What should I use to disinfect effectively my gear ?

[Lorenzoid]

Hi tbone and thanks for you answer. So what I do after a dive, is putting the whole regulator system into my bath tub and then I get the water hose and rinse it well. This includes aim inside the mouthpiece of the second stages of course without holding the exhaust button. Is that safe for my regulator ?

Simply rinsing externally as you do is certainly safe for the regulator. Many of us go beyond just rinsing and actually let the second stages SOAK in a tub of water for a few hours to dissolve any salt deposits.

If you soak your regulators, the caveat is to not soak the first stage unless you are confident that water cannot enter the first stage through its ports or tank valve connection. The dust cap may not be sufficiently watertight to guarantee it will keep water from entering through the tank valve connection. When I soak, I keep the first stage elevated above the tub and just let the second stages dangle in the tub to inhibit water from migrating up the hoses from the second stages into the first stage. Other people err on the side of caution and actually attach their first stage to a tank and turn the valve on to pressurize the first stage, virtually guaranteeing that no water can migrate up from the second stages into the first stage.

For wetsuits, I soak in fresh water but do not disinfect unless they become really stinky. Then, I use a dilute Dettol solution. I have seen no evidence of how effective this is in actually disinfecting, but many people believe it is effective, and it certainly removes the stink.

 

[tbone1004]

It's not going to hurt it, though I would recommend finding a small bottle and pressurizing it and let the whole thing soak in there. You should be able to find a used one for 50quid or so and then you can do all of your predive checks at home including IP check, bubble checks, breathing etc before you get to the dive site. Just leave the bottle at home if you want, should only need to refill it once a year at VIP time anyway. Small drysuit inflator bottle will work just fine, or any of the small aluminum decompression bottles are all you need. I keep an AL30 around for that reason.

 

[TMHeimer]

I rinse after each day of diving. Baby shampoo inside BCD. Before the two periods of a month+ that I go dry, I use baby shampoo on the wetsuit.

 

[radtype]

I use water and a little simple green

 

[mick allein III]

Socc I didn't see where Hickdive answered you about water in the 1st stage. You do not want to get water in the high pressure side of you first stage. This happens generally when you don't dry and put the dust cap on and tighten the yoke or when you press purge button on 2nd stage and allow water to run from 2nd stage back into your 1st stage. If water ( especially salt water) gets into the 1st stage it can affect performance of the regulator. If you are soaking your reg set just keep the reg attached to a tank and pressurized. Also, make sure your reg set is serviced regularly.

 

[flspy]

I always err on the side of paranoia. I used to just give the reg a good rinse and let dry. Then, before A dive, my octo had a slight free flow. I talked with my local dive gurus and all recommended soaking, preferably in warm fresh water. I use DIN valves so I am always careful to keep water out of first stage. I will attach my reg to a tank and soak the whole thing, under pressure, in one of those heavy duty black boxes from Home Depot. Then I blow out the water from my second stages and let the whole thing dry.

as far as my neoprene gear, I was using "sink the stink" and other preparations from dive stores. Now I have switched to simple green- much cheaper and you can use it around the house. I also have a small fan that helps dry stuff overnight before any stink takes hold.

 

[TSandM]

We used to say in the operating room, "The solution to pollution is dilution . . . ". Some of the bacteria your gear might pick up from your saliva gets dispersed just from the marine environment. Much of the rest of it will be removed by rinsing. And if your gear dries between dives, that will kill a lot of the rest of it (mouth bacteria, as one might expect, are adapted for a wet environment).

In the diving culture where I live, we do a lot of skills practice, so I can't tell you how many other people's mouthpieces I've had in my mouth in the last ten years. I'm unaware of having contracted any illness from doing so, and I think it would be extremely unlikely. I would also expect that someone who was actively sick or had open cold sores would inform others, and not share his gear until the illness was over. It's only in cases like that that I would think about using any kind of disinfectant on normal OC scuba gear.

 

[Diving Dubai]

I'm sure TS&M will correct me if I'm wrong but remember the diver who caught a terminal lung infection from mould in his BCD? I'm sure there is a thread on SB. But here's a link to the story

Think twice before breathing off a bag - Divernet

i happen to use dettol for wetsuits boots gloves etc in my wash tank (dedicated refuse bin filled with water) and occasionally it goes in my wings too. Generally for washing I also use baby shampoo or baby bath soap.

it may be an over reaction on my part but better to be safe imho

 

[Patoux01]

I'm sure TS&M will correct me if I'm wrong but remember the diver who caught a terminal lung infection from mould in his BCD?

On the other hand, you're not supposed to do it... if that's your only way out, you ****ed up big time anyway.

 

[CuzzA]

I'm curious if just a soak in water with a very small dilution of vinegar would be ok. The ph of vinegar would break down any remaining salts/calcium carbonate and organics. It should have no effect on synthetic materials commonly used in gear. I also wonder if an extremly mild bleach and water mix would be ok. The bleach would definitely disinfect anything and even after a thorough rinse any remaining bleach would simply evaporate off the material once dried. And it too should have little effect on any synthetic materials.

~New guy trying to learn it all.