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moisture/air mattress

16 years ago

Hello everyone!! New to the forums... We are about to embark on our first camping trip (tent) this season... One thing that we always seem to run into is moisture build-up between our air mattress and sleeping bags/blankets... We have to hang up everything to dry by morning and sometimes the moisture makes for a pretty chilly night...

This year it's been so rainy- I don't want to take the chance of hanging our things out to dry- then have them get more wet in the random rainstorms that our area has been plagued with...

More or less- we simply want to avoid moisture build-up! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you tons!! ~Laura

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Comments (8)

eal51
16 years ago
Moisture build up could be caused by lack of air flow and ventalation.

When tent camping, regardless of the season, you need to have air flow moving through the tent. Your breathe and your body gives off moisture when you are sleeping. If your windows are zipped shut, you have no air flow. Consequently you have moisture build up.

Make sure you tent windows are zipped down a bit and if your door has a screen area, make sure the bottom is unzipped so you get air flow from top to bottom.

Also, when tent camping, it is a good idea to "air out" your sleeping gear every day if you can. This is especially true if your bag liners are cotton material.

Enjoy the journey.

eal51 in western CT
skylar560
Original Author
16 years ago
I can see that air flow would be ideal... And we do keep windows open... But I don't know about the bottom... I will remember to keep the bottom open if we can...

This time around, we are also bringing a space heater and getting an electric site... So, we are hoping that the heater will help some...

Thanks eal51!! ~L
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grammyp
16 years ago
It is amazing how much moisture accumulates just from breathing and all this hot moist air has to go somewhere. We always had a tent with a vent in the top so it went up and out. Keeping the windows open certainly helps as does a small fan hung near the top of the tent to keep the air moving. Keeping the mattress away from the side of the tent will help keep moisture from wicking in from the outside when it rains also.

beverly
skylar560
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks Beverly!! ~L
frank6160
16 years ago
I have the same problem to some degree I have a large tent keep windows open and use a small fan to keep air moving. Only thing I have found is air out sleeping bag daily. If I'm expecting rain I run fan and open sleeping bag all the way and turn it every now and then. This seems to help dry it out.
tplife
16 years ago
skylar56, have you ever tried a ThermaRest self-inflating sleeping pad? I've never experienced them creating condensation, and they have lifetime guarantees.
grammyp
16 years ago
You are welcome, hope it helps.

beverly
kingding3
16 years ago
use mattress pads

Memory foam mattress pads shape according to your body parts thus increasing the comfort quotient. These come in various thickness or densities. The thicker ones, although more comfortable, are also high priced.

Here is a link that might be useful: mattress pad

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