cleaning mask

[snorkl]

i am new to scuba diving and i just recently purchased an oceanic shadow mask. I was told that i need to clean it with something before i use it. Can anyone help me.

thanks

 

[H2Andy]

yeah ... you can use non-gritty toothpaste, works very well

i like to wash the mask once, then rinse, then wash again and leave the toothpaste and a little water in for, say, an hour or so, then rinse

then wash one more time with toothpaste, and you should be set

 

[Gombessa]

Also, the toothpaste should be a non-gel variety; the generic white paste type works best.

Using your finger, rub the toothpaste thoroughly onto the inside of the mask lens, making little circles. After you're done, rinse it off well, and you should be able to breathe into the mask without having it fog.

 

[MsParamedic]

Soft scrub also works

 

[spectrum]

Clean it as described above. Be warned that they can be very very stubborn. Rather than botch up a series of dives until you get it right TEST your cleaning as I describe here.

Pete

 

[RJP]

Soft scrub also works

I've seen people ruin their masks with SoftScrub. It's a bit too "aggressive" in terms of it's grittiness.

 

[DiveMaven]

Be forewarned that the Shadow (especially the one with the blask skirt) has a reputation for being tough to clean. Frankly, I'd go to my LDS and ask them if they have any heavy duty mask cleaner gunk and go with that a few times. Then I'd toothpaste it a couple of times, and finally run it through the dishwasher (with the heated dry off).

 

[thomjinx]

500 PSI, the makers of one of the best de-foggers, also make a Mask Scrub product. I have not done scientific testing of this relative to toothpaste, but it is not expensive and works very well. Even at that, some masks, like the Oceanic and Atomic will likely require several applications. And as someone suggested, you DO want to test it out before taking it on a dive.

 

[Divingdon]

try a cigarette lighter to burn off any residue from manufacturing. It's very effective and you can see the product coming off.

 

[Whale Whisperer]

I've personally gone through 5 masks in my limited experience, and the best way in my opinion is what pretty much what everyone else does. Take some non gel toothpaste, and a clean toothbrush that you don't care about anymore. I'll put in enough toothpaste to scrub around the glass surface and scrub it in real good. Let it dry out for a half hour and wash it out and remember to use the brush to get the paste out of the frame corners. Let it dry and repeat two more times. That usually does it with me. I'll test it by rinsing it with cool water after the last cycle, spit in the mask and rinse like I'm about to go diving and put it on. I'll exhale through my nose for a minute and it shouldn't fog up.