Care for a new dry suit?

[drkwing]

I just got a new shell suit and last night was my first pool session. After getting out of the pool i rinsed all of my gear briefly with warm water in the shower, and then dunked it again in the bathtub whan I got home. I turned it inside out and hung it up to dry. Like I said, this is my first time getting the suit wet, so I am wondering if there are any tricks/secrets to drying/cleaning/storing a dry suit after use. Any advice would be really helpful, thanks alot,
-Dan

 

[Tamas]

Well besides the usual waxing of the zipper(s) make sure that the seals are also powdered (if latex)....other than that I cannot think of any other special care takign that they would need.

BTW: nasty sig man! ouch!

 

[OE2X]

1. It likes going on dives at least a few times a week

You are on to it. Make sure that you don't zip up the zipper when storing it. Also don't use any silicone based substance to help get the wrist and neck seals on. Once my suit gets dry I roll it up and store it in its bag and not hang it on the hanger. If you follow rule number one, it may not even have to be stored!

 

[Dryglove]

After using your drysuit, wash and clean the latex seals with a mild soap such as baby shampoo and talc them up really good before storage. Oils from your skin cause accelerated wear of the latex seals. Keep the zipper clean and well lubricated and store with the zipper open as stated in the above post. Keep the suit stored in a bag and keep out of direct sunlight. Do not store in the garage(fumes) or near a heater inside the house.

 

[scubagirl15]

When you wax your zipper, wax it on the inside teeth, not the outside. Plus a little gob of wax on the ends of the zipper on the outside. Once it's waxed, give the zipper a couple of pull-throughs.

This is advice coming from Whites. What do I know? I thought and apparently so did many others that you wax the outside not the inside of the zipper. Go figure!

 

[Dryglove]

When you wax your zipper, wax it on the inside teeth, not the outside. Plus a little gob of wax on the ends of the zipper on the outside. Once it's waxed, give the zipper a couple of pull-throughs.

This is advice coming from Whites. What do I know? I thought and apparently so did many others that you wax the outside not the inside of the zipper. Go figure!

Thats odd. I emailed YKK a few years ago asking about drysuit zipper care. They told me to only apply hard wax to the outside of the zipper and liquid wax to the inside. They even sent me a nifty kit containing a hard wax stick and liquid wax bottle for free.

 

[seabat]

Why did you turn it inside out to let it dry?

The only time I have turned my dry suit inside out to dry is when I wash the inside.

 

[scubagirl15]

Thats odd. I emailed YKK a few years ago asking about drysuit zipper care. They told me to only apply hard wax to the outside of the zipper and liquid wax to the inside. They even sent me a nifty kit containing a hard wax stick and liquid wax bottle for free.

Interesting: thanks for note. This calls for further investigation. Whites also recently switched their supplied wax from the softer stuff in the twist tube to the hard wax in a little jar.

Maybe I should email YKK and get myself some free liquid wax!

 

[scubagirl15]

Why did you turn it inside out to let it dry?

The only time I have turned my dry suit inside out to dry is when I wash the inside.

Dunno 'bout you, but the inside of my dry suit stinks after two dives in the summer!

 

[Tamas]

When you wax your zipper, wax it on the inside teeth, not the outside. Plus a little gob of wax on the ends of the zipper on the outside. Once it's waxed, give the zipper a couple of pull-throughs.

This is advice coming from Whites. What do I know? I thought and apparently so did many others that you wax the outside not the inside of the zipper. Go figure!

Well that would be because the inside of the zipper is where the actual contact is made with the two surfaces, thus it needs wax for that "perfect" seal, the outside of the zipper is waxed so that the train can slide easier on the surface.
The glob is good on the ends to prevent water from leaking into the slight tiny openings left my the mating and the train.

You almost got it Andrea....better luck next time!