Since the introduction of synthetic materials, there are tons of plastic-based fabrics on the market. One of these is nylon, also called polyamide, which is commonly used in athletic wear, winter jackets, and more.
So, is polyamide waterproof? Yes, polyamide fabric is considered a waterproof material. It can withstand and repel higher amounts of water compared to other materials such as cotton fabric.
While polyamide is used to create nylon fabric, it’s also a material used in many other products on the market such as kitchen utensils and surgical implants. Let’s dive further into the world of polyamide.
What Is Polyamide?
Polyamide is a synthetic material with a plastic base. Polyamide is a broad term that refers to a whole group of materials with the same basic molecular structure.
Polyamide can be run through several chemical and scientific processes to create various products, such as cloth. This polyamide cloth material is called nylon.
So, while nylon is a polyamide, not all polyamide is nylon. Nylon is a popular synthetic fabric that ranks up there with polyester. It works well for athletic wear and winter jackets because of its waterproof properties.
Not only is it waterproof, but it’s also smooth and flexible. The smooth texture of the fabric along with its flexibility are two of the things that make it great for athletic wear.
Unfortunately, nylon isn’t very breathable and isn’t heat resistant, so these are two drawbacks to using it for athletic wear.
It still works great for winter jackets, though. Especially considering it’s usually used as the outer layer while the inner layer gets a softer, warmer fabric like Sherpa.
To learn more about polyamide, watch the video below from FittDesign Studio.
Waterproof Vs. Water-Resistant
Before we talk about the details of polyamide and its waterproof properties, it’s important to understand the difference between waterproof and water-resistant.
Waterproof materials are considered to tolerate high levels of moisture. This means that if you wear a waterproof material out while it’s raining, the water will typically run off the material rather than absorbing into it.
Water-resistant materials can repel water to a certain extent, but only for a small amount of moisture. Once water-resistant materials have endured too much moisture, such as during a rainstorm, they start to absorb the water instead.
Waterproof fabrics, including nylon and other types of fabric, are typically used for winter gear.
The waterproof property helps them repel ice and snow, making them safer to wear while you play in the freezing cold temperatures without absorbing moisture.
This is why you can lay in the snow to make a snow angel without becoming soaking wet.
Water-resistant materials can’t take nearly as much moisture. If you wore a water-resistant jacket to lay down in the snow and make a snow angel, you’d likely stand up with a soaking-wet jacket.
Is Polyamide Waterproof?
Yes, polyamide is considered a waterproof material. Whether it’s in the form of a fabric or other plastic material, polyamide is typically going to be waterproof.
The basic nature of the polyamide material is part of what gives it this waterproof property. When it’s been processed into the fabric material nylon, it becomes a waterproof fabric.
As we reviewed above, this means that nylon can withstand higher levels of moisture compared to other fabrics.
Is Polyamide A Good Material?
Yes, polyamide is a great material! Every fabric has its pros and cons, so when polyamide is turned into the fabric called nylon, it has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Some of the great things about nylon is that it’s waterproof, flexible, and soft. Nylon was originally intended to be a synthetic version of silk fabric, so it has a smooth, soft surface that feels nice to the touch.
It’s also flexible. Though not as elastic as spandex, it does have an elasticity that makes it comfortable to wear. This elasticity is one of the reasons why it’s used a lot in athletic wear and swimwear.
And of course, as we’ve mentioned, it’s a waterproof fabric that can withstand higher levels of moisture than most other fabrics.
On the other hand, nylon doesn’t have great breathability. This can take away a little bit from its use in athletic wear, since most athletic wear is targeted to have higher breathability.
It also doesn’t have great heat resistance, so if you need to go for a run in high temperatures, you may want to choose a different fabric for your athletic wear.
Overall, it’s a great material to use when it’s used for the right projects.
Is Polyamide A Cheap Fabric?
In general, synthetic fabrics tend to run cheaper when compared to natural fabrics.
Natural fabrics like cotton or silk require much more difficult processing. Rather than just creating the material in the manufacturing plant, the base material has to be harvested.
This means harvesting thousands of cotton plants or harvesting the silk from thousands of silkworms. The process for harvesting silk is a long, involved process in and of itself, so adding subsequent manufacturing to turn it into a fabric is a lot of work.
Synthetic fabrics can instead just be created in the lab, plant, or warehouse where the fabric is created. They’re man-made fabrics even down to the base materials.
Since synthetic fabrics are easier to produce, they’re typically cheaper to purchase. While nylon is usually cheaper than silk, that doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest fabric on the market.
Nylon can still run more expensive than other synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, since it has some great qualities like its smoothness and elasticity.
What Projects Are Polyamide Best For?
At this point, we’ve mentioned a few projects and products that polyamide is great for, but let’s dive deeper into those details. The ones we’ve already mentioned are athletic wear, winter jackets, and swimwear.
Athletic wear is generally made with synthetic fabrics, nylon being one of them. Although it doesn’t have great breathability, it’s smooth and flexible, making it a great option anyway.
It works well for winter jackets because of how well it repels and can withstand moisture, so it can reduce the amount of snow, sleet, ice, or cold winter rain that may soak into the material and affect the person wearing it.
Of course, being a waterproof material that’s also smooth and flexible, it makes sense that it would be used in swimwear. These are all qualities that we’ve come to expect from our swimsuits.
Aside from these things, nylon is also used in rugs, tents, and car interiors. These are some other fabric products that can benefit greatly from nylon’s waterproof, flexible, soft qualities.
Rugs and car interiors can endure a lot of spills or have rainwater tracked on them.
Tents are designed to be temporary outdoor shelters that can protect you from the elements, so the waterproof quality of polyamide is highly important here.
Remember, though, that nylon is a polyamide, but not all polyamide is nylon. Polyamide can also be used to make kitchen utensils, strings for tennis rackets or fishing, and even surgical implants.
These products aren’t cloth, but rather other materials that are made with the polyamide molecular structure.
How Do You Wash Polyamide?
Every fabric has its own set of washing instructions. Although most people tend to throw all their laundry together and run it on a normal cycle, some fabrics require more specific care than that.
Nylon is one of those fabrics. To properly wash the polyamide fabric, nylon, it’s best to wash it with cold water. Hot or warm water can cause the fabric to shrink, so it’s best to use cold water when washing nylon.
It’s also best to run it on a gentle cycle to avoid pulling and stretching the material too much. Since nylon has natural elasticity, it can get caught and stretched around the agitator in a washing machine.
You can also hand wash nylon with cold water. Hand washing is a good way to guarantee you won’t stretch or pull the fabric. After washing, it’s important to allow nylon to air dry. You can hang it to dry or lay it flat.
You wouldn’t want to put nylon in the dryer for the same reason you wouldn’t want to wash it with hot water: it can’t take heat.
Nylon will shrink if it’s exposed to heat, so it’s best to let it air dry or hang dry. This will not only help it keep its size, but also its shape.
Leaving nylon to dry flat helps it to retain its shape, as opposed to it getting pulled and stretched in the dryer. Nylon cannot be dry cleaned, so make sure you wash it on cold and leave it to hang dry at home.
If you’re worried about polyamide on other surfaces such as your rugs or car interiors, then spot treating is the best method for washing.
Use a small amount of water and mild detergent to spot clean as necessary. Allow it to air dry once you’re done with the spot treatment.
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