Camping: Waterproofing Tent

Hi!

Part of me laughs everytime I hear this: "known to cause cancer in the state of California". I work with paints, spray paints, and many toxic and non-toxic chemicals daily.
The "known to cause cancer in the state of California" appears on 90% of things, including latex water based wall paint for interiors.

As most VOC's go, you don't want to use it indoors with all the windows closed.
Go ahead and use it outdoors (well ventilated). Don't huff it or let your kids smell it directly out of the can or seam.

Once it has aired out it will be fine.

Hope that helps!

As far as I remember you only need to worry about the fumes when you put it on. By the time it dries thouroughly it should be fine.

Yes you must waterproof the seams of a tent. We used a liquid and applied with a brush, not a spray. We did not know that this had to be done before using and our tent did leak. Fortunately it was not just the seams, but the bottom as well so we ended up with a new tent from the mfg. in Burlington, NY in the middle of our vacation with 3 boys 6, 3, and 1 yo. FYI: If you use a ground cloth, do not let it stick past the bottom of the tent or you will indeed have a wet tent.

It used to be that, if you set up a tent in your yard and soaked it down, allowing it to dry thoroughly in the sun, that the seams would shrink to waterproof them. Not sure with newer materials. I used waterproofing spray and carried a wax waterproofing stick when we camped for years with our kids. Any new tent needs some help in this area, but I don't know about the toxins. It's always good to leave a vent open in a tent anyway for air to circulate through, so I'd do that in any case.

Oh, wow.
What would we do without the new fangled things in the world?

I have camped EVERY year of my life and here are some things I learned over the last 30 yrs... :-)
Tarps are a campers best friend. Put one UNDER the tent. Fold in the ends so that none of it sticks out from under the tent. Then put one OVER the tent and stake it so that it is not dumping water right at your tent... Try about 6 inches away. We always size our tarp to go to the ground on 3 sides and use expandable poles to hold up the 4 the side to make an awning. At night or on windy days you can tie the 4th side down and help keep the tarp from blowing off.

Rain flys are a scam....
NO CLOTH WILL BE TOTALLY WATERPROOF... Even treated.
If you trust that the "waterproof" cloth will hold up to a blowing rain you will get wet. It may work for a gentle short burst of rain... But not so much on the driving or prolonged rain. Your best bet is to tarp...

Buy the plastic stakes. They hold in the ground better than the metal ones that a toddler can pull out. One wind and bye bye tent....

Take a bathmat or door mat and put it right inside your tent door. Put the shoes on it IMMEDIATELY as you step in the door. A friend of ours in MO was camping and left their shoes outside... The 8 yr old found a black widow in his shoe. Thankfully he saw it and recognized it BEFORE putting his shoe on. (Yes, they put it in a jar and showed EVERYONE at the camp ground)

Good luck and I do hope that what ever you do keeps you dry... :-)

I have waterproofed many tents in my life (well since I turned 18 to many years ago). All the cans say that. However, it doesn't happen from one use - if you take precautions. If you can, put the tent up in your backyard (make sure the material is stretched tight) before you go and spray all your seams (inside and out) and leave the tent up for at minimum a couple hours without going into it before you take it down. If you can't put it up before you go, then put it up on the campsite, spray it, and then find something to do for a little while before you start going in and out to move your camping gear in. Really what your waiting for is for the fumes to dissipate before spending any prolonged period of time in it. Then, as long as the boys don't lick the side of the tent you'll be fine.

The state of California has much stricter rules regarding warnings on products than any other state. I wouldn't be surprised if they said H20 causes cancer. I honestly think you'll be fine. Especially if you let it air out well. It's not like you're going to have the kids breathing in the fumes right after you spray it on.

To keep extra waterproof, make sure nothing is touching the sides of the tent (like your sleeping bag). That is what usually caused leaks in my backpacking days. Also, use a footprint or tarp under the tent to keep water from coming through the floor. You might want to look up online about best ways to keep a tent from leaking. There is nothing more miserable than sleeping in a wet tent!

Have fun. Wish I was going.

How often do you use the tent? I mean is it worth it? Duct tape might do the trick just as well without the health risks and it's cheaper too. And most tents come with an overhead thing should it rain. I would just set it up on higher ground so you avoid sleeping in water if it rains, and putting the cover on so it doesn't drip all over you. Seams, again try duct tape.