Scuba Mask Maintainence?

[hqduong]

I know you're suppose to rinse all your equipment with freshwater after every use, that's been drilled in my head. But is there anything I need to do to keep the scuba mask and it's strap supple? I don't want it cracking on me a year down the line. I bought a liquid image scuba mask and like to keep the mask skirt supple as possible.

 

[Bubbletrubble]

I don't do anything special when it comes to mask maintenance. I dunk it in fresh water after all my dives. It dries. I then store it in a plastic box with the rest of my gear.

Buy a comfy neoprene replacement mask strap (anchored by velcro) and keep it in your save-a-dive kit or replace the original even before it breaks. Dive Gear Express sells a nice slap strap for $10.

 

[lmorin]

Your mask will be covered with proteins from your skin and from the ocean water. These will be embedded in oils from your skin or in sunscreen, etc. and will not rinse easily. There's no real problem, but I have one word of advice: if you store your mask in a plastic box or anything air tight, make sure the mask is thoroughly dry before putting away. If it is not really, truly dry, you run a high risk of growing a fungus colony on those proteins. It happened to my wife's prescription mask. I had to kill the colony with bleach, then get rid of the residue with hydrogen peroxide. The mold grows in any crease or corner where there might be enough moisture to sustain it. In my wife's mask, that meant the mold grew in the tight spaces all around the edges of her lenses, places into which I couldn't even stick the end of a toothpick. Dry before storing in that cool, dark location.

 

[Charlie99]

My only tip on mask maintenance is to smear the lens with Johnson and Johnson baby shampoo when you pack it away.

I've never had fogging problems when the mask started the dive with a slight film of dried shampoo on it.

 

[jbubbles]

clean with warm soapy water, let it drip dry completely. keep in mask box and in the house not the garage...

 

[redacted]

When I am getting ready for a dive, I remove my mask from the foot pocket of one of my fins, spit & rinse, and dive. After the dive I stick it back in the fin foot pocket.

 

[DiverLS]

Yep AWAP - me too. Both of them. (both masks, one for each fin pocket)

 

[Lee Taylor]

I wash mine with soap and water, let dry throughly, then cover with a food grade spray silicon. I store it for the winter in an open ended neoprene mask pouch. I need a new mask every 3 years for one reason or another. They DO wear out just like most everything.

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I'm using some oily stuff called seal saver to protect the latex seals on my drysuit. Does anyone have experience with that on mask skirts?

 

[AbyssalPlains]

I wash mine with soap and water, let dry throughly, then cover with a food grade spray silicon. I store it for the winter in an open ended neoprene mask pouch. I need a new mask every 3 years for one reason or another. They DO wear out just like most everything.

Hmm, I wonder if the silicone spraying makes a difference then I get about 3 years of use out of a mask without doing anything. That was the case as long as I used clear skirt masks. I have since switched to black silicone masks and they seem to outlast clear silicone by quite a bit. I have yet to replace one of my black masks.