# What are some ways of Water Proofing your Clothes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487 "2008-05-15T21:00:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ficer67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Ficer67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ficer67)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/1 "2008-05-15T21:00:11Z")
The entire state of Louisiana just recieved about 8 inches of rain over the past 12 hours or so. Being a bachelor, I have no umbrella or raincoat. Not one to take the easy way out, how do you go about waterproofing your bluejeans and t-shirts? Ok that about sums it up Ficer67 ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/2 "2008-05-15T21:03:31Z")
This will work, but they might be a bit uncomfortable to wear afterwards: [http://www.hanksclothing.com/sno\_proof\_weather\_proofing\_buy.html](http://www.hanksclothing.com/sno_proof_weather_proofing_buy.html) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/3 "2008-05-15T21:31:12Z")
Anything that waterproofs your jeans or t-shirt will be the equivalent of wearing a plastic bag. You’ll end up soaked from sweat. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/4 "2008-05-16T01:35:13Z")
I think there was an old Dilbert cartoon about the “engineer’s raincoat”–take a Hefty bag and cut holes in it for your head and arms. (Armholes may be optional.) Voila! Instant raincoat! You can also buy “emergency ponchos” for about 99 cents at your favorite discount store. If you are careful, you can use them more than once. I had a teacher in 4th grade who mentioned once that she used Scotchguard on her jeans so that she could go skiing. That was the old formula with the bad chemicals in it, of course…may or may not work nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/5 "2008-05-16T02:28:07Z")
[Nikwax](http://www.nikwax.com/en-us/index.php). CMC +fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/6 "2008-05-16T03:04:15Z")
[QUOTE=Ficer67] The entire state of Louisiana just recieved about 8 inches of rain over the past 12 hours or so. Being a bachelor, I have no umbrella or raincoat. Not one to take the easy way out, how do you go about waterproofing your bluejeans and t-shirts? Ok that about sums it up Ficer67 [/QUOTE] Wuss. I am from Louisiana and I was in New Orleans for the 100 year rain-storm of 1995 (actually they come every few years now). It dropped 24 inches of rain in about 4 hours and flooded almost everything. We actually had to tie cars from floating down the street with anything we could find including garden hoses. Most were a total loss after that. The key isn’t to waterproof yourself. You simply strip down to regular shorts or even boxer shorts and pretend you are at the beach. It was a good time but unfortunately our “beach” consisted of roads with trash floating all around us. Some people had it worse. More than a few above ground graves opened up and some people woke up with old bodies on their porch or in their yard. I will never forget going to a bar (The Boot) with 18 inches of water in it with the video poker machines shorting out yet they were still serving at least for a while. Damn whippersnappers, you have no idea how good you have it. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/7 "2008-05-16T04:32:59Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I was in New Orleans for the 100 year rain-storm of 1995 (actually they come every few years now). It dropped 24 inches of rain in about 4 hours [/QUOTE] Darlin’, I know that was meant as hyperbole but … The 100-year rainfall for New Orleans is about 15 inches in 24 hours. For a 4-hour storm duration, it’s between 7 and 9 inches. 24 inches of rain in 4 hours would likely exceed the predicted Probable Maximum Rainfall for the Gulf Coast, depending upon the drainage area in question. (Hydrometereological Report 51 (NOAA, 1978)) Then again it _is_ Louisiana. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/8 "2008-05-16T04:36:59Z")
Don’t live in flood-prone areas. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/9 "2008-05-16T12:51:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ficer67] Being a bachelor, I have no umbrella or raincoat. [/QUOTE] Divorced guy here. I haven’t owned an umbrella in decades. When it is raining, I run to and from my car, and try to park close to whatever building I am going to. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/10 "2008-05-16T13:10:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ficer67] The entire state of Louisiana just recieved about 8 inches of rain over the past 12 hours or so. Being a bachelor, I have no umbrella or raincoat. Not one to take the easy way out, how do you go about waterproofing your bluejeans and t-shirts? Ok that about sums it up Ficer67 [/QUOTE] Buy a bloody raincoat! Seriously you want to waterproof your t-shirt? Buy a bloody raincoat. You may not meet the fashion requirements but you will be dry! Fashion is more important? Congratulations, you are a tosser! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/11 "2008-05-16T13:20:53Z")
