Weathering
Understanding New Canvas
Brand new yurt covers may leak. This might seem odd as the material is proofed for water at the factory but the material has to go through a process known as "weathering in". The leakage is, in general, hardly noticeable.
It goes like this when the canvas gets wet the fibres expand and fill the gaps in the fresh dry weave of the fabric. All canvas is like this. As the fibres expand and as the gaps shrink the canvas becomes waterproof. The more expansion the smaller the gaps in between the fibres and the more watertight the canvas becomes. All this can take some time.
The seams which are double stitched also need to weather in. The needle punches small holes in the canvas and these holes also get filled by the double action of the cotton thread expanding and the weave of the canvas expanding.
The canvas usually weather's faster than the seams. After a couple of heavy soakings (and dryings) the canvas should be fully watertight. The seams can take a bit more time as the holes are slightly bigger than the thread so more expansion has to take place.
It is not enough for the canvas just to get a good soaking. It needs to completely dry too. So one soaking is not usually enough, it needs to be absolutely dry and then another soaking then to dry again.
If you new canvas has some small leaks then this is almost certainly why and most of the time this will go unnoticed and after two or three wettings the canvas is completely weathered in and waterproof.
In the rare event when too many drops are coming in then spray the canvas with
Nikwax Tent and Gear Proof. Follow the instructions on the bottle and this will immediately slow the leaking to a standstill. This product is best applied on to wet canvas so there is no need to wait for a dry day.