How to maintain a Yurt?
Assembled Yurts
Yurts should be kept as dry as possible. If you are keeping your yurt standing all the time, light a fire in the stove to dry the yurt as frequently as you deem necessary. Because our customers are located in areas with widely different climates, it is impossible to give universally applicable advice. However, keeping the yurt dry should not take much time or effort. Generally, lighting a fire in the stove once every two weeks for three to four hours will be sufficient when it is rainy. If the location where your yurt is placed is well exposed to sunlight, it is sufficient to light a fire in the stove only once a month. During the winter, try to remove the snow on the roof top before it melts. If you cannot manage to do this, heat the yurt with a fire in the stove once a week.
For advice specific to your case, please feel free to contact us.
Disassembling and storing
If you are going to keep your yurt dismantled and in storage, make sure that all the canvas is completely dry. In order to dry it completely before dismantling, use the stove or expose the yurt to sunlight as necessary.
If mice or moths are likely to gain access to the storage place, take precautions such as spraying insect repellant. Moths are quite common in Mongolia and are the main source of damage to the sheep-wool felt when yurts are kept in storage.
The procedure for dismantling yurts is the exact opposite of that for assembling yurts; the last step in the assembly process is the first step in the dismantling process. Be careful not to collapse the crown while you are taking out the rafters. It is better to have one or two persons inside holding the crown and pillars stable as you take out the last of the rafters. Fold each of the canvas coverings separately and bundle the rafters together in bunches small enough to be carried. Fold the lattice wall segments and bind them securely so they will not come loose. It is better to position the wall segments vertically or on their sides so that they will not lose their convexity when there are stored for a long period.
Storing your yurt inside when you are not using it will significantly extend the lifetime of the outside coverings of your yurt. When you store your yurt inside, the main things to keep in mind are the need to dry the outside coverings before putting the yurt into storage and to avoid storing the yurt in a damp location.