Coleman tents · How-to guide

How to Clean and Maintain a Coleman Tent (20 Tips, REAL Pictures!)

Four years, 14 Coleman tents, and a lot of trial and error. This is the exact routine I use now, including the folding trick that dries the base for me.

  • 14 tents
  • 20 tips
  • 4 years of use
  • ~4 min read

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1While you camp 2Washing 3Drying 4Packing away ✓Storage

My routine in three moves

Step 1

Wipe it, don’t hose it

Disinfecting wipes clean the base just as well as soap and a hose. It dries in minutes instead of hours.

How ↓
Step 2

Dry while you fold

Fold in half, wipe, sun it, repeat. The base dries itself and the air gets pushed out gently.

The method ↓
Step 3

Store it ventilated

Out in the open if you have the space. That’s what keeps mold off it.

Why ↓

Part 1 of 5

Nine habits while you’re actually camping

Most tent damage happens during use, not storage. I’ve set up all 14 of my Coleman tents, from the Sundome 2 up to the WeatherMaster 10, on my own, and these are the nine habits I’ve settled on.

  • 1. Get helpSetting up solo puts the stress on the poles in one spot instead of two. A second pair of hands genuinely spares the poles.
  • 2. Unfold gentlyNever snap the poles together. Unfold them section by section as you feed them through the sleeves.
  • 3. Push, don’t pullPoles snag in the sleeves, and pulling hard is what snaps the shock-cord inside. Coming out: push from one end, then pull the last bit from the other.
  • 4. Leave the rainfly onThe rainfly is 75D polyester with at least 450 mm of coating; the tent body is usually 68D. Leave it on for long stays and it takes the UV instead of your tent body.
  • 5. Use a footprintColeman bases are polyethylene, not abrasion-proof, and they puncture on sharp stones.
  • 6. Stake and guy outIn wind, use every stake and every guyline. That’s what anchors the tent.
  • 7. Don’t over-tensionColeman guylines have pre-attached tensioners. Cranking them tight is how fabric rips in wind.
  • 8. Don’t force zippersThe door rain cover falls into the zipper path and makes it feel snaggier than it is. Hold the cover aside with your other hand.
  • 9. Clear it before foldingDebris gets embedded when you fold, and can scratch or cut the fabric. Small tents you can lift and shake out; big ones need sweeping.
This is a picture of me inserting the tent body poles into the pole sleeves of the Coleman Sundome 2-Person Tent.
Feeding a pole through the sleeve on my Sundome 2, pushing rather than pulling.
The rain cover from the outside getting in the way of the door zippers.
The door rain cover falling into the zipper path. Hold it aside instead of forcing the zip.
A hole at the tent base of my Coleman Instant Tent 4.
What skipping the footprint cost me: a hole in my Instant 4’s base.

My adviceThe footprint is the one I’d never skip again. I did on my Instant 4. Because its poles are pre-attached, pack-up drags the base over the ground, and I put holes straight through it.

Part 2 of 5

How I wash a Coleman tent

Two methods work. I started with the first and switched to the second.

Mild soap + hose

  • + Extremely effective on base and body
  • − Soaks the tent, hours to dry

Disinfecting wipes

  • + Cleans the base just as well
  • + Dries in minutes, no hose needed
  • + What I use now
This is a picture of me washing the base of the Coleman 10-Person Instant Cabin Tent.
Hosing down the base of my Instant Cabin 10: effective, but slow to dry.
A picture of me using disinfecting wipes to clean the base of my Coleman Skydome 4 Tent.
Disinfecting wipes on my Skydome 4’s base. This is my method now.

Never do thisColeman tents are not machine washable. No tent is. The fabric isn’t thick, and a washing machine’s spin will rip it. Clean by hand, always.

Part 3 of 5

Drying: the fold-as-you-dry method

Before it goes away I want every inch dry, or I’ll find mold later. So I leave the tent fully set up and spread the rainfly out flat on the ground.

My Coleman Carlsbad 4 Tent drying under the sun, with the rainfly spread out beside it. Ignore my dog, he just somehow loves to lie on my rainfly.
My Carlsbad 4 drying in the sun, rainfly spread out beside it. Ignore the dog, he loves lying on my rainfly.

The base is the problem: it’s face-down on the ground, so it never sees sun. Here’s what I do instead of waiting.

