I clean mine after every dive with fresh water... Then hang to dry on a shower bar over my bath tub
How do you clean your equipment?
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*chuckle* at least I now know that I'm not the only one that has to wrestle with drying equipment hanging into the bathtub to take a shower.
It is better to soak all the stuff inside warm water about an hour since warm water (30-35 C) will dissolve the salt sticked on neoprene.
Also store the BC slightly inflated after washing inside.
To push the purge button several times while 1st stage is connected to the opened tank inside fresh water is a good idea to clean up the regulator.
If no fresh water available at the boat or dive site never dry out the gear with salty water. Keep them wet inside a nylon bag until you get back to home. Salty water does not damage neoprene but salt crystal does.
sinan
PADI AOW
Also store the BC slightly inflated after washing inside.
To push the purge button several times while 1st stage is connected to the opened tank inside fresh water is a good idea to clean up the regulator.
If no fresh water available at the boat or dive site never dry out the gear with salty water. Keep them wet inside a nylon bag until you get back to home. Salty water does not damage neoprene but salt crystal does.
sinan
PADI AOW
MissAmberDiva
Guest
After a vacation my suits and booties would smell like mildew. They would really start stinking...so when I get home I usually run them through the washer. I know you're probably not supposed to do that, but it helps and my stuff hasn't tore up yet.
dgangi
Contributor
I'm a stickler for taking care of all of my possessions, so I'm probably a little more anal than many are when it comes to cleaning their gear.
Anyway, I rinse my gear with fresh water after every day of diving. I have quite a routine, but it seems to keep everything clean:
Regulator (assuming it is off the tank): let the 2nd stage and octopus soak in fresh water while you clean the rest of your gear. If there is a hose or spigot, run some fresh water through the openings of the regulator after it has had a chance to soak. DO NOT press the purge button as you will get water inside the 1st stage - very bad!
Wetsuit/boots (neoprene): I let these soak in clean water as long as possible. The more ocean gunk is left in them, the worse they smell by the end of a dive trip. I soak them rightside-out first and then turn them inside-out to soak a little longer. While they soak, I squish water through the neoprene by gently massaging the wetsuit. I hang the wetsuit to drip-dry afterwards -- otherwise it gets musty smelling.
Fins/mask/snorkle (all "plastic): this just gets a good dunking in the clean water tank.
BC: I take everything off the BC and dunk it in the water tank a number of times. Then I let it soak for a few minutes. If there is a hose or spigot, I put some fresh water into the inflator hose, blow some air into the bladder, rotate the BC a few times, and then hang it upside down and drain the water out of the inflator hose. This gets most of the saltwater out of the bladder.
Then when I get home, I clean everything really well. The neoprene goes into the washing machine on gentle/soak cycle with some Woolite. If they smell really bad then I put them into the bathtub afterwards with some "Sink the Stink". The BC gets a good soaking in the bathtub as does the the rest of my dive gear. The regulator soaks in the sink for an hour or two, followed by a gentle rinsing with the faucet (remember, DON'T press the purge button). Then I lay all of my dive gear on a towel inside the house to dry. The wetsuit and BC both go on a hanger to dry overnight on the back porch. Just make sure you leave a little air in the BC or the bladder can stick.
All of my dive gear gets stored inside the house. I live in Arizona and storing anything plastic in the garage spells trouble. Extreme temperatures are bad for a lot of materials, so the heat/cold in the garage can damage your dive gear very quickly. Over the course of a few years, plastic can lose its elasticity and become brittle, faded, or cracked. Neoprene can dry out. If there is any way to keep your dive gear inside (and away from the heat, cold, and humidity), it is best to do so. And never fold your wetsuit for storage -- it will permanently crease.
See, I told you I was anal.
Thx...Doug
Anyway, I rinse my gear with fresh water after every day of diving. I have quite a routine, but it seems to keep everything clean:
Regulator (assuming it is off the tank): let the 2nd stage and octopus soak in fresh water while you clean the rest of your gear. If there is a hose or spigot, run some fresh water through the openings of the regulator after it has had a chance to soak. DO NOT press the purge button as you will get water inside the 1st stage - very bad!
