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thename
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Joined: 26 Jul 2015
Posts: 33 | TRs | Pics
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thename
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 Thu Sep 07, 2017 5:45 pm |
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So, given all the fires and ash falling from the sky, I'm staring at a single-wall tent covered in fine, abrasive ash. Stuff is persistent and scratchy; carried it outside the pack to avoid rubbing it inside a sack.
I was worried before and then all the "don't wipe it off your car" stories started hitting. Now I'm downright terrified. Any suggestions? What do you guys do to get the stuff off or am I doomed to get wet next time no matter what I do?
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Navy salad
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Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 1865 | TRs | Pics
Location: Woodinville |
I just finished a long hike with lots of ash over everything. I just took a damp cloth and wiped everything down. Didn't seem to harm anything.
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JonnyQuest
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Joined: 10 Dec 2013
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I've heard a lot of volcanic ash advice applied to the forest fire ash. It doesn't all correlate.
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Randito
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Joined: 27 Jul 2008
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Location: Bellevue at the moment. |
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Randito
Snarky Member
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Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:11 pm |
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The don't wipe your car advice is to avoid scratching the shiny clear coat top paint.
With a tent , the usual procedure of shaking the tent before packing it up will be fine. If the dust persists laundering in a front loader with Nikwak gortex "soap" should clean it off and restore any damage to the DWR finish.
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Ski
><((((°>
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12830 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
><((((°>
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Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:18 pm |
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| JonnyQuest wrote: | | I've heard a lot of volcanic ash advice applied to the forest fire ash. It doesn't all correlate. |
The volcanic ash from Mt. St. Helens was like glass and would scratch up paint jobs and windows something awful on cars - you had to wash it off by flooding it with a garden hose.
I can't imagine ash from a fire having the same kind of abrasive properties, but any particulate rubbed on an automotive paint job is going to scratch up the finish. (The reason why you never use a sponge to wash a black car - the sponge will hold grit. Your wife or girlfriend's good bath towels do not have grit in them.  )
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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InFlight
coated in DEET
Joined: 20 May 2015
Posts: 847 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle area |
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InFlight
coated in DEET
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Fri Sep 08, 2017 1:32 pm |
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You could wash it, but just hosing it off would work well enough. Either way let it air dry thoroughly.
On nice days I let my tent dry out before storage by spreading it out on a (Ilex Crenata) hedge. Otherwise I have hooks in the garage celling for this purpose.
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately...” ― Henry David Thoreau
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thename
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Joined: 26 Jul 2015
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thename
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Fri Sep 08, 2017 2:08 pm |
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So consensus is "just like normal dirt." Cool.
I seem to be a paranoiac about; when I hear dust scrrtching along when I wipe I worry about the wimpy PU/SIL and how wet I (or, more importantly, my toddler) may get when the (non-ash) rain finally returns.
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AlpineRose
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Joined: 08 May 2012
Posts: 1953 | TRs | Pics
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Blow dry the ash off? Or use a small vacuum, if you could make the material taught enough.
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Navy salad
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Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 1865 | TRs | Pics
Location: Woodinville |
| RandyHiker wrote: | | If the dust persists laundering in a front loader with Nikwak gortex "soap" should clean it off and restore any damage to the DWR finish. |
Last time I put a tent in a front loader washing machine was in 1991. After washing, I removed the tent from the washer and saw much of the waterproof coating peeling away from the tent.
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contour5
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Joined: 16 Jul 2003
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contour5
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Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:33 pm |
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I usually first notice grit on the zipper...it will start to catch and drag. Volcano dusts and glacier dusts and fire dusts are all capable of gumming up zippers and working their way into unprotected stitching...
I wash my tent in the backyard using a 5 gallon bucket of clean water. Just work the tent through the bucket, a foot at a time, swishing it around as you go. A second pass can be made, focusing on the zipper, exposed stitching and inside corners. Pumice dust has freakish magnetic-like properties and may require the aid of a small brush to get the zipper restored to full functionality.
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Ski
><((((°>
Joined: 28 May 2005
Posts: 12830 | TRs | Pics
Location: tacoma |
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Ski
><((((°>
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Sat Sep 09, 2017 1:06 pm |
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| contour5 wrote: | | I wash my tent in the backyard using a 5 gallon bucket of clean water. |
No. 1 galvanized steel wash tub.
Twenty bucks at Lincoln Hardware (38th & South G Street) - any real hardware store should have them in stock.
Works great for tents, dogs, children, lawnmower parts, harvesting sunflowers, and served as the bathtub up at the cabin for about 30 years.
 No. 1 galvanized steel wash tub
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
"I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each."
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markh752
Snoozing on a rock!
Joined: 03 Dec 2011
Posts: 866 | TRs | Pics
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markh752
Snoozing on a rock!
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Sat Sep 09, 2017 4:34 pm |
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| contour5 wrote: | | Volcano dusts and glacier dusts and fire dusts are all capable of gumming up zippers |
... and Olympic Coast sand.
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