What should I use to disinfect effectively my gear ?

[Wolfie_47]

I just use the cheapest mouthwash that Walmart has; about half a cup to each 5 gallons of water and everything comes out minty fresh. About $5 for two bottles and lasts all summer.

 

[casts_by_fly]

Unless you are knowingly diving in polluted water I see no reason to disinfect conventional open circuit scuba.

In fact, I would avoid doing so unless I knew that the product I was using was safe on the rubber and plastic components (the classic example of incompatibility is silicone spray and silicon second stage diaphragms).

A good soak in fresh water (making sure no water enters first and second stages of your regulator) followed by a further rinse and hanging up to dry should suffice.

If you're concerned about bacteria then a few drops of ordinary dish soap in a bucket of water, slosh everything about in it then soak in fresh and rinse then dry. Don't go overboard with the soap and rinse thoroughly - lemony fresh scent is fine in the kitchen but not so pleasant underwater. Soap is great stuff, kills ebola and pretty much everything else .

Soap doesn't kill, and certainly not plain dish soap. Hand washing with standard (not antibac) hand soap will remove germs from the hands, but it doesn't kill them and it doesn't remove as high a percentage as what antibac hand soap kills.

Dettol brown liquid works well for wetsuits and BCDs (and swim suits for that matter). Rinse all you want, but after a week of diving in the salt your gear starts to smell. I'm not much of a germophobe, but I hate the smell of saltwater 'funk' in my gear. A dip/soak in Dettol brown liquid (diluted per the instructions), quick rinse, and a hang dry is just right to kill the bacteria that cause the smell.

thanks,
rick