Every now and then the time will come when you have to wash a tent that's become too dirty. But the longer you can go between washing the better, because washing is a messy job and traces of detergents left behind will affect water repellency if you don't rinse thoroughly.

The key to keeping dirt and other scum off of your tent in the first place is to put a protective layer between the ground and your prized possession. For this task you could pay for a premade ground cloth (sometimes referred to as a "footprint"), or make your own for mere pennies. Here's how to do it yourself:

At home, set your tent atop a piece of heavy-duty, clear plastic or Tyvek and trace its outline with a felt-tip pen. Mark the plastic about two inches in from the edge of the floor. Note pebbles to stop it blowing around.

Cut the plastic an inch or two smaller than the tent's actual footprint to eliminate the risk of it protruding and catching rainwater that will then flow under the floor.

Write"Top" with indelible magic marker at several points on one side to make it easy to always fold it dirty side to dirty side and to keep the clean side to the tent. At the end of a trip, clean the protective ground cloth with a broom and hose on the lawn.

More Housecleaning Tips With or without a ground cloth, you'll want to fold the tent floor each morning so that the wet and dirty tent bottom does not come into contact with the rest of the tent. Starting with the tent floor-side down, fold the outer corners on both sides toward each other before rolling. With irregular ? shape tents, just fold the edges of the floor inwards so as to hide all the non-floor fabric. Figure out your own folding system to achieve this! Clean out a freestanding tent by inverting it and shaking out any crud before packing it up. Use a small damp sponge to wipe off mud from the tent body or fly. Avoid smushing mosquitoes and other pests into the tent fabric. Instead, place a hand over them and slide it sideways over the fabric. That kills or disables the insects without a major mess. Even if they are full of blood and there is a smear, it will wipe off more easily than the mess made when you vindictively pound the blood-sated beastie against the tent wall!

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