In our books there is nothing quite like the excitement of opening up a brand-new bit of camping gear. Unwrapping the plastic, letting it breathe for the first time, setting it up in the lounge room and inspecting every square inch, to learn about your new accomplice in adventure. The possible adventures it will be taken on, the freshness is exciting and every feature still works perfectly.

The unfortunate reality is that when you start to use your new swag out in the bush at your favourite campsites, it’s going to get a little bit grubby fairly quickly. That’s just what happens when you use your new gear!

That doesn’t mean you have to put up with a constantly dirty swag that wears out and looks grubby forever in fact, it’s a very simple process to keep your swag looking fresh and new all you need to do is follow a couple of basic pointers.

Here’s our guide to keeping your new swag looking and working like new!

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE!
The simplest way to keep your swag in tip top condition is to prevent it getting dirty and damaged in the first place. Firstly, keeping your mattress clean is important, by using a cheap bed sheet set from the shops! Throw your bedsheet on the mattress as soon as you unpack your swag from the packaging and always leave the swag made, this way no matter how filthy you get at camp, your mattress will stay protected and if you do end up dragging dirt and mud through your bed (or worse after a long night on the turps).

USE A MESH FLOOR AT CAMP!

If you can create a tidy environment around your swag, you’ll stop most of the dirt and sand from getting into the open cell of the mattress and into your sleeping bag. The open weave of the Adventure Kings Mesh Floors that we sell here at 4WD Supacentre are absolutely perfect for this purpose! Throw one down before you roll out your swag and you’ll create a nice tidy space for the swag to sit on allowing sand and dirt to fall through.

KEEP A DUST BRUSH OR BROOM ON HAND

An el-cheapo dustpan and broom from the shops should be something that lives in the back of every set of Titan Drawers. By having a way to easily brush any excess sand or dirt out of our swags and even to brush off the grass seeds dirt and dust from underneath our swag when we are packing up.  A quick brush on the canvass every now and then helps to keep your swag canvas looking fresh.

SHAKE IT DOWN – BEFORE PACK-UP!

Before packing up your swag, do yourself a huge favour and pull all of your bedding and mattress out. Put them on the bonnet of your car and use your hand broom to sweep out the dirt and sand that has found its way into hiding away under the mattress. Then, one-by-one, give the mattress, the sheets and sleeping bag a good shake-out and put them back in. Your swag will be beautifully clean and perfectly made for your next camping adventure!

GIVE IT A GOOD SCRUB

If you’ve been using your swag a lot recently, you should definitely treat it to a good bath, next time you have a spare hour on the weekend.

Unroll your swag, remove all of your bedding and hang the canvas over your clothesline. Give it a good spray down with the garden hose making sure you thoroughly saturate the canvas, paying special attention to the stitching. Now it’s sponge bath time, take a bucket with warm, soapy water, from a mild dish soap solution. Make sure you don’t use anything harsher than a standard dish soap solution.

Once it has had a good scrub and rinse, give it a good rinse with the hose and leave it to completely dry whilst getting good air and out of direct sunlight to avoid any uneven fading or odd shrinkage.

LUBRICATE YOUR ZIPPERS!

The Adventure Kings swags use big, heavy-duty nylon toothed zippers that run smoothly, particularly when they are brand new, but after a couple of months of solid use in dirty environments, the zippers might start to gunk up a little. The solution to a sticky zipper is as simple as using a bar of soap, or even candle wax along the length of the zipper to give a nice even coating of lubricant, particularly if you’ve just washed it as above. Be sparing with the coating, you don’t need that much, just a thin film – but you’d be amazed at just how good your zipper slide feels again