Hi folks,

Forgive me if this is a stupid question so go easy on me :-)

I recently moved from Europe and have a Silnylon tent which I cooked in and spilled soup and other drinks on the ground sheet.

Could this attract aninamls to the tent.

Thanks,

Stephen

Absolutely yes.

--B.G.--

Thanks Bob,

Thats what I thought myself but just wanted to make sure :-)

Try soaking it in MiraZyme - it's an enzyme-based solution that I successfully used to decontaminate a tent that was stored while damp. Should work on food odors too.

If you're moving into bear country, make sure those odors are 100% gone or use a different shelter!

Unless weather forces me to do so, I refuse cooking under my vestibules. Often I'll cook several yards from my gear.

Hi Stuart,

I will check out that prodcct, have you used it before.


Hi Travis,

I hear you on that, I dont want to get eaten by a bear on my first US Wild camp.

Its my Scarp that I have been cooking and eating in, I am ordering a Trail star so I can use for trips in Bear Country :-)

Cheers,

I recently had a discussion with a friend on how to deal with these issues. She recommended dousing odors in white gas – it smells, but bears hate it, it will take care of any other smellables, and it will evaporate. She recounting a guiding experience where someone spilled soda all over their pack - no other way to get rid of the smell on the trek.

Would that to damage the material Stephan?

Yes, Stephen - I used it not long ago on a tent I bought used that smelled atrocious when I unpacked it. After a 10 minute dunk and dip I hung it to dry and the musty odors were gone. I checked a few days later and they hadn't returned. The guy who sold the MiraZyme to me said he'd used it to remove the smell of vomit from one of his tents. I didn't want to ask...

I saw the title and thought, "Food odours" aren't dangerous, because what do Brits or Kiwis have to deal with, anyway? Crazed stoats and prickly hedgehogs in the UK? Introduced oppossums and flightless birds down under? But, seeing as you're now wondering about food odors in North America - yeah, good to think about.

Don't use detergent on coated fabrics. One of the ways detergents clean is because their low surface energy allow them to slip in between dirt and the fabric. Alas, they can also get between the fabric and a coating, causing it to delaminate. Use a soap (Ivory, Dreft, etc) rather than a detergent (Tide) if you are going to launder anything. Better yet, get a down-specific or Goretex-specific soap from REI, etc.

And on using white gasoline to remove odors: Yes, it will work very well to dissolve many smelly, oily compounds that water won't dissolve. And nylon is resistent to gasoline as is high-density polyeythlene (HPDE). But gasoline (white, mo-gas, or av-gas) can soften low-DPE. And polypropylene is very oilaphilic - that's why it hangs onto body odors. And coatings? I've never thought to risk it - seems likely to go badly.

Start with mild soap in warm water. Escalate only if needed.

Hi Stuart,

Puke in a tent, sounds like Galstonbury :-)
Will have a look out for that product.

Hi David,

We only have to worry about sheep and goats and the odd pony :-)

Hi all,

Do the same precautions need to be taken while Winter camping, is it Ok to cook, eat or drink in a tent once its not being used during other times of year.

Forgive me for my lack of US backpaking knowledge :-)

Cheers,

Stephen

Brings back memories of overindulgence in Keswick after a hard day on the hills. Too many pints of Sneck Lifter I seem to remember. This guy almost certainly had never heard of Glastonbury, but I'd bet he was either a latter day Dead Head or an early Phish Phan.

Ah the thoughts of it :-)

"Do the same precautions need to be taken while Winter camping, is it Ok to cook, eat or drink in a tent once its not being used during other times of year."

Do you mean because bears hibernate in the winter? I suppose it depends where you go. In the appalachian mountains black bears don't totally hibernate, especially down south. They can go into somewhat of a dormant state and have reduced metabolisms but they sometimes still venture out. Maybe in the far north they hibernate more so but I can't comment on that. I've yet to see a bear during hibernation time but that's not to say it wont happen.

Really though, if you can overcome your fear of black bears they're pretty harmless. You can easily scare away most of them. Check around on youtube for "black bear bluff charge". More of a joke than anything. Although they can still be dangerous.

So most Black bears are harmless?

Edited by stephenm on 02/26/2012 17:14:43 MST.

For a cheap, fast solution for odors, check out Primos Silver XP scent-killer spray. It's marketed for killing scent for hunters, but this stuff really works. I wore a jacket into a bar where they were grilling steaks, smoking cigars and frying fish. When I got back in my car, I smelled my jacket and it stunk so bad. I sprayed it down with the Silver XP and the next morning it had ZERO odor. I have used it eliminate my wife's perfume on my truck seats and to cut the funk in running shoes.

I don't think it's magic enough to kill mildew smell, but I bet it would cut food odors great.

Sounds good Jason,

Do you think it could be used on tents?

"So most Black bears are harmless?"

In Oregon and Washington, yes, black bears are harmless

I've encountered them 3 times I can think of where when the bear saw people it ran away. Another time when I saw the bear heading where I was going, I just went a different direction so as to not bother the poor bear that was just trying to fatten itself up before winter.

The ranger at Olympic National Park said the only time that he knew of where a bear hurt a human, was after that human had shot the bear, so if you don't shoot bears you should be okay.

"So most Black bears are harmless?"

I wouldn't say they're totally harmless. I like to think of them as deer with claws and teeth though. At least most of the time they seem to react that way. They usually just run away when they see/hear you.

I just did a quick search and most sources seem to say that since the year 2000 there have been about 15-17 black bear fatalities. That's in all of North America. I think as long as you propperly educate yourself and know how to handle bear encounters you'll be just fine.

Just make sure you get that food odor out of your tent :)

A good rule is don't cook where you sleep.

EDIT: I've seen 13 bears up close and personal, all in a 2 day period. How comforting. 8 of which were all in a 3 hour period right before I slept in a shelter alone. All 13 just ran away. 1 or 2 might of "held their ground" so to say so I just backtracked and came back a few minutes later and they were gone.

Edited by pdcolelli42 on 02/26/2012 17:27:59 MST.

Thanks Jerry thats great to know :-)