We are going camping soon in Florida.Every afternoon there are showers to thunderstorms in Florida starting in May.l wanna water seal the tent.Do not have a backyard or anywhere convenient to set the tent up.Do l need to set it up in order to water seal it?Can l do it just seam at a time while the tent is unfolded?l guess it should be done outdoors or where there is good ventilation.

Please help me.l obviously have never done this before.

Thanks, Grace
My tent is an 8 person tent.l think too big for the washer.Have not gotten it yet but it weighs over 20 pounds.

how big is the tent? if it is not too big, you can put it in the washing machine with some product from NikWax and that should work for you. Nikwax is awesome for waterproofing. l used it on everything from socks to camping gear and coats.

http://nikwax-usa.com/en-us/

Actually, most tents will shed the water due to their slope without needing to be sealed because of water tension, just so long as you are careful NOT to touch the material.
Touching the material breaks the water tension that is keeping it from leaking.
Water tension is the same reason that water forms up into drops.

l agree with the ''do not touch the fabric'' approach & it should be fairly waterproof on its own.

As for the washing machine answer. l do not know - I've never used such a product but l would be afraid of residue left over & getting the ''sealant'' on my clothes in the next wash ...

If u r really concerned abou the seams, then YES - its best to have it set-up. The reason being: the fabric & seams will be stretched when assembled & u want the seam sealed in this position. Most seals on the market r fairly stretchable, but if u seal the seams in an untensioned state, then u let it dry & put it up - it might crack / break the seal.

Its kinda like stretching the skin under a scab. Most of the time it holds, but other times it will break the wound open & bleed again.

Hi Grace,

First of all, unless it is a very old tent that has lost it is waterproofing, u should not have a problem with water coming in. ( l live in Florida & do most of my camping in Florida so l have dealt with these afternoon showers!)

As mentioned, the major thing u want to keep in mind is not to let u or anything else touch the sides of the tent as the water will come through.in beads not torrents..in that spot.

Now in direct answer to ur question, if u r going to seam seal it, yes, the tent should be set up. If u can not set it up in a backyard before u go, just do it when u get to the campsite. Set it up, seam seal it, let it dry a couple of hours.it does not take that long. & then put ur gear in. If u get in too late.just take out the sleeping bed & gear the next morning & seal it then before the late afternoon when the rains come. It is a pretty quick & easy process.

The tent should have a rain fly with it, but if u r still concerned, another thing u might want to do if u r worried about water coming in, is to place a tarp (inexpensive at Wal-mart) over the tent, covering the top with the sides hanging over & u just stake it down separately from the tent (with ropes & stakes). l have a picture of our two tents here..your-camping-guidebook.com. One is the newer one which has a rain fly & we left that one alone. The other one is about 15 or 16 years old so we put the green tarp over the top. This will work for any shape tent, not just the cabin shape.

You can also place another tarp underneath the tent, folded to the footprint of the tent, as a groundcloth to prevent moisture from coming in. We usually do this as well. Just make sure to tuck in any pieces of the tarp that might be sticking out from underneath the tent or else it will act as a funnel to draw the water underneath the tent.

l personally would not feel comfortable putting my tent in the washing machine.

As an extra precaution, sometimes when we know there will be storms coming, we gather all of our stuff & put it in the center of the tent, usually right on top of the air mattress, & then throw an extra tarp on top of the whole thing..just in case.

But overall, l have been camping for many years & l really have not had a problem with water coming into the tent.

Have a great time & enjoy!