Any silicone or wax spray or sealant you can buy will cost you more than a poncho or umbrella from Dollar General. Just go buy a frakking umbrella, already. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/12 "2008-05-16T13:37:00Z")
[QUOTE=FoieGrasIsEvil] Don’t live in flood-prone areas. [/QUOTE] Lots of rain doesn’t always = flood prone. However, as far as a life motto, your advice is excellent. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/13 "2008-05-16T14:09:18Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Darlin’, I know that was meant as hyperbole but … The 100-year rainfall for New Orleans is about 15 inches in 24 hours. For a 4-hour storm duration, it’s between 7 and 9 inches. 24 inches of rain in 4 hours would likely exceed the predicted Probable Maximum Rainfall for the Gulf Coast, depending upon the drainage area in question. (Hydrometereological Report 51 (NOAA, 1978)) Then again it _is_ Louisiana. 😉 [/QUOTE] I was serious and I found something to back it up. There are a few reasons why I remembered it. One was the fact that it was only a few days away from my Tulane graduation and it wrecked the entire city. The other is that it was one of the damnedest things I have ever lived through. It was bad. Wikipedia reports it as 20 inches of rain instead of my 24 but I got my figure from news reports right after it happened and there was mass confusion going on. It was like a mini-Katrina. They may have been revised since then. From Wikipedia: **May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood** “During a short period of twelve hours, some areas received twenty inches of rainfall. The next day, the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain, including Slidell, Covington, etc. received similar amounts of rain and flooding.” “Six people died as a result of the flooding. The city of New Orleans suffered $360 million in damages, and the damage of the surrounding areas put that total above $1 billion. Some 56,000 homes were damaged in 12 Parishes. Thousands of cars were flooded. 14,600 homes and apartments were flooded in Jefferson Parish.” > **[May 1995 Louisiana flood](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_8th_1995_Louisiana_Flood)** > > The May 1995 Louisiana flood, also known as the May 1995 Southeast Louisiana and Southern Mississippi Flood, was a heavy rainfall event which occurred across an area stretching from the New Orleans metropolitan area into southern Mississippi. A storm total rainfall maximum of 27.5 inches (700 mm) was recorded near Necaise, Mississippi. Considerable flooding was caused by the rainfall including several record flood crests along impacted river systems. > The flooding caused six fatalities and more... ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/14 "2008-05-16T15:36:49Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I was serious and I found something to back it up. [/QUOTE] I love it when that happens! 🙂 > [@](#): > > From Wikipedia: > > **May 8th 1995 Louisiana Flood** > > "During a short period of twelve hours, some areas received twenty inches of rainfall. Twenty inches in twelve hours I can believe; it was the shorter duration of 4 hours which bugged me. Thanks for the link to the Wiki article. That has a link to a report ([SRCC Technical Report 971](http://www.losc.lsu.edu/tech97_2.pdf)) revising some predicted rainfall stats for the South Central U.S. Looks like our own Hancock County got 25 inches of rain from the same storm. According to the report’s data, a 12-hour 100-year storm is predicted to produce about 12 to 13 inches of rain in the NO area. Based on that, I would say that your May 8th storm was _greater_ than a 100-year event. Would you reconsider the part about how "they come every few years "? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/15 "2008-05-16T15:59:35Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Would you reconsider the part about how "they come every few years "? 😉 [/QUOTE] The reason I said that is because, during the 4 years I was a Tulane, we got storms that had more and more incredible numbers. I think it started with a 20 year storm, then we got a 50 year storm, and then the truly incredible 100 year storm. I don’t know the dates of the first two but the numbers can only be reported upwards because they can’t be recycled after they have a winner. I don’t know what prize Katrina qualifies for in this context but I would hate to see a 1000 year storm. