[Artemisia] Re: Care and feeding of Canvas

[Godwin FitzGilbert de Strigoil]

Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2006 08:39:42 -0600

>From: "Caointiarn" <caointiarn1 at bresnan.net>
>Subject: Re: [Artemisia] Care and feeding of Canvas
>To: "Kingdom of Artemisia mailing list"
>	<artemisia at lists.gallowglass.org>
>Message-ID: <006201c6921b$def358a0$123e9045 at primary>
>Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>	reply-type=response
>
>The stains I don't mind.  It's the mildew I'd like to see gone far 
>away.........
>
>Morgan
>
>  
>
Well having had a severly mildewed tent, I went through the same. I had 
packed my tent from the Estrella two or three years ago, when the park 
just about floated away. Once the the tub was in storage, the whole out 
of sight, out of mind thing hit, and I forgot the tent was wet......for 
5 months. You would not believe what the tent looked like...... ugh!

What I ended up doing is this:

During a very hot period of time, with no rain, of about a week, I setup 
the tent.

1. Power-washed the canvas really good, and let completely dry.
2. I then sprayed every little spot of mildew I could find with 
Steri-Fab. ("www.sterifab.com")
3. After each application, I let the sun just bake the solution dry on 
the tent.
4. After several Steri-Fab treatments (~ 2-3 per day for each spot),  I 
switched to lemon juice treatments.
Mixed up a fairly strong solution of lemon juice and water (I cup 
concentrated juice to one gallon of water), and treated each
spot several times. After several lemon juice treatments (~ 2-3 per day 
for each spot),  I mixed a thinner solution, and sprayed the whole tent.
Letting the tent completey dry and bake in 96-100 degree sun (backyard).

The steri-fab killed the mildew in it's tracks, halted any spread. The 
lemon-juice mildly bleached the canvas out. (bleach can damage the 
fibers and make the tent material weaker)

FYI: Steri-Fab also makes dry packets of the stuff to put in with items 
in storage. So a slightly damp would benefit greatly from this little 
packet.


Godwin