of the maintenance is to prevent the frame from rusting, and to keep the entire frame and canopy clean.

Rust

Canopy tent frames are often made with aluminum, which is resistant to rust. Even steel frames are coated with a rust resistant coating. Aluminum frames and coated steel frames are still susceptible to rust, though. So you should take proactive measures to prevent the rust from starting at all. Rust spreads like a virus and can be very destructive to metal. It will actually eat away the metal, resulting in a brittle frame. Most of the frame failures that we see, that aren’t the result of human mishandling, are the result of rust.

When you use your shelter, trusses rub together at joints. This friction scrapes off the protective paint coating, exposing the bare metal to the elements. These are the areas you want to focus on. If you go to your local hardware store, you will find that they sell products in the paint section that seals exposed metal and prevents it from rusting. Start by cleaning the exposed metal and letting it dry. Once it has dried, apply the sealant to all bare metal. Make sure you let the areas dry thoroughly before handling your frame again.

You should apply a thin coat of oil to the entire frame once you are done. Apply a little oil lubricant to a rag and wipe down the whole frame. This will clean debris and spread a thin rust-protective coating over your frame.

Dirt

All of the rust preventative measures should have been performed while the canopy was off of the frame. Once the frame is rust free, it is time to work on the canopy. If you grill under your canopy or even picnic, the material may become saturated with the odors of smoke or food. This will attract bugs, so we want to make sure that these odors are removed.

Start with a sponge soaked in soap and water. Use the sponge to scrub the stains and any caked on dirt. Make sure you get the underside as well as the top of the canopy. Check the cleaning instructions for your specific canopy. Some canopies are able to be machine washed, which makes life a whole lot easier. If this is the case, remove any straps and guy lines and follow the instructions for washing.

If your canopy is not machine-wash safe, you can use a hose to make the process easier. It is easier to hose down your canopy while it is on the frame, so wait until the sealants dry on the frame and then put the canopy back on. With the canopy spread out, use soap and water to wipe down the entire surface and then use the hose to rinse.

It is important that your canopy fully dries before you pack it away, or else it could grow mold. Chances are you won’t be able to machine dry the fabric so your best bet will be to take the clean canopy and spread it back over the frame. Leave the shelter in the sun for a while and periodically check on it to see how dry it is. Once it’s completely dry, pack it away.

Create Perfect Shade At The Beach

While on vacation at the shore, one of the strongest lines of defense against sunburn is rigorously applying sunscreen multiple times per day. While this sounds reasonable in theory, we often find ourselves forgetting or just being lazy in doing so. Beach goers are typically more vulnerable to sunburn than most other people outside during the summer months because the often forget to follow a few important precautions. Because most of us are in bathing suits at the shore, only a fraction of our bodies are protected with clothing or other materials. This is along with the fact that we're usually at the beach for hours at a time. All of this is compounded by getting in the ocean, toweling off, sweating; causing the sunscreen that we applied earlier in the day to easily comes off. We live in a 'here' and 'now' world. It's difficult for us to think so far into the future about the potential consequences bad sunburn can have and how it might trigger cells within our skin. As research has improved over the last few decades, society has become much more aware of these risks. Recent studies show that up to 20% of Americans will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer in their lifetime. This is a very scary statistic. After a recent trip to the beach, my wife and I realized there is a much more convenient way to protect our skin, in addition to sunscreen, while at the shore. So we did some research in an effort to find the best beach tent on the market that would work perfect for our toddler and his soon to be baby brother. We quickly realized that we couldn't have made a better decision.

Many people associate beach shade with the popular 10x10 pop up canopy tent. We've owned one for many years and they work great. They're incredibly well engineered tents that are easy to use and will last you years if taken care of and stored properly. However, as we've grown into a family with kids we're all about convenience when on vacation. I would image anyone with small kids can relate. When we're ready for a day at the beach I have chairs, towels, bags, coolers, and toys in tow with me. I don't have much extra space to carry an oversized pop up canopy tent. The newer half dome beach tents are lightweight, portable and super convenient. The one that we purchased weighs about 7 lbs. and is only about 3 feet long in the carrying tote. It's smaller and lighter than most fold up chairs we've all to come to know. I sling the carrying bag over my shoulder on the walk to the beach and by the time I get to the shore I usually forget I have it there. The best part of the shelters is they are ready to go right out of the bag. No assembly required, talk about convenience. If anyone has a camping tent made over 10 years ago, chances are it has fiberglass sticks that need to be threaded throughout loop holes in the tent material. I remember it often taking more than 15 minutes to set up a tent and it being such a hassle. Today's beach tents are manufactured with a compression hub system which means all the fiberglass rods come integrated in the tent material. Take the sun shelter out of the bag and place one hand on the hub and pull the drawstring back like a bow and arrow and the tent magically pops open. It is that simple. Place two chairs under the overhang of the tent either in the sand or the tarp floor of the tent and you're almost completely in the shade.

These new beach tents really are the best way to reflect sunlight and keep cool while at the beach. My family and I can't recommend them enough for skin protection while at the beach for prolonged periods of time. The best beach tent will be portable, convenient, affordable, and an excellent source of shade for your family. If you have any questions about tent specifications don't hesitate to ask!