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/16 "2008-05-16T17:45:58Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] The reason I said that is because, during the 4 years I was a Tulane, we got storms that had more and more incredible numbers. I think it started with a 20 year storm, then we got a 50 year storm, and then the truly incredible 100 year storm. I don’t know the dates of the first two but the numbers can only be reported upwards because they can’t be recycled after they have a winner. I don’t know what prize Katrina qualifies for in this context but I would hate to see a 1000 year storm. [/QUOTE] Right. In wet cycles you can experience quite a few extreme rainfall events. I’d like to see the nomenclature changed to referring to them by their recurrence interval. That is, the rainfall amount has an X chance of being equalled or exceeded in a given year. In other words, 100-yr = 1% chance storm; 500-yr = 0.2% chance storm, etc. There is a move afoot to do that, it’s slowly catching on. That way, people would stop thinking “one every hundred years”, “one every five hundred years” etc. Another way to look at it is this: we expect every square inch of New Orleans to experience X amount of rain in X hours during at least one event within a randomly chosen span of 100 years. It could rain that much over on Canal Street one month and then over on Carrollton the next month. Just for fun, I looked at data for Twelvemile Bayou near Dixie, LA during the period 1942 to 1995. Looking at the monthly mean flow in cubic feet per second, I see that the monthly mean flows for the year 1995 are greater than the monthly mean flows for the entire period of record. In other words, you are exactly right, 1995 was a wetter-than-average year for Louisiana. Katrina was a mixed bag - a certain event on a wind scale, a different event on a storm surge scale, a different event on a rainfall scale. I’ll stop being boring now. BTW, my sis graduated from Tulane about 20 years ago and still works there. My daughter was all set to enter their Architecture School but got Katrina’d. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/17 "2008-05-16T18:16:56Z")
[QUOTE=NinetyWt] Right. In wet cycles you can experience quite a few extreme rainfall events. I’d like to see the nomenclature changed to referring to them by their recurrence interval. That is, the rainfall amount has an X chance of being equalled or exceeded in a given year. In other words, 100-yr = 1% chance storm; 500-yr = 0.2% chance storm, etc. There is a move afoot to do that, it’s slowly catching on. That way, people would stop thinking “one every hundred years”, “one every five hundred years” etc. Another way to look at it is this: we expect every square inch of New Orleans to experience X amount of rain in X hours during at least one event within a randomly chosen span of 100 years. It could rain that much over on Canal Street one month and then over on Carrollton the next month. Just for fun, I looked at data for Twelvemile Bayou near Dixie, LA during the period 1942 to 1995. Looking at the monthly mean flow in cubic feet per second, I see that the monthly mean flows for the year 1995 are greater than the monthly mean flows for the entire period of record. In other words, you are exactly right, 1995 was a wetter-than-average year for Louisiana. Katrina was a mixed bag - a certain event on a wind scale, a different event on a storm surge scale, a different event on a rainfall scale. I’ll stop being boring now. BTW, my sis graduated from Tulane about 20 years ago and still works there. My daughter was all set to enter their Architecture School but got Katrina’d. [/QUOTE] Wow, I wouldn’t want to tangle with you on any future weather threads. What is your job? I am just happy that my 13 year old memories turned out to be half-way correct. Based on memory, I still say that the rainfall wasn’t evenly distributed over twelve hours. My friend and I left to get beer in my small pickup truck right before it started raining. Within 45 minutes, we were trying to get back and the flooding got worse by the second and major roads like St. Charles were impassible in spots. We weaved through neighborhoods because it was truly scary and we had no choice. People were already on their porches screaming at the few vehicles that were moving because the wakes we caused were flooding their first floor. Little did any of us know at the time that it was all hopeless. My door seals held perfectly even when we hit so much water that the headlights were submerged. Relieved to get back, I spied a sloped and raised flowerbed at a neighbors house. I just turned and floored it to the top of it. All of my roommates cars were destroyed as were most others on the street. We literally had cars floating away. It was a sight to behold. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/18 "2008-05-16T18:18:15Z")
**NinetyWt** , You aren’t being boring. I’m finding this hijack fascinating–mostly because of your professional expertise. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/19 "2008-05-16T18:19:49Z")
I don’t know of a way to waterproof fabric that’s reversible or removable. One very effective product I’m aware of is liquid latex. Paint it onto fabric, let it dry, and the fabric is permanently rubberized. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-ways-of-water-proofing-your-clothes/449487/20 "2008-05-16T20:16:42Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] What is your job? [/quote] My little corner of geekery is Hydrology & Hydraulics. My favorite part of that is flood studies. I have my own civil engineering consulting firm (sole proprietor). > [@Shagnasty](#): > > Based on memory, I still say that the rainfall wasn’t evenly distributed over twelve hours. I believe that the Wiki article confirms this. Good thing for your memory you waited until _after_ to drink beer! Thanks for the compliment **Eureka**.