- Patrick
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For years we have been selling beautiful tents which many people enjoy. Once in a while you only have a customer who indicates that the new tent is leaking. That always remains a very difficult thing because in 99 out of 100 cases (fortunately we have never had so many questions, but just to indicate how little it actually occurs) it is about condensation. So hence this blog to indicate the difference between condensation and leakage.
When you are at the campsite, you wake up and you see a puddle of water in your tent, I understand when you are camping for the first time that you think your tent is leaking, but have you ever realized how much condensation can form during the night?
In a tent you have to deal with a lot of factors that cause condensation to occur in your tent. Condensation occurs when moisture from the air collects on cold surfaces. In a tent, this often occurs at night when the temperature drops and the moisture from your breath and perspiration settles on the inside of your tent. You can recognize this by all the drops that are on the inside of your tent when you wake up in the morning. The tent feels damp, even if it is dry outside this can occur. And there is no specific place where the water enters. But also during the day when you are inside your tent and there is a big difference between the inside and outside temperature, condensation also forms. Also the material makes quite a bit of a polyester tent will start to condense earlier than any other material.
You cannot completely prevent condensation, if it is raining outside and you are sitting in your tent, there is a very high chance that you will get condensation because the cold rain settles on the outside tent and you yourself make much more heat inside the tent, so that the warm drops end up on the inside again. But ventilation provides better airflow and moisture removal. Do not cook inside your tent and dry your wet clothes outside to reduce excess moisture. And if necessary, use a loose groundsheet to prevent moisture from the soil from entering the tent. (Almost all our tents are equipped with a groundsheet, only some front pieces are not always equipped with a groundsheet). Also make sure that the inner and outer tent do not touch, then the moisture can simply be removed through the tent. And leave the door of your tent open as long as possible during the day, this ensures that the condensation cannot build up during the day.
The amount of condensation is also often overestimated. Blow against a mirror and see how much moisture is already hitting the mirror, if you set this against a night's sleep you can imagine that this can really cause puddles after a night's sleep.
But how do you know for sure that it is not a leak? The chance of a leak on a new tent is really very small, only on a seam it could occur, but on the fabric itself a leak is almost never visible on a new tent. This often involves damage. You can watch yourself with a lamp by holding it close to the tent to see if you see any abnormalities. You can also hold the tent cloth against the light then you will see any bumps or holes as well.
After longer periods, it can of course also happen that a ten has been damaged or that the impegneering layer becomes less. You can restore this by buying an impregnating spray and injecting the ten. (Make sure you use the right spray for the right material). Seams of a tent can also be easily repaired with a Seam grip or with a silicone coating with Silnet. You can usually repair any minor damage yourself by using the repair kit.
Also, do not use products in your tent that contain propellants such as deodorant, hairspray, but also dishwashing detergent or bubble wrap. These are products that reduce the watertightness of your tent very quickly.
Storing it properly, dry and clean after using your ten will also extend the life and waterproofness of your tent. We also know that if you have had a wet holiday it is not so nice that you have to pack everything wet, but make sure that as soon as you can unpack your tent and let it dry well before you really put it away.
Hopefully we have been able to explain to you what the big difference is between moisture in your tent from condensation or from leakage. If you still have questions, you can always contact us for more advice.
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