5 Tips to Prevent Roof Top Tent Mold 2023
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Roof top tent’s are more likely to attract mold than standard ground tents for many reasons. They are attached to your vehicle and can not be aired out unless weather conditions allow. In addition, they often carry blankets, pillows, and a mattress. These items can easily turn moldy under many different circumstances. Here’s our 5 tips to keep your roof top tent mold free!
1. Air it out
This one is common sense, but you’d be surprised at how many people forget to air out their roof top tent’s! Here’s a few situations where we air out our roof top tent to prevent mold.
- After camping in the rain. (duh)
- After winter or cold weather camping. Condensation can easily build up on the inside of your tent. Wondering how to reduce condensation? Keep on reading.
- After washing the car. We’ve found that the seals on our hard shell roof top tent aren’t 100% waterproof against a pressure washer. Try and avoid them if possible.
We pop our roof top tent on the street on warm, sunny days to air it out. However, during the winter in Seattle it rains A LOT. With this being said, we are definitely more conscious of when we pop our tent, because it may be weeks or months before we can air it out.
2. Reduce Condensation
Hate waking up wet? All of that moisture is coming from your breathing & body heat. Reducing condensation at night or in colder temperatures can reduce the moisture in your roof top tent. We combat this 2 different ways.
- Crack or open multiple windows. This allows air to flow through the tent.
- OR use a tiny fan (like this one). We crack 2 windows and hang the fan facing outwards. This creates a nice draft in the tent which pushes the moist air out & replaces it with fresh air. It won’t reduce 100% of condensation but will reduce it greatly!
3. Remove bedding and pillows
Removing, washing, and cleaning your bedding every so often will help combat moisture and mold build up. Especially if you’ve been hiking, sweating, and adventuring. Let’s face it…it probably needs a good wash anyways!
4. Wipe down your tent walls
There’s nothing better than a classic spring cleaning and believe me, your roof top tent appreciates it, too! Since a roof top tent can’t be thrown in the wash or hung up to dry indoors, it truly benefits a scrub down. We thoroughly clean, vacuum, and scrub our’s each spring. We use a basic soap and water mixture & a trusty old scrub brush and rag. If you’ve got mold, try one of these solutions.
5. Use an anti-condensation mat
These mats fit under your mattress and allow air to flow freely beneath it. This will reduce moisture build up on your roof top tent’s mattress. Luckily, our Roofnest Sparrow came with one, but you can purchase them online and cut to fit your dimensions.
Thanks for reading this post. We hope it gave you some ideas on which hard shell roof top tent to purchase. If you’re still in the market for a hard shell roof top tent, consider ordering here. Read here on why we love ours. Life’s better on top!
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