A mask fogging question ...

[Nemrod]

Burn it good with a lighter, rinse with dish soap like Dawn. Spit in it and then rinse. As to be sanitary, you cannot give yourself pink eye with your own body fluids. N

 

[joolz]

Just got a new mask a few months ago and it still fogs up, but only in the pool or during surface swims. If I dunk it just before I descend, it's fine for the rest of the dive (50-ish degrees this time of year). I've done the toothpaste and lighter thing, but my theory is that it's the coating on the silicone that's causing the fog, not the coating on the lens. I would NOT recommend trying to burn the silicone coating off with a lighter

As for the rinse bucket, why is this even necessary? After that "green bloody amoebas" story, I'll take my chances rinsing in the ocean...whatever's floating in there can't be any worse than the rinse bucket :yuck:

 

[Jim Lapenta]

Another trick I've taken to using is dipping my face in the water for a second without the mask. If it's very hot out and the water is coolish it helps to make the temperature difference less of an issue. Another instructor friend of mine suggested it and it makes sense. Come into a hot room from a cold outside- what happens to your glasses? with a mask the air inside heats up fairly quickly on your face. Hit the cool water and condensation is likely to form. Without defog it stays on the lens. With a defog agent it does not. Lessen the temp difference- less condensation to begin with.

 

[Jeff Toorish]

ahhh.... I've never heard of "the lighter trick"
but it sounds like a really really bad idea to me.
I wouldn't trust myself not to ruin a perfectly good mask.
Never used anything but spit in the many years I've dove.
Always got some with me, and it almost never spills in my dive bag.
Works 100 times out of 100, why over complicate things.

We're talking about two different things here, actually.

The lighter trick is to burn off the coating on the inside glass of the mask prior to using it the first time. This takes the place of the toothpaste trick or the commericially available cleaner trick.

The OP was about how to prevent a mask already in use (and presumably already cleaned) from fogging.

Personally, I don't like dropping my mask into anything but clean fresh water --not shampoo or other goop. I also don't want to throw my mask into a petri dish or spit from other divers.

I dive in all sorts of conditions and these are the things I do and I never have any fogging issues with my masks:

1. I use the lighter trick to burn off the coating from the manufacturing process
2. Just before going into the water, I spit in my mask and "clean" the interior, then rinse the interior of the mask with the same water I will be diving in
3. I periodically wash my masks with dish washing detergent to get rid of any oily buildup that will cause fogging and thoroughly rinse and dry the mask

I also only exhale into my mask when relieving a squeeze. I carefully avoid exhaling into my mask at any other time because that can lead to fogging and leaking. If you use a clear skirt mask and you are having a fogging or leaking problem, your buddy should be able to tell pretty quickly if you are exhaling into your mask by watching a couple of breathing cycles. That does not work so well with a black skirted mask like many of us wear.

I can't remember the last time my mask fogged up. In regards to the OP's diver friend who prefers a mask dry inside --my masks are always wet inside and they just don't fog up.

Jeff

 

[Nemrod]

If the mask was not completely or properly cleaned or has been contaminated then the "film" is still present and it either needs to be burned off or go at it again with tooth paste or both. Scrub the entire mask, skirt, lens, all of it in Dawn before and after burning.

I have seen stubborn masks run through a dishwasher.

There are other ways, chemical, to remove the contamination but I am hesitant to provide the chemical knowledge.

N

 

[Hank49]

The lighter trick sounds interesting. Anybody want to loan me their new mask so I can practice?

 

[fnfalman]

I must have low quality spit because no matter what kind of lunger I hawked onto my masks, they keep fogging up. So I had to punk out and got the defogger goo. Works a lot better than my own spit.

 

[Nemrod]

The lighter trick sounds interesting. Anybody want to loan me their new mask so I can practice?

Worked excellent on my 100 dollars Atomic Frameless and most every other mask. N

 

[SeaHound]

Instead of spitting into the mask has any one tried pissing in it? I am just wondering what urine would do. Anyone???

 

[fisheater]

Instead of spitting into the mask has any one tried pissing in it? I am just wondering what urine would do. Anyone???

Would keep your dive buddies and boatmates from borrowing or stealing your mask.

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