Regulator hose maintenance concern, mildew

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FlashX

Registered
Messages
22
Reaction score
8
Location
California
# of dives
200 - 499
I am concerned with my regulator being packed away for a few months if i should worry about mildew in the hoses. Is there a way to clean out the inside of the hoses?
 
Before you stow, in fact after rinse or soak, connect to a tank and purge for a few seconds. Tank air should be very dry. The kind of flow rate when purging will "blow" dry any moisture left in the hose. Dry clean hose won't grow mildew
 
Agree with Eel. No memory of molds etc. invading air hoses the way they can in marine water tubing.
 
How old is the hose?

I've seen a lot more hose deterioration than mold. Take the reg off, put a q tip in the end (don't leave any fibers behind) and see what it looks like. Old hoses dry out and shed rubber. I don't like the idea of inhaling black rubber bits.

New hoses are not that expensive. If in doubt replace.
 
In single hose diving, agree something has gone very wrong to get water inside your LP hose...!

With double hose diving water regularly gets into the inlet and exhaust corrugated hoses, and stays there for a very long time unless the hoses are removed, rinsed and shaken then air dried after each dive session.

After an extended remote area dive trip I soak the hoses in Steramine solution (as used by the rebreather crowd) to kill any random bugs that may hang around... probably overkill, but not keen on a lung full of Tropical Trouble a few months down the track :wink:
 
Thank you guys for your time in replying, It is appreciated.
The easy way to get water into the hoses is rinsing and mistakenly pushing the button on the second stage of the regulator when it is under water.
I have not done that in a long time but some might think they are rinsing the button mechanics by doing that, thus allowing water to enter into the hose.
I need to always remember to flush the regulator with air after each dive session. Also agree that hoses are not that expensive and will take the second stage off and see what I find. I leave the cover off the first stage when stored hoping that doing so will let any water residue evaporator. That little cap / cover can also hole in a small amount of water on the first stage. I will post here what I find when I remove the regulator and inspect the inside of the hose, maybe a week or two.
 
The easy way to get water into the hoses is rinsing and mistakenly pushing the button on the second stage of the regulator when it is under water.
It is not that easy especially if your 1st stage is attached to a tank or is plugged with a decent dust cap. I bet a professional can explain it better than me:
 
While I don’t think the hoses pose an issue I would be concerned with the second stage in general, I have encountered seconds the have stored wet in an airtight container and the mildew was so bad that it wouldn’t clean up, always allow air circulation when storing and don’t push the purge button while rinsing.
 
It is not that easy especially if your 1st stage is attached to a tank or is plugged with a decent dust cap. I bet a professional can explain it better than me:

It is easy to get water into the hose if you do things wrong even if the first stage is plugged.
Your attached video does not mention one key point.
If one was to put the regulator in a rinse tank "some rinse tanks are two feet deep" and hold the second stage HIGHER that the first stage or hose, then push the purge button, the air in the hose being lighter than water will escape upward and water will enter the hose to displace the vacuum created. Then when you release the purge button you lock the water in. Some people might acerbate this scenario by swishing the second stage around unwittingly making the air escape faster. If one wants to rinse the second stage purge button mechanism be sure to hold the hose and first stage above the second stage. This way the air in the hose will keep the water out.
 

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