# Best way to impregnate cotton cloth?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-impregnate-cotton-cloth/518974>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-impregnate-cotton-cloth/518974 "2009-11-26T01:00:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\
**Post date:** [November 28, 2009, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-way-to-impregnate-cotton-cloth/518974/21 "2009-11-28T07:12:52Z")

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> [@constanze](#):
>
> Hijack: Over the past decades, I and others I know have experienced during hiking that Goretex stops being completly watertight and becomes only mostly watertight. The reason seems to be obviously that the thin important membrane that does the magical vapour transport/ droplet repelling rubs off -

Goretex comes in two common froms, two and three layer. The difference being the presence of the inner layer - usually a thin blue woven layer that serves to protect the membrane. Clothing designed to be worn with other parts of a structured system seems to sometimes omit this layer. The membrane itself is white. And it isn’t very strong. If the blue layer is breached you know you have a problem. Aquaseal is a good (acutually I find about the only really effective) product to fix it.

My experience with sailing gear is restricted to my dry-suit. It is a three layer fabric and is fully waterproof. But it does wear. I find it wears at friction points - and areas of very high flex. And a dry suit is no fun if it leaks. I sail an off the beach cat, and get abrasion off the trampoline mostly. However it is maintenance of the zip that is the real key to staying dry.

I have had other waterproofs, and beathable waterproofs that have totally failed when their unprotected membrane has simply delaminated from the main fabric. On the whole they are very poor value. I think the point about oilskins is well made. The nature of the proofing is such that yolu raeally have a saturated fabric, and the proofing migrates constantly. Only whne the fabric is actually holed will you lose the water resistance.

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