Stupid question alert. Can you buy waterproofing spray?

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Me and DD want to go camping, we got all the stuff out of the cellar and then she reminded me of the Lake Como incident.
We were there last year with DH (who is currently in Thailand) and a huge thunder and lightening storm with torrential rain started. The tent was leaking.
Since we are planning to go to teh Dutch coast, there is more than a chance of rain so I'd like to try to spray the tent. I don't know if there is such a thing as water proof spray.
Help.

[PandaG]

yes, am sure you can - have certainly reproofed a gazebo, so I think you can reproof a tent

[ebbandflow]

Yes I have used it for reproofing cagoules (not sure on spelling) after washing them, got mine from Millets.

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Oooh, brilliant (and quick). Will go to Decathlon later on.

[AllThreeWays]

Yes you can here's some

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Brilliant. I don't want to order it, I think we may set off later on for Holland.
i imagine I can do it once the tent is up, or would that be really off?

[moonmother]

We are doing ours when we go on holiday in 2 weeks , well as long as it's not raining .

What we'll do is put the tent up when we get there and do it then before we put anything else in it.

It's the easiest time to do it for us, as our tent doesn't go up in our garden .

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

OK, I didn't know if I would be breaching any camping etiquette if I whipped my can out in the middle of the site.

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

Is it canvas? The general thinking is that there is no point in ever re-proofing a polyester tent, though a canvas one should be done every 2-3 years depending on use.

If it is polyester you may just need some seam sealant.

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Interesting, it is some sort of nylon material so proably polyester. I'll go to decathlon and see what they recommend.
The thing is, it's years old, we bought it in Dubai IIRC and it is so simple to put up. I wonder if the age of it is causing it to be weak. Around 9 years old.

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

The average life of that kind of tent (ie not canvas) is 6 months in full sun, after that the fabric starts to de-laminate, if that is the cause of your leaks (and it could well be) then I'm afraid it is just knackered and no amount of spray will fix it, sorry.

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

Six months [sock] six bloody months. Looks like I may have to buy the one out of Decathlon after all.
What are they like quality wise?

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

Sorry, if you only camped in the UK then a life time of six months in full sun would probably be about 50 years

Never bought a tent from Decathalon, you might be better starting a new thread.

Is there time to pitch the one you have outside and go over it with a hose? It may still just be the seams and that is pretty easy to fix.

[Slubberdegullion]

What Wildy said

although (as an aside)

I would never reproof a canvas tent until I had washed, scrubbed it with a stiff brush, dried and then retested it again with the hose first
[controversial]

[kreecherlivesupstairs]

There's the rub. We used it mainly in Oman and Dubai. Really strong sun.
I will start another thread about Decathlon tents. I don't want to end up wet.