How do you clean your gear?

[ChrisMSD]

I bought a blue tub from Wal Mart to rinse my gear in. It is smaller than a full size garbage can and a little bigger than your typical clothes basket. It has a wide mouth and ropes for handles. This is great for my gear.

ChrisMSD

 

[ChrisMSD]

Tienuts,
I pretty much do the same as you do. Regs are left in tepid water (in the bath on top of a big zip lock bag - the bag is to protect the bath in case the Mrs gets upset) for as long as I can not annoy the Mrs which is hard but just about possible. I rinse my hood/gloves DSMB,knife together in one session and then my regs overnight followed by drysuit and then backplate/wing and torch.

Once dry, I use silicon grease on my knife and talc the seals on my drysuit (once the suit has dried). Every couple of months or so I add a little silicon grease to my inflator and drysuit connectors.

For rust I normally dunk whatever has been affected into a warm solution of water and white vinegar (10% vinegar 90% water) and then wash thoroughly with cold water.

How long do you soak the knife in the warm water/ vinegar solution?

ChrisMSD

 

[texdiveguy]

I dive mainly 'fresh'water, so a garden hose is all that is needed after a dive trip.....big advantage over that salty stuff!!

 

[FishDiver]

I am starting an experiment with my neoprene gear. I NEVER wash it. I dive several times a week so I figure the salt residue is washed away with each dive and there is nothing to rust or break anyway.

 

[Hoosier]

I don't rinse my gear. I simply hang it up to dry. I do take the boots off my tanks and drain and hang my sausages. Freshwater diving rocks!

I did rinse religiously even after the fresh water diving. Otherwise, the lake, quarry, or pond smells all over the place inside car. In addition, there are a lot of bacteria build up from the fresh water, too.

 

[WarrenZ]

I wash after every trip (fresh or saltwater) I use either the bathtub which will usually need a good scrubbing after or a big plastic horse trough to rinse in. I soak everything really well for 12 to 24 hours and then use lots of fresh water to completely rinse everything sometimes changing water in the tank 3 to 4 times. I use sink the stink on the wetsuits and boots. Then let everything dry well before packing away sometimes it looks like the fall out of a dive shop explosion hanging from my balcony but it works.

 

[ScubaRev]

I set up two 30-gallon plastic garbage cans filled with water in the back or front yard (whichever needs the water most). Everything gets two dips and a rinse with the hose, then hang to dry. Here's the order:

1. regs - 2 quick dips; be sure to have the cap securely fastened
2. mask, fins, etc (I dry these in the bathtub)
3. BC - after 2 dips/rinse, put some water inside the bladder, mouth inflate a little air, shake and drain. Repeat.
4. neoprene - Add a cup of bleach to garbage can #1 (makes things smell better; kills the nasties). I do boots last, since they're usually covered with sand and grit.
5. Deep water the lawn.
6. Crack a beer and start the BBQ.

Total elapsed time: 15-20 minutes.

 

[Tienuts]

6. Crack a beer and start the BBQ.

The most important step.

 

[shellbackdiver1]

Is it different for gear that is in the Ocean 3-4 days a week?

I hose off my gear then put the reg, mask, computer and camera in a tub #1 of water. The rest of the gear goes into another tub #2. After cleaning the tub #2 gear I remove Tub #1 (probably soaked 5-8 minutes max) gear and hang. The camera then goes into the shower with me.

Once a week I take my gear home and soak for an hour in constant running warm water. No smell, no corrosion, no failure.

 

[kidspot]

I used to fill a rinse bucket, but now I just back my truck up to the cement slab in the yard, lay all the gear out and rinse with running water from the garden hose. I fill the inside of my BC with fresh water while working all valves/buttons etc. then unscrew the lower dump valve, empty all water and inflate halfway. For my regs, I rinse, remove the coverplates and diaphrams, rinse inside well and screw the cover back on. Once all gear has been rinsed I hang it on the tailgate to dry, then put it back inside, close it up and hope get back in the water within a few days again to repeat the process. I've been rinsing this way for the past 50 dives and can't tell any difference from using a rinse bucket, except that it's a lot quicker.

Occassionally when I'm "lazy" I'll just dip my gear in the LDS rinse bucket while dropping tanks off ... but that doesn't happen too often.

Aloha, Tim