– The first question we have to answer is how condensation forms. Condensation can have various causes, such as:
• Temperature differences
This mainly happens during rain showers. The temperature outside cools quickly during a rain shower and you often sit inside the tent yourself. The tent cloth cools down from the outside and the warm air from inside condenses on the inside of the cloth. The condensation can cover the entire roof surface and thus cause a lot of water.
• Hot air
When it is summer, the humidity during the day is generally high. If warm air enters the tent during the day, this air contains extremely much moisture and therefore condenses as soon as it cools down. You also get warm air in your tent when you cook in the tent.
• Wet or damp clothing
Did you get wet during a rain shower and are your clothes and shoes soaked? Do not let them dry in your tent, this also causes condensation.
• Grass
Grass also ‘breathes’. If you put the tent on a lawn, condensation / vapor will also come off the grass. The higher the grass, the more condensation you get in your tent. This applies to tents with a loose ground sheet.
– The second question is how you can reduce condensation. Our roofs are not coated on the inside and can absorb moisture. Yet there comes a time when the roof is saturated. Preventing condensation completely is unfortunately not possible, because we have no influence on the weather conditions. There are a number of ways that you can limit condensation:
• Ventilate
You can reduce condensation by using ventilation openings, for example by opening ventilation windows or the door. Use multiple vents, one is usually not enough.
• Warm climate? Keep the tent closed during the day!
Are you going camping in a warm country? Then make sure that you leave the tent as close as possible during the day and only ventilate in the evening when it has cooled down. At home you also keep everything closed in warm weather and only let it blow through in the evening. The ‘evening air’ contains much less moisture. With a tent without a fixed ground sheet, keeping everything closed can be difficult.
• Keep wet items outside the tent
Wet clothes and other wet things cause a lot of condensation. So put them outside the tent. Do you not have that option? Pack the wet items well in a sealed plastic bag, so that no air from the wet items can get into the tent.
• Do not cook in your tent
At home you always cook with the extractor hood that absorbs the hot cooking fumes. When you camp with a tent, you obviously don’t have an extractor hood. It is therefore better to cook outside the tent. The hot air from cooking rises and cannot go out.
• Avoid gas and oil heating
Just like with cooking, warm air is of course also released from a stove, which increases the risk of condensation. Therefore avoid heaters in your tent.
– Condensation in PVC awnings; an roof lining can make the living environment more pleasant.
Our 4-season awning Walker Concept 240/280 and winter awning Walker Snow & Fun Plus are made of an extra heavy quality PVC (both sides coated). Due to the high density of the PVC material, increased condensation water formation can occur. A roof lining can largely solve this problem. A roof lining can collect / absorb condensation and moisture, so that it will be much less humid inside the tent itself. No more drops on the roof or on the roof beams, and all roof beams are neatly out of sight.