Water in BC ?

VanHalen5150 · Aug 15, 2012

Thinking about diving and had a question.

It seems to me that water obviously will find its way inside the bladders of your BC from time to time, and water in a dark place quickly grows mold and mildew etc etc.

Is there some chemical preperation you should flush your bc with from time to time to prevent this junk from growing in there and keep every thing nice and fresh?

Even if you rinse it with good tap water and purge it with compressed air it seems to me some moisture could remain causing a stinky mess.

Also I would thing bacterial formation could cause damage to the bladder eventually?

Dr. Lecter · Aug 15, 2012

Eh, just rinse it every couple dives, inside and out, maybe use some gear rinse when you do so. After, get all the water out that you can and then store it partly inflated. Maybe give it a special BCD rinse once a year to really clean it up. I'd say it's more important to get in the habit of checking and lubing your OPVs and inflator each dive or so.

DevonDiver · Aug 15, 2012

Rinse with fresh water, drain well, partially inflate and allow to dry.

There was a study of BCD bladders recently (sorry, I can't remember the reference) and they all swarmed with bacteria. Not much you can do about that.

Then again, you won't be sucking air out of a BCD anyway, so no harm..

diversteve · Aug 15, 2012

Some people use a cupful of Listerine (seriously). I just flush mine really well with water - open/remove all the OPV's and let it dry well before storing. I have a Zeagle so their BX Inflator makes flushing it with a garden hose easy. http://www.zeagle.com/showproduct/1053/Bx-Power-Inflator/
Or this: http://www.scubatoys.com/store/detail.asp?product_id=BCFlushHose - Deep Sea Supply sells something similar also.

Many dive stores sell the McNett's line also: BC Life - LeisurePro sells it: McNett BC Life Cleaner and Conditioner (8 oz)

Zung · Aug 15, 2012

BCD's are really though.

According to my experience with my own BCD and the wife's, about 20 years each, nothing fancy is required: when we're out diving, we dive, we don't tend the gear, except for a quick rince for the regulators and the camera. When we're back, I fill the BCD's with tab water, soak them in the bath over night, drain, blow them up, let dry, drain again, and store. That's it. No harm whatsoever.

After 20 years, I finally replaced both, the wife's delaminated and leaked, and mine... weli, it still works, but I don't like the color anymore, it's the Scubapro teal from the early 90's.

nimoh · Aug 15, 2012

I generally rinse it well inside and then remove the over pressure relief valve and get as much water out as I can. Then I hang it to dry with the other gear in a room with a dehumidifier running, this usually gets the inside pretty dry.

However, I think I may add some listerine next time, sounds like a good suggestion.

VanHalen5150 · Aug 15, 2012

Listerene. Wow. I know on the limited diving I've done I always rinsed the bladder out with tap water and purged it about 50 times,Store partially inflated and purge 1-2 daily for a few days to finish getting the moisture out. My dive buddy does some thing where he rinses and purges and then barely cracks his tank open and depresses the inflator hose. it keeps a very tiny amount of air going through the BC for 24 hours. I dunno though seems silly to me.

I like the listerene, One would wonder though if long term the alcohol might degrade the bladders?

ams511 · Aug 15, 2012

When you hang it to dry hang it upside down with the inflator elbow as the low point. The water will flow into the inflator from the bladder. I have also read about mixing a tablespoon or two of bleach into a quart of water and using that kill the bacteria in the BC. I have never tried it but it would seem to be something to do before or after an extended storage not something to do after each dive. I do use bc shampoo and my bc is like new. If you are really anal I guess you could remove the opv and the elbow off the bc and use a shop vac to force air into one hole and out the other. I would assume that should dry it relatively quickly.

aquaregia · Aug 15, 2012

In sailing, we noted that sails used in salt water did not grow mildew, whereas the ones we used in freshwater races, or rinsed after saltwater races, would mildew if put away wet. So, we stopped rinsing out sails after saltwater races. Still end up with salt crystals, but keeps the mildew out.

Orlando Eric · Aug 16, 2012

I am one of the people who uses mouthwash in it. I have done this for about fifteen years or so. I add water with a hose and invert it back and forth a few times then drain. I then remove the rear dump and add some generic walmart citrus mouthwash swish and drain. My bladder is fresh and tasty. I do sometimes suck the air out of the inflator to do a negative entry for swift currents on hot drops.

Water in BC ?

Please register or login

VanHalen5150

Registered

Dr. Lecter

Contributor

DevonDiver

N/A

diversteve

always tired

Zung

Contributor

nimoh

Contributor

VanHalen5150

Registered

ams511

Contributor

aquaregia

Contributor

Orlando Eric

Contributor

Similar threads