Routine Maintenance
Regular Maintenance
Make sure that the house wrap is installed properly and that there is no water intake.
It is best to create a habit of checking if your ropes are still tight and if your canvas and skirt need adjustment. Make sure your yurt is well-ventilated - Ventilation and Airflow are VERY important!!
Fall/Spring Maintenance
As warmer weather arrives in the spring, or just before the cold of winter settles in, you may want to consider removing the soft covers of your yurt, straightening the structure, re-tightening all of the ropes and then re-installing the soft covers. While you do this, you can also air out your felts and canvas. If your felts don’t have grommets you might want to tape them to prevent them from slipping down (see page19)
All of the wood parts of the yurt that are exposed to the elements, such as the door and the toono should be varnished with a marine-grade exterior varnish at least once a year. Check the caulking at the base of the door and windows, and re-caulk if necessary. You should also add caulking around the inserts in your door. If water gets trapped there, the door is more likely to swell.
Clear the area around your yurt if possible. Trees, shrubs or other structures could prevent airflow around the yurt.
Winter Maintenance
Ensure you batten down the hatches and follow all recommendations above before winter. Make sure to tighten your ropes before the frost or replace if necessary. Straps and Ratchets are excellent, but don’t overdo it with the cranking!
Monitor snowfall and remove excess from your yurts roof.
Mold
What to do if it’s already molding? Vinegar! Use vinegar mixed with water to remove and kill most of the mold on different surfaces.
Natural antifungal Recipe:
300 ml of white vinegar
200 ml water
5 drops of essential oil (optional)
Mold Control
Mold control is an eco-friendly and effective solution for cleaning the natural materials used to make yurts. Formulated for the marine industry & unsurpassed for mildew control, it removes those hard-to-get stains without scrubbing. This product is quite popular on yurt forums.
Pressure Washer:
You can use a power washer to remove mold from the wood structure. If you are careful, you can also use it on the canvas but do not spray too close to the canvas as this could result in tearing. Be sure to dry everything out completely before setting your yurt back up again.
Alternatively, you can soak the canvas in a solution of bleach for the night and then run it in an industrial washing machine. If possible, remove all of the soft layers (canvas covers, house wrap, felts and inner liner) and let everything air out!
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