The art of clean

Heavily soiled areas are pre-treated before being placed inside the machine.

Much time, effort and money goes into keeping tents clean. Special event rental companies that specialize in tent rentals agree it is a considerable investment but a necessary one as the cleanliness of their tents directly reflects the company’s image to customers.

Mike Carleton from Happenings Party Rentals in Collingwood, Ont., appreciates how important it is to keep tents clean and how to go about getting them that way. The company purchased a Teeco 1800 tent washing machine last year that can wash 1,800 square feet of tent fabric in one load. In addition to laundering its own inventory, it has created a tent washing division, Clean Tent Canada, offering a fabric laundering service to other rental companies.

“We understand how important it is for special event rental companies to rent clean tents. We also understand the time it takes to wash large and small tent tops and sidewalls by hand. That’s why we are offering our Teeco washing and drying facility to the tent rental industry,” he says. “No matter how well they are cared for, tents eventually get dirty. Washing will extend the life cycle of your inventory, which in turn enables you to generate more revenue.”

The fabric is fan-folded so all areas of the tents are washed evenly
Two rinses without soap are required to get maximum results.
The Teeco washing machine is designed to wash tents and is not a retrofitted laundry machine.
The tops are hung for three to four days to completely remove all moisture.

How does it work? Carleton takes Canadian Rental Service readers through the process of getting tents clean:

“Once the tent arrives we take it out of the bag and pre-treat it if necessary. We unroll and inspect every single piece of fabric that comes through our facility. The inspection process is done to locate any heavily soiled areas that may need to be pre-treated to begin the cleaning process before it even reaches the machine. If ropes are still attached they are gathered into a small roll and fastened with zip ties to prevent them from tangling during the wash cycle. We also remove all straps and throw them in with the wash cycle so they go through the same cleaning process on their own. We then fold the section, set it into the machine and begin the wash cycle.

“The fabric is fan-folded prior to entering the wash to ensure that all areas of the tents are washed evenly. Once the tent has been folded properly, the tent is loaded into the Teeco washing machine. The machine has been designed to wash tents. It’s not a retrofitted laundry machine. Nor does it have a spin cycle like a laundry machine. Before starting the cycle we throw in a specially formulated soap mix designed specifically for vinyl products such as tents and industrial fabrics.

“Upon completion of the wash cycle, which can range anywhere from 30-60 minutes, we drain all of the water to ensure the dirt and excess has been removed from the tent. Once the dirty water has been completely drained, we do two rinses without soap to get maximum results.

“After the initial wash and rinses are complete, the tops are inspected to make sure they have come clean to our standards. Once inspected the tops are hung in a spacious drying area until they are completely dry. This step is important to prevent mould from developing. When dry, they are rolled according to the customer’s instructions.

“Our large warehouse enables us to hang numerous tops at once allowing for large volume. Not only is the warehouse heated, but we hang the tops for a minimum of three to four days as well as use industrial fans to get all the moisture out of the tops, including webbing and ropes.”

Carleton says rental operators are welcome to come and watch their tents being cleaned, promising this is a lot easier than doing it themselves.