How do you clean your gear?

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Tienuts

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Scuba Instructor
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Grand Cayman
Having never been a fan of dockside rinse tanks, since I think the salinity content is actually higher, I went and bought a large plastic garbage can, and rigged it with a drain and valve at the bottom, and an angled spigot which attaches to my garden hose on the top. The effect is running frshewater bath/whirlpool. I thought this was the best way to clean and rinse gear, however I still notice corosion forming on my steel 100's, and some of my other gear.

All of my stuff is hung to dry after the bath. How do you guys rinse your gear, and are you getting corosion on things?
 
Who makes your 100s? I have about 30 dives on mine and other then them looking a little more powdery I have no corrosion. I also remove the boots and allow to dry then replace then. As far as my rinse trash can I add about 2 oz of mountain fresh pine sol to the 30 gal can. Just enough to make my stuff smell better.
 
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.
 
dbulmer:
Tienuts,
I pretty much do the same as you do. Regs are left in tepid water

I would use caution when soaking your regs in tepid water. If the water is too warm, it can loosen (break down) any grease that may be applied to your first stage's inner workings.

Shake your gear vigourously in a cool water bath, to remove any salt - if you're not diving for an extended period of time... rinse again

Rinse your tanks with a hose...
 
add warm water with vinegar prevent corrosion
 
Jibeho:
Who makes your 100s? I have about 30 dives on mine and other then them looking a little more powdery I have no corrosion. I also remove the boots and allow to dry then replace then. As far as my rinse trash can I add about 2 oz of mountain fresh pine sol to the 30 gal can. Just enough to make my stuff smell better.
Pine sol? Doesnt your gear smell like a mens room after? :eyebrow: I have been using woolite for my neoprene and transpac.

The 100's are the new Worthington's from Diveriteexpress. Maybe corosion was a bad word for the tanks, but they are very "powdery" especially around the necks. The corrosion I have been seeing is on some of my brass snaps, and around the 1st stage of my pony regulator.

Thanks for the tips guys, I will try the vinegar.
 
I wash my neoprene items in cold water with Woolite just as I would delicate fabrics like cashmere. All my other gear I clean outside with a garden hose.
 
I find that the key is to rinse in fresh water BEFORE the saltwater dries.

It is much harder to get rid of the salt once it has formed crystals.

-----------------------------

My simple solution for both carrying and rinsing gear is two 58 quart containers. about 24" x 18" x 12" high. Just big enough to fit my BCD. The two containers also keep my wet gear from soaking the car trunk.

First I rinse my reg out in the pure water, then the BCD in one container.

The other container gets all the neoprene, with a half ounce of baby shampoo. Then I rinse it out in fresh water.

Sometimes I just grab a hose and do this cleaning at the boat ramp, sometimes I wait until returning to the condo 5 minutes away.

Total time for cleaning gear, including letting it drip for a few minutes before hauling it up to the condo is about 15 minutes.
 
Like what some folks have mentioned, I use Woolite to clean my neoprene gear. However, I normally just use warm water to clean my BCD. All I've read about cleaning the BCD is to use warm water... Also to add silicone (but avoid the plastic areas) - this is the area that is unclear to me... Is there something else we can do to care for our BCDs?

Excerpt from Scuba.com - Caring for your BCD
Internal Care - In a salt water environment, it is extremely important to flush all the salt out of the vest before it dries and forms rock salt. The rock salt will cut the bladder to shreds in a very short period of time. The vest should be rinsed internally with warm water after each day of diving. Depress the oral inflator button and allow warm water to flow into the vest until it is about 1/3 full. Grip the vest by the top with one hand and the bottom with the other allowing water to accumulate on one side of the vest only. Gather all the straps and the oral inflator hose in one hand and move the vest from side to side allowing the water to travel rapidly from one end of the vest to the other. Then transfer the water to the other side and repeat procedure. Next, gather all the water to the oral inflator side of the drain valve. Open the valve and allow the water to flow out. Before all the water is drained, taste it. If salt is present or the water is not clear, drain and repeat the rinsing procedure.

External Care - Rinse the exterior thoroughly in warm water, paying particular attention to push button valves and the oral inflator, and make certain they are operating freely. With the bladder bag vest, rinse the zipper while moving the slide back and forth about 2" otherwise it may freeze shut with salt corrosion. Spray it with silicone after it dries. Spray the outside of the power inflator hose with silicone. This will help prevent the hose from deteriorating. (Be careful to avoid spraying silicone on plastic parts).
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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