- How pioneers stayed dry in the rain: part two.

A blog post a few weeks ago with some 1896 DIY instructions explaining how pioneers stayed dry in the rain, got a lot of interest.  The instructions in the Home Mechanic's book were for waterproofing boots and shoes, and could have been applied to clothes as well.

But as I worked my way though this great book, posting its chapters online, I came across further instructions explaining how the French Army waterproofed their tunics during the Crimean War.

It shows that the pioneers, settlers and soldiers of the 1800's were concerned with the same issue that we are today....  finding a way to make clothing that is waterproof, but also breathable.  Get in line Gore-tex, these guys did it first.

Unfortunately the solution to their problem might have been as dangerous as the Tzar's bullets.

But the same instructions do offer a safer alternative.

The directions are as follow:

"Take 21/4 pounds of alum and dissolve this in 10 gallons of boiling water; then in a separate vessel dissolve the same quantity of sugar of lead in 10 gallons of water, and mix the two solutions.  The cloth is now well handled in this liquid, until every part of it is penetrated; then it is squeezed and dried in the air...then washed in cold water and dried again, when it is fit for use.  If necessary, the cloth may be dipped in the liquid and dried twice before being washed."

The instruction go on to add that this mixture also renders the cloth partially non-flammable.

Sugar of lead, or lead acetate, is historically infamous. The Romans and Egyptians used it to sweeten their wine and it was a common food sweetener till last century.  But as we all know, lead is quite toxic if it's ingested.

In this context it's probably not so dangerous to have lead acetate soaked into your clothing.  It's a major component of Grecian Formula after all.

But once the sugar of lead has mixed with the alum in this brew it forms lead sulphate, the white powder on the terminals of your car battery.  This stuff is about as toxic as lead can get.and you definitely don't want it against your skin.

Luckily the same instructions tell us that using the alum alone will also work, but not as well.  Alum is quite safe.  It's even used today to purify drinking water.  But alum is water soluble so it will probably have to be reapplied to clothing more often.  Better than being caught in the rain...

The big chapter of colonial how-to and DIY these instructions come from can be downloaded for free at Pioneer Handbooks.

Even if you never expect to have to waterproof your clothing, you can still hit the Facebook Like button below and save this how-to from disappearing into history

It's easy enough to do and a good way to keep this knowledge alive.

Update:  The chemistry in this mixture was a little bit beyond me so I sought some advice.  This is from my friendly local Phd Chemist.  These instructions aren't as dangerous as they seem.

"Looks like it’s probably aluminum acetate that does the waterproofing

Lead sulphate is pretty well insoluble in water, so what will happen is you  take lead acetate (water soluble) and aluminum sulphate (alum, water soluble) and it will form a pretty well instant precipitate of lead sulphate (insoluble) leaving just aluminum acetate in solution. So you decant the aluminum acetate solution off leaving horribly toxic lead sulphate behind as a solid."

You then use the aluminum acetate for the waterproofing dip.  It's reasonably safe and is used as an antiseptic.  But be aware that the precursors to actually making the aluminum acetate - lead and more lead - are definitely not safe and need to be handled with care, or not at all.