Wetsuit/boots (neoprene): I let these soak in clean water as long as possible. The more ocean gunk is left in them, the worse they smell by the end of a dive trip. I soak them rightside-out first and then turn them inside-out to soak a little longer. While they soak, I squish water through the neoprene by gently massaging the wetsuit. I hang the wetsuit to drip-dry afterwards -- otherwise it gets musty smelling.
Fins/mask/snorkle (all "plastic): this just gets a good dunking in the clean water tank.
BC: I take everything off the BC and dunk it in the water tank a number of times. Then I let it soak for a few minutes. If there is a hose or spigot, I put some fresh water into the inflator hose, blow some air into the bladder, rotate the BC a few times, and then hang it upside down and drain the water out of the inflator hose. This gets most of the saltwater out of the bladder.
Then when I get home, I clean everything really well. The neoprene goes into the washing machine on gentle/soak cycle with some Woolite. If they smell really bad then I put them into the bathtub afterwards with some "Sink the Stink". The BC gets a good soaking in the bathtub as does the the rest of my dive gear. The regulator soaks in the sink for an hour or two, followed by a gentle rinsing with the faucet (remember, DON'T press the purge button). Then I lay all of my dive gear on a towel inside the house to dry. The wetsuit and BC both go on a hanger to dry overnight on the back porch. Just make sure you leave a little air in the BC or the bladder can stick.
All of my dive gear gets stored inside the house. I live in Arizona and storing anything plastic in the garage spells trouble. Extreme temperatures are bad for a lot of materials, so the heat/cold in the garage can damage your dive gear very quickly. Over the course of a few years, plastic can lose its elasticity and become brittle, faded, or cracked. Neoprene can dry out. If there is any way to keep your dive gear inside (and away from the heat, cold, and humidity), it is best to do so. And never fold your wetsuit for storage -- it will permanently crease.
See, I told you I was anal.
Thx...Doug
catgirldiver
Registered
As we all know Scuba equipment is expensive and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I have found that cleaning equipment can be a very tedious and time consuming job. ;-0 I need some tips and short cuts on:
How do you clean your equipment after a salt water dive?
Thanks,
Angie
How do you clean your equipment after a salt water dive?
Thanks,
Angie
We put the whole rig in a dunk tank full of fresh water... with the regulator(s) pressurized and let it soak for a while as we rinse off things like fins and drysuit with the hose. Every so often we give the drysuits a soak too... and then rinse them inside as well.
leadweight
Contributor
Use hot water to get the salt off. Usually I am traveling so everything goes in the shower. If possible something is used to bllock the drain to create a shallow tub. The wetsuit goes in last with ordinary shampoo. I don't do this every day, just on the last day of a multi day trip. On a dialy basis things get hosed off
RICHinNC
Contributor
If i am staying at a hotel or something like that i will def shower it off very well. The little items dont take all that long.....the bcd and suits are the time killers. Usually I let the lady take her shower then ....even after rinsing the gear...i take the bcd and suit and let them soak in a tub while we go out to eat....then rinse them off again when we get back ...hang and let drip.
on a dive i will take a squirt top water bottle and squirt my cameras....mask....reg mouth pieces...between dives....
yes there are usually dip buckets on the boat but after the first dip it is polluted water and with each person using it...more and more polluted.
Remember to clean out the inside of the bcd and store it about 1/2 inflated. And, let everything be truely dry before you fold it up and store it....avoid folding at all if you can. If you have a slap strap on your mask...let it dry completely before putting in a plastic case and shutting
on a dive i will take a squirt top water bottle and squirt my cameras....mask....reg mouth pieces...between dives....
yes there are usually dip buckets on the boat but after the first dip it is polluted water and with each person using it...more and more polluted.
Remember to clean out the inside of the bcd and store it about 1/2 inflated. And, let everything be truely dry before you fold it up and store it....avoid folding at all if you can. If you have a slap strap on your mask...let it dry completely before putting in a plastic case and shutting
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