How to Properly Maintain a Tent

When you rent tents or buy them to use for events, there are various questions you have to answer when you order a new one so that the tent you get is best-suited to your needs. However, that’s just one issue for the owner of an event or party tent. The other challenge is maintaining it.

At first glance, the notion of tent maintenance is uncomplicated, and this topic is often oversimplified when it is discussed by tent companies – not out of carelessness so much as that it’s an extensive and unwieldy topic.

Why is it difficult to maintain a tent?

Everyone wants easy problem-solving and strategies, but the truth is that tent maintenance is actually challenging for two key reasons:

1. Tents are large and require a broad area to assess and care for them; and
2. Tents are ultimately delicate, since they’re made of fabric.

If this tent is your first, you might think you can keep your tent in pristine condition. Why does a tent typically need maintenance? They can become discolored, damaged, or infested at various points along the way – while moving them (holes from sharp edges), while erecting them (stains from dirt or grass), and even in storage (mold growth).

Check your tent twice

Maintenance isn’t just about keeping the tent clean and making fixes to it, but inspecting it – keeping in mind that goes beyond the fabric. Remember that safety is your #1 priority, so you need to make certain that the tent always remains structurally sound. This conscientiousness needs to also be embraced when you communicate to customers, as when describing how to anchor the tent.

To deliver consistent quality control, check your tent over a light table when it comes back from any event. Pay special attention to the poles, walls, tops, framing, and tie-downs. Make fixes to any problems you see, such as bending, breaking, cracking, tearing, or fraying.

Cleaning your event tent

You of course want to keep your tent clean so that it impresses your customers and remains in great condition for years. Tent cleaning expert Chuck Shipp has noted, in an article for the American Rental Association, that it is actually easy to equip yourself with safe and effective cleaning tools. You can get a rounded pool brush (made for vinyl inground pools) at a pool store; you additionally might want to invest in a floor polisher and pressure washer. Automated washing is another possibility if it’s feasible.

It is important to be aware of a few broad precautions when cleaning: you should only use cleaning chemicals that are designed for vinyl, apply the tent cleaner without wetting your tent beforehand, and generally respect the delicate nature of a tent.

Do you want your event tent to last for years?

One key is access to great support and information through your supplier. At Tent Renters Supply, we have over 30 years of experience in tent manufacturing, with unmatched pricing and service. View our catalog.