Dive gods: How well do you clean your gear?

[KeithG]

This is a tangent from the post about my first drysuit dives. The instructor wanted to make sure I had an appropriate hanger for the drysuit, and I mentioned that I would hose it off on my deck and then hang it up inside the house after it had finished dripping. He laughed at how new divers worry so much about keeping their gear looking nice.

Honestly, I don't care how good my gear looks so long as its in good working order. I usually spend about half an hour hosing everything down, running clean water through my inflator/bcd, and setting things out to dry. I'm just trying to take care of my gear so that it will take care of me. I'm diving in fresh water in Ontario.

But it got me wondering... How much time do the much more experienced divers here spend cleaning gear? What do you make a priority, and what do you let slide? I'd love to save the time if I'm wasting it.

There is no one size fits everyone answer. Think about your situation and choose something that will work for you.

if you are doing clean freshwater dives then a very quick rinse and dry is all you need.

if you had to gear up in mud and then waddle into a murky green cesspool, then you likely need to spend more time hosing afterwards.

as salt water vacation divers we give everything an extended soak (several days long) after each dive trip.

 

[Storker]

I am beautiful and they love me.

Picture proof, please. Otherwise we won't believe you. On principle.

 

[vam]

Wow, thanks for the huge response! The water I'm diving in is fairly clean, but it can be hard to avoid mud after a dive. The regs I normally use are din and have the cap, so soaking them is easy. I think I'll go a little easier on the cleaning though in light of all the feedback. I'll still rinse away mud, but maybe I'll save the more thorough cleaning for once a month or so. I manage to get in one or two dives a week for now, so that would be roughly every 4-8 dives.

The "dive gods" thing was tongue in cheek. Just a fun way to say "divers with way more experience than I have" in fewer words.

 

[stuartv]

They do it because I am beautiful and they love me.

Please don't hate me for it.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . . The "dive gods" thing was tongue in cheek. Just a fun way to say "divers with way more experience than I have" in fewer words.

the Scubanati

 

[BoltSnap]

You are just jealous because you don't have people rinsing your equipment for you while you shower and drink mint tea while they hang your equipment for it to dry.

PLEASE, don't hate me because I am beautiful!!



(I am laughing so hard now, my wife is asking what's going on)

 

[grf88]

Diving in the Great Lakes is how I clean my gear.

 

[RayfromTX]

Georgian Bay is so clean that when I jump in I can feel the impurities jump off of me and into that water. I would definitely just hang it to dry if I was diving there.

 

[olphart]

I have people for that....

 

[nolatom]

My dives are typically day trips, salt water. So me and gear all take a bath or shower afterward at "home".

Plus rinsing the insides of my BC, with Scope added for the last repetition. If everything goes south and I have to take a last breath or two from my BC in order to (maybe) make it to the surface, it is important, whether dead or alive, to have minty breath.