P-Valve, care & use

[BARdiver]

I'm having a P-valve installed in my dry-suit, decided to go with balanced valve not I need the details. Since this will be first time with the P-valve I was hoping to get some info/tips for, Hook-Up, Hose routing, Cleaning and any other tips learned along the way. Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[bamafan]

Make sure you flush it out after each dive. UTI's are very painful. I use vinegar and a squeeze bottle. As far as routing make sure you have a long enough hose. I run it down towards my knee then loop it up and out the top of my pants. Did I mention to flush it out. Trying to explain that you got the UTI from diving and not some other way is not fun as well as painful.

 

[Dsix36]

I install the valve near my ankle so that I do not need as long of a hose.

The catheter is were the real learning curve begins.

 

[Doppler]

A 10% solution of Dettol works a treat. Flush after EACH use.

 

[tbone1004]

bamafan, vinegar is about the worst thing to use since it is similarly acidic to urine so it doesn't kill much. I flush with lots of water, then steramine, then water again. Rubbing alcohol *methanol* is a bad antiseptic, but ethanol is pretty darn good so lots of people use listerine.

Depending on the valve, it should come with instructions for use. I much prefer QD's because I don't have to jiggle around trying to connect and disconnect a barbed fitting, but it's not required.

 

[TSandM]

One of the common pathogens of p-valve associated UTIs is uncommon in other settings, and that is Pseudomonas. This particular bug is not deterred well by alcohol, but is intolerant of low pH, so a half-and-half mixture of vinegar and alcohol is a pretty good antiseptic. But, as we say in surgery, the solution to pollution is dilution -- before treating the system with disinfectant, flush it with copious amounts of clean water.

In addition, be diligent about hose routing to avoid kinks. It seems that one of the risk factors for UTI is backwash -- when the diver attempts to urinate and encounters a blockage, there is back pressure that can push bacteria up the relatively long male urethra (which is what protects men in general from UTIs).

 

[AngloFish]

I'll never go back to a check valve again. I had issues with mine several years ago and decided to remove it and just go direct connect so to speak. Just for curiosity sake I decided to cut the valve open to see the inner workings... Now I was very careful with cleaning but even with that the horror show I witnessed convinced me unbalanced was the way to go

 

[BARdiver]

Thanks for the info. So the big thing is to flush and clean a lot. The hose routing still seems a bit vague to me. I'm guessing the route doesn't have to be the most direct or shortest.

 

[Dsix36]

I actually put a loop in my hose so that there is plenty of room for movement, but then again, I route mine down rather than upward with a bend.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Flush with lots of water using a large medical irrigation syringe AND dry it promptly with a compressed air nozzle attachment.
Bard - Piston Enteral Irrigation Syringe
Trident LP Hose Air Nozzle Blower.