An all too familar story with the Boy Scouts. The boys are supposed to take the tents home after each campout and dry them out thoroughly. Unfortunately this does not always happen like it should, and at least one of them is now so mildewed as to be unuseable. I have heard of running tents through a washing machine. If I do this, what should I put in with it? Detergent? Bleach? How about teh temperature? Cold? Warm?

If you really want to try this, use soap, not detergent, and use a large front-loading washer (like you'd find at a laundromat.)

I don't think it'll do any good. Mildew tends to make the waterproof coating flake off PU coated fabric.

once mildew takes hold of a tent's PU coating the tent is pretty much history <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Unless you camp in really dry areas where it won't smell nearly as bad. Go to Philmont and leave it there <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

You ought to use the search feature to pull up past threads on this issue.
I did a quick look and one poster has used soaking in vinegar overnight on his pack with fair results.

This happened to me a few years ago with our Coleman family tent. It got rained on heavily, but we "thought" it was dry before we packed it up. We took it out a year later and it smelled to high heaven. Here's what I did to fix it...and it wasn't fun.

First buy this product from Nikwax to wash your tent. http://www.nikwax.com/en-us/products/productdetail.php?productid=268&activityid=1

If you can fit your tent in a front load washer...great, but mine was too big. So, I set it up in our backyard and made a solution of the Nikwax soap in a bucket. Armed with a soft bristled toothbrush and a water hose I attacked every blackened spot on the tent until 98% of it was gone. I then rinsed the tent off completely and let it BAKE in the hot sun until evening.

Once it was completely dry I applied a waterproofing product. http://www.nikwax.com/en-us/products/productdetail.php?productid=252&activityid=1

I have used the tent for the past two summers and it has been perfectly fine since then. It was a lot of work, but worth it to me because I love that tent.

Hope this helps!

Jeff <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />