what kind of gear cleaning when you get home?

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Spoon

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i rinse all my gear with fresh water and let it soak for about 10 mins at the dive site prior to going home. when i get home, i just dry em. is there more i should do like more stringent cleaning of the regs and bcs? more soaking etc? dont know i am a new diver and want my gear pristine:)
 
I'd say it depends at least partly on the condition of the water in which you soak at the dive site. How long has it been there? How much gear has been thrown into it already?

In any case, there's a bit more that needs to be done besides just soaking. Everything needs to be swished around to make sure it's properly rinsed. Particularly your second stages, to make sure rinse water gets all through them (careful not to depress the purge buttons!)... there should ideally be a separate tub with fresh(er) water for regulators and camera equipment.

And your BC will definitely require several rinsings inside the bladder (water hose through the inflator hose), to get all the salt water out that will seep into there -- sometimes significant amounts.

Still, I'd throw everything into the tub when you get home. You know the condition fo the water there.

Of course, if you're on a dive trip, gear can go a week or two without any more cleaning than that. But then it'd definitely be into the tub at home.

And, oh... "pristine" is such a funny word when applied to dive gear that's being used... :D

--Marek
 
Most gear gets soaked in a tub for 20 minutes or so. I leave the regs hooked up to the tank, and rinse the tank and the regs well, and purge the regs a lot while rinsing them out. You can also stick the regs in the tub while they are still attached to the tank and soak / purge them.

I then pull everything out one at a time and rinse it again with the hose, and lay it out to drip dry. For the BC or Wing, I swish some fresh water around in it, then drain it from each of the dumps and BOTH of the buttons on the inflator. If you have a dry suit, you should wash it and pay particular attention to the insides of the seals, skin oil, sun lotion etc are really bad for latex seals.

It then gets hung up to dry. I leave most of it hanging until the next weekend, but if you have a DS you should powder the seals (if they are latex) with unscented talc after it is dry then put it away. Don't leave gear in the garage if it can come in contact with Ozone or car exhaust.

Mark
 
Marek K:
I'd say it depends at least partly on the condition of the water in which you soak at the dive site. How long has it been there? How much gear has been thrown into it already?

In any case, there's a bit more that needs to be done besides just soaking. Everything needs to be swished around to make sure it's properly rinsed. Particularly your second stages, to make sure rinse water gets all through them (careful not to depress the purge buttons!)... there should ideally be a separate tub with fresh(er) water for regulators and camera equipment.

And your BC will definitely require several rinsings inside the bladder (water hose through the inflator hose), to get all the salt water out that will seep into there -- sometimes significant amounts.

Still, I'd throw everything into the tub when you get home. You know the condition fo the water there.

Of course, if you're on a dive trip, gear can go a week or two without any more cleaning than that. But then it'd definitely be into the tub at home.

And, oh... "pristine" is such a funny word when applied to dive gear that's being used... :D

--Marek


thanks bud certainly will follow the steps you outlined. having spent so much on my gear, i want to make sure its taken care off properly. especially with all those salt crystals as i only do saltwater dives here.

and its funny i used the word pristine:) i generally use this term for any new equipment i purchase hehe
 
I use a big plastic garbage can when the gear gets home. Put in all the gear, then fill up with water. Soak over night then drip dry everything. Water my fruit trees with leftover water.
 
Spoon:
i want to make sure its taken care off properly. especially with all those salt crystals as i only do saltwater dives here.
Yeah... not having a drysuit, I think the thing you have to pay most attention to is the BC... like mweitz indicated. Salt crystals will eventually kill your bladder. You learned how to do the BC, right? Inflate orally a bit so the rinse water can get around; then put fresh water in through the mouthpiece on the hose; then swish it around thoroughly... side-to-side, upside down, all around; then dump out the water. Repeat several times, until all the salt is gone... maybe taste it to make sure. Dumping the rinse water out through all the BC valve and all the various dumps is probably a good idea, to make sure no salt crystals remain on the dump gaskets.

Soaking/rinsing your regulator while attached to a tank and pressurized is best; that guarantees no water gets into the first stage. But whether you can do that is going to depend on how you're diving. If the dive operation provides the tank(s), you're probably not going to have a tank available when you rinse. In that case, make sure the "dust" cap is on the inlet, and swish the first stage in the rinse water. Oh, and when not attached to a tank, besides making sure the purge buttons aren't depressed when you rinse the second stages, it's also good practice to make sure the first stage is higher than the second stages... that also helps keep rinse water from making its way up the LP hose to the first stage, if a purge button is accidentally depressed.

--Marek
 
If diving saltwater, I lay everything out on my porch and hose it down for a while.

If diving fresh water, I toss the mesh gear bag and drysuit bag on the landing at the top of my stairs on a tarp and let it dry. The wing and backplate just stay in the trunk.
 
FW can leave deposits (calcium etc) in / on your gear, especially your regs. You should also rinse you regs after diving in FW, especially in caves from my understanding...

Mark
 
mweitz:
FW can leave deposits (calcium etc) in / on your gear, especially your regs. You should also rinse you regs after diving in FW, especially in caves from my understanding...

Mark
As if the water coming out of my garden hose has less calcium in it than the St Lawrence. I have the hardest water on earth :wink:
 
Marek K:
Yeah... not having a drysuit, I think the thing you have to pay most attention to is the BC... like mweitz indicated. Salt crystals will eventually kill your bladder. You learned how to do the BC, right? Inflate orally a bit so the rinse water can get around; then put fresh water in through the mouthpiece on the hose; then swish it around thoroughly... side-to-side, upside down, all around; then dump out the water. Repeat several times, until all the salt is gone... maybe taste it to make sure. Dumping the rinse water out through all the BC valve and all the various dumps is probably a good idea, to make sure no salt crystals remain on the dump gaskets.

Soaking/rinsing your regulator while attached to a tank and pressurized is best; that guarantees no water gets into the first stage. But whether you can do that is going to depend on how you're diving. If the dive operation provides the tank(s), you're probably not going to have a tank available when you rinse. In that case, make sure the "dust" cap is on the inlet, and swish the first stage in the rinse water. Oh, and when not attached to a tank, besides making sure the purge buttons aren't depressed when you rinse the second stages, it's also good practice to make sure the first stage is higher than the second stages... that also helps keep rinse water from making its way up the LP hose to the first stage, if a purge button is accidentally depressed.

--Marek


great advice man, thanks
 
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