DEET damage?

[happydensity]

I'd seen a couple recent comments stating that DEET damages the nylon/fabric we use for our gear. Is this so?

[Shug]

DEET melts varnish...so....maybe not good for fabric.
Used DEET at bluegrass festivals and it being on me ate the finish off my mandolin neck.
Shug

[Otter1]

It can dissolve &/or screw up certain synthetic fabrics and even plastics. I have an old waterproof (well, resistant) diving watch that has a plastic face and a deet spray accident made it nearly unreadable.

[JustinHEMI]

I'd seen a couple recent comments stating that DEET damages the nylon/fabric we use for our gear. Is this so?

Yes, and it destroyed the screen of my touch screen GPS.

I now use picaridin.

[Dos]

if you use a Bear Canister, notice the warning ON the canister itself regarding DEET.
(paraphrasing 'cuz I sold mine) "Do not let canister come in contact with DEET."

[zukiguy]

I watched a friend put some "Bens 100" on his hands, rub it into his skin, then grab a canoe paddle. It melted the varnish and glued the paddle to his hand. He had to peel his fingers off and it left the perfect print of each finger in the finish.

Another backpacking buddy had a bottle of repellent pop open in the outside pocket of his osprey pack. It dissolved the adhesive and the entire stretchy panel of the pocket de-laminated.

That's all I can think of at the moment but I've probably ruined something else with bug spray. So...NO, you don't want to get it on any synthetic fabric/material you care about. Deet-based repellent is basically the active ingredient in a solvent that will dissolve a surprising array of materials. I often wonder what that could be doing to me but at the same time the nasty diseases that mosquitoes can carry often outweigh that concern. YMMV....

[OutandBack]

I spray (pump not aerosol) on my clothing (wrists cuffs neck and hat). I don't get it around my electronics. I have dedicated sleeping cloth and do not spray my hammock or hammock kit. I have had no insodents and truely love the stuff. It has always worked where others have failed.

[Grumpy Squatch]

DEET will dissolve some plastics and "varnish" finishes. It is generally safe on nylon, cotton, polypropylene, and wool. I have never noticed any harm to any of my clothes from even Ben's 100. It is brutal and will quickly dissolve plastics including PVC (which most digital watches are made from), acetates, rayon, and many waterproof/breatheable laminate fabrics, though not Gore-Tex because the Teflon material Gore-Tex is made from is very resistant to most chemicals.

I found this manufacturer's warning posted in a forum somewhere and used it in other posts. Don't remember the original source anymore.

DEET will damage plastic materials, so do not apply DEET formulations on or near plastics, acetate, rayon, Spandex, synthetic fabrics (other than nylon), furniture finishes, leather, watch crystals, and painted or varnished surfaces. Plastic glass frames and goggles should be protected from DEET applications. Car finishes and interiors also may be damaged by DEET. It will not damage nylon, cotton, or wool
fabrics.

[somniferous]

I've had a few pair of sunglasses get hazy when I used to use DEET. I've since switched over to picaridin. It works well, but not as well as 100% DEET. Not worrying about things getting destroyed is worth it though.

[SkyPainter]

===> No fabric damages (that I know of yet), but DEET did trash a lensatic compass lens while in deep woods NH. Needed it tho'...skeeters had landing numbers under their wings there!!

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