cleaning a fish trap (help!!)

[Dakota Iceman]

Good morning from the frozen tundra in south dakota. Does anyone have any tips for washing (cleaning) the blue canvas on a fishtrap guide. My trap has been stored in the garage and it is a dingy blue....wondered if there are any tips for bringing it back to life. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated.

[Guest]

Mild detergent or soap and warm water, a soft brush, washtub or other large container, scrub gently, rinse thoroughly, set up and allow to dry completely. Check with a reputable dry cleaner or tent and awning shop regarding any restorative type treatments that may be available, I know they took scotch-guard off the market a few years ago, maybe there is a similar type product, like camp-dry or similar that will help.

[Steve Foss]

Hey Dakota:

Former North Dakotan here.

It depends on which fabric you've got. If it's the new stiffer stuff, I dunno. Since it's a Guide, it might have the new thin stiff stuff, and then I'd go with the advice in the previous post. Don't know if they even made Guides with the older canvas covers. I've got a Trap II, the forerunner of the Guide, and mine has canvas.

If it's the canvas, then you can throw it in the washing maching on warm wash with regular detergent. If your home washer isn't big enough, bring it to a laundromat with one of those triple-capacity front-loading washers.

Hang it until it's thoroughly dry, then hook up the velcro and go to town. If you think you need to waterproof it, get a couple spray cans of camp dry and spray it up. I did it this way and didn't waterproof it afterward, because it didn't seem waterproofed to begin with. You'll know what I mean if you've got the canvas one and it starts raining.

Good luck.