Waterproofing Fabrics and Textiles
By HygraTek Staff
If you want your feet to stay dry, you wear rubber. But, rubber doesn’t really breathe and eventually your feet will wind up hot and sticky. Still, rubber’s waterproofing attributes are well-known. Now imagine trying to waterproof other sorts of fabrics and textiles. Rubber doesn’t always work, especially if you’re trying to stay comfortable.
But what if there was a coating that was incredibly durable, completely stain-resistant, breathable and water-repellant? HygraTek’s hydrophobic coatings are simple to apply and change the economics and opportunities for making all sorts of clothing, including shoes, jackets, military equipment, baby clothes (no more stains!), and carpets, as well as products from other types of fabrics and textiles, according to company co-founder and CTO Anish Tuteja.
“We treated all sorts of fabrics and textiles with HygraTek coatings and we watched all sorts of liquids roll off. Everything from chocolate syrup, wine, beer, and various oils just rolled off the treated fabrics and textiles,” Tuteja noted. “The fact is, we’re just getting absolutely incredible results.”
Company co-founder and chairman, Michael Gurin, noted that the portfolio of coatings range from superomniphobic (repelling everything) to icephobic (ultra-low ice adhesion) can be applied to building materials as well.
“You could spray the coating on tents, sails or umbrellas to make them completely waterproof. You could apply it to solar cells, automobile bodies and high-rise windows for easy-clean (or in some cases self-cleaning) surfaces. Ice would just slide off a windshield, wind turbine or airplane wings treated with HygraTek’s coating.”
Watch the video to see how all sorts of liquids, from syrup to wine to oils roll off fabrics and textiles treated with HygraTek’s coating.
HygraTek® is currently developing the next generation of cost-effective and energy-efficient liquid separation solutions combined with a patent-pending membrane technology.