


It’s also not surprising that the products labeled as water-resistant, water-repellent, or waterproof are often misrepresented due to incorrect labeling. With all the controversy surrounding the correct use and end results associated with these terms, it’s no wonder that many people use them incorrectly. This is because the term waterproof usually communicates the idea that this is a permanent condition, and that whatever has been ‘waterproofed’ will never fail due to contact with water–no matter the situation. Using the term waterproof can also be considered a risky move for many companies. Still, devices exposed to “waterproofing” can face water damage in certain situations. Still, our coatings help you protect your electronic devices from water damage.Ĭompanies take a measured risk when labeling a product as waterproof. Most consumers assume that waterproof is a permanent condition. HZO’s services have a different intention than the effect the IP scale can measure. Obviously, there is one major flaw in this rating system: What about companies, like us here at HZO who are not concerned about keeping water out of a device in order to save it from water damage? Our coatings allow water inside devices, but the waterproof material we coat the devices with protects them from any possibility of water damage.
Different water resistant and waterroof code#
The IP Code assigns items a rating from 0-8 in terms of how effective the device is at keeping water from entering into it, a process called the ingress of water. The closest thing currently available, as far as a rating scale is concerned, is the Ingress Protection Rating scale ( or IP Code). What Does Waterproof Mean?ĭefining “waterproof” is simple, but the concept is more complicated. Currently, there is no established industry standard to classify a device as waterproof. Many companies claim water-repellency, but the term is heavily debated because a durable water repellent is rare and because of all the questions and unpredictable elements associated with it. Most have thin-film nanotechnology, which can coat the inside and outside of an electronic device. Water-repellent coatings are the next step up from water-resistant coatings. Devices labeled as water-repellent have properties that repel water from them, which makes them hydrophobic. Water-repellent devices have a better chance of surviving a watery encounter. If a device is labeled as water-resistant it means that the device’s construction makes it more difficult for water to get inside of it, or possibly that it is coated with a very light substance that helps improve the device’s chances of surviving an encounter with water. Water-resistant qualities are great for products such as watches because they help those products withstand light rain or washing your hands. Water-resistant is the lowest level of water protection of the three. Water-repellent: not easily penetrated by water, especially as a result of being treated for such a purpose with a surface coating.Water-resistant: able to resist the penetration of water to some degree but not entirely.The big question is: What’s the difference? There are a lot of articles written on this topic, but we figured we would throw in our two-cents as well and take a closer look at the differences between all three terms, with a specific focus on the world of devices.įirst of all, let’s start with some quick dictionary definitions of waterproof, water-resistant, and water-repellent, as given by the Oxford English Dictionary: We all see references to waterproof devices, water-resistant devices and water-repellant devices being thrown around on electronic products.
