Most of us have at least one bottle of waterproofing spray in their shoe closet that they can use on their leather and suede, but now thanks to advancements in nanotechnology there’s a waterproof spray for any material, even your cotton blouse.

Nanex is a Canadian developer of a new water repellent technology called superhydrophobic coatings. The company is based in Montreal Canada, so maybe the harsh winters and heavy rainy seasons had something to do with the creation of a waterproofing spray this powerful.

Nanex’s AuqaShield water repellent coating doesn’t just waterproof your clothing, it scares water away, which is why they call the science superhydrophobic. In the past the biggest issue in waterproofing was the obvious fact that a waterproof coating will also make material less breathable, turning your cotton blouse into the equivalent of wearing a garbage bag. According to Nanex, AquaShield doesn’t diminish the breathability of fabric in any way. Better yet, the waterproof coating is 100% transparent and you can’t even feel it.

So how is this possible? The AquaShield spray contains billions of nano-sized particles that latch onto fibres in any fabric on a molecular level. Once their there they’ll last for two years creating what’s called a superhydrophobic surface, a surface also found in nature on insects and the leaves of trees.

Surely this must be difficult to use or have health concerns, but Nanex states that these waterproofing technologies are also eco-friendly and non-toxic, in fact most of what’s in a bottle of AquaShield water repellent spray is actually water and the nanoparticles are just an organic compound. What makes the surface waterproof and superhydrophobic is the shape of the particles, which are carved into shape by specialized nano engineering labs. As for application, the instructions for use are simply spray on the waterproofing formula and let sit to dry.

On their website Nanex demonstrates through video their AquaShield superhydrophobic technologies on materials ranging from cotton to cement, and of course leather. In one video mud is shown bouncing off a cement wall, while in another a full glass of red wine is poured onto what looks like a regular cotton shirt and is then cleaned off with just a simple dry paper towel leaving no residue or stains.

I would be hard to argue that superhydrophobic water repellent sprays are the way of the future as even now they are arguably the best waterproofing technology out there.