Tarps & Canopies Info

Some tarps are designed to be fire retardant, while others are not. For the latter, canvas tarps aren’t given such treatments, as these are never used as part of an outdoor canopy, in which they should be fire retardant. Instead, these tarps are used to cover objects outdoors or indoors and are often used as camping tarps. On occasion, a canvas tarp may also be used as a truck tarp. But, as these tarps aren’t waterproof, they’re not used outdoors for a long period of time, such as polyethylene ones. At the same time, though, any type of material shouldn’t be placed near a heat source. For a polyethylene or vinyl tarp, this may make the material melt but, for canvas, the material may burn.

As indicated in the news story above, the canvas tarps, when placed near a heat source, caught on fire. More specifically, the canvas tarps were placed on floor heat registers. After a period of time, the tarps overheated and caught on fire. Although no one was injured in the news story, that might not always be the case. So, if you have canvas tarps around your home or business, what should you do?

The main thing is to not keep a canvas tarp near a heat source for too long. A canvas tarp needing to dry off, especially after being kept outside, can be near a heat source until the material dries but past this point, the material should be kept away. Similarly, when these tarps are being stored, they should be kept in a temperate room so that the material won’t expand or contract or, worse, catch fire. Canvas tarps are ideal for painting, as the stiffness keeps the material from moving, but, otherwise, these tarps aren’t treated to be fire retardant and, therefore, shouldn’t be used or stored like polyethylene or vinyl tarps.