Dry while you fold

  • Fold the tent body in half.
  • Wipe the dirt off the exposed base with a disinfecting wipe.
  • Leave it in full sun for a few minutes to dry that half.
  • Fold in half again, clean again, dry again.
  • Repeat until it’s small enough for the carry bag.
The Coleman Skydome 4 Tent folded in half, still with dirt on the tent base.
My Skydome 4 folded in half, base still dirty. Wipe, sun, fold again.
This is the Coleman Skydome Tent folded in half thrice.
Same tent, folded in half three times. Dry the whole way through.

My adviceThis does two jobs at once: the base dries, and the tent’s own weight pushes the trapped air out gradually, so you never have to force it.

Part 4 of 5

Packing it away without damaging it

  • Fold slowlyAir gets trapped in the tent body. Forcing it out creates micro-holes in the base that eventually let water in. That happened to one of mine.
  • Expand the carry bagMost Coleman bags have a white strip at the bottom reading “Remove to Expand Bag”. Rip it off and the bag grows by roughly 50%. Less compressing, less risk of damage.
  • Use the separate bagsColeman gives you bags for stakes and poles. Don’t throw them out. Loose stakes and poles puncture tents.
  • Pop Up tents fold a specific wayThe Pop Up 2 and Pop Up 4 have thinner fiberglass poles than regular Coleman tents. Look up the fold; don’t force them back in the bag.
  • Fold Instant tents on grassTheir poles are pre-attached, which presses hard on the tent body. Drag it over one sharp stone (as I did) and you’ve punctured the base. Watch the fold first.
This is a picture of me rolling up the Coleman Instant Tent 4.
Rolling up my Instant 4 slowly, letting the air out on its own.
You can remove this white strip at the bottom of each Coleman tent’s carry bag to expand it.
The white strip under the carry bag. Pull it off and the bag gets ~50% bigger.
From left to right: Tent body of the Coleman 2-Person Sundome Tent, poles, stakes, rainfly, carry bag.
Everything that goes back in: body, poles, stakes, rainfly, bag.
This is a picture of me folding one end of the Coleman 4-Person Pop Up Tent down.
Folding one end of my Pop Up 4 down. These need the proper technique.

Part 5 of 5

Storing it

Store it in the open if you have the space. The ventilation is what keeps mold and mildew away, and that matters most for long-term storage of a year or more. A closet or under the bed works too, as long as you pull it out and air it every few months.

While it’s in storageThe waterproof coating fades whether you use the tent or not. I re-spray roughly once a year. See how waterproof Coleman tents are for what I use.

Which one to get

The Coleman tents I’d actually buy

A tent you like is a tent you’ll look after. I bought and tested 14 of them. Here are my award winners, and the full ranking has every score:

My awardWinner (on Amazon)Also at
Best Value for MoneyColeman Sundome 6Dick’s · Walmart · Coleman
Best Large Family TentColeman WeatherMaster 10Dick’s · Walmart · Coleman
Best Instant Cabin Tent from ColemanColeman Instant Cabin 10Dick’s – Dark Room · Walmart · Coleman
Best Budget Large Family TentColeman Montana 8Dick’s · Walmart · Coleman
Best Screen Room TentColeman Evanston 6Walmart · Coleman
Best Budget PickColeman Sundome 2Walmart · Coleman
Quickest Set UpColeman Pop Up 4Walmart
My seven award winners from testing 14 Coleman tents. Same links as my full round-up, kept in sync with it.

The bottom line

Wipe the base with disinfecting wipes instead of hosing it, dry it in stages as you fold it, expand the carry bag so you’re not fighting it, and store it somewhere with airflow. Do that and a Coleman tent will give you at least 5 years →

Quick questions

FAQ

Can you put a Coleman tent in the washing machine?

No. Coleman tents aren’t machine washable. No tent is. The fabric isn’t thick and the spin cycle will rip it. Clean it by hand with mild soap and water, or with disinfecting wipes.

What’s the fastest way to dry a Coleman tent?

Fold-as-you-dry. Leave it set up with the rainfly spread out, then fold the body in half, wipe the exposed base, sun it for a few minutes, and repeat. The base dries in stages instead of staying face-down and wet.

How should I store a Coleman tent long term?

Somewhere ventilated, loosely packed, with the carry bag expanded. If it has to go in a closet or under a bed, take it out and air it every few months.

Keep going

Where to next

How long they last

How Long Do Coleman Tents Really Last?

Four years of wear on my oldest two, in pictures, and what I paid for all 14.

Waterproofing

How Waterproof Are Coleman Tents?

My hose tests, the coating ratings, and how often I re-proof.

Every tip on this page comes from four years of using the 14 Coleman tents I bought myself.

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