Cleaning The Hoses

[rstofer]

The air tastes a little odd on my DAAM. I bought it used and I have absolutely no idea what might be growing in the hoses, or the regulator for that matter.

I don't intend to dismantle the regulator. That can wait until the Phoenix upgrade comes along later on. But I would like suggestions re: cleaning the hoses and, perhaps, the mouthpiece.

Is there a preferred method for doing this?

Richard

 

[Luis H]

If you do a search at VDH you will find Bryan's favorite hose cleaning method (it may be in the tech section). He put them in the washer with a load laundry. It seems to work well.

I have used a round bottle brush with dish detergent on some real dirty hoses and they came out just like new.

In a DH regulator the hoses are not exposed to the same bio culture that they have in a re-breather, but it is still a good idea to clean them occasionally.

I always make sure not to mix the inlet with the exhaust hose (the inlet hose should be clean and somewhat dry) and after each weekend of diving I take off the hoses for them to dry. I have a variation on Allan hose dryer for my hoses.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

The air tastes a little odd on my DAAM. I bought it used and I have absolutely no idea what might be growing in the hoses, or the regulator for that matter.

I don't intend to dismantle the regulator. That can wait until the Phoenix upgrade comes along later on. But I would like suggestions re: cleaning the hoses and, perhaps, the mouthpiece.

Is there a preferred method for doing this?

Richard

If you have no idea of the history of these hoses, and the air "tastes" (or smells) bad or odd, my suggestion is to start over with the hoses and buy new ones. You can get them on either Vintage Double Hose or Vintage Scuba Supply. Once established, it is very difficult to completely remove bacterials and fungi in the hoses. In the US Navy, we took them off and soaked them overnight in an antibiotic/fungal solution. A good anti-fungal solution is a 1:10 mixture of Chlorox and water. Then use the bottle brush that Luis discussed (which is also what I do, also using dish washing detergent). But still, if I did not know the history, I would get rid of them. I have done that on some of my purchases.

SeaRat

 

[herman]

For the mouthpieces I scrub them with an old toothbursh and toothpaste. Cleans them well and leaves them minty fresh.
For the hoses, how about a dual approch, in with a load of white laundry with some Clorox in the water. Never tried it but it seems like a good idea.

 

[Nemrod]

I have used the washing machine method for hoses of unknown origin but for the most part I have not had fungal issues. Probably because over the last several years I tend to do a lot of diving over a short period with off intervals that everything is able to dry out. Never really been a problem for me.

The new silicone hoses, a mild bleach solution

The reproduction EDPM rubber hoses, a mild bleach solution

The original and reproduction neoprene hoses, be careful with what you put on and in them, I have used a mild anitbacterial liquid dish soap.

The neoprene and EDPM rubber hoses like a 100% food grade silicone wipe down every now and then. So do the mouthpieces.

Do not put silicone on silicone hoses and parts.

I don't run blowers or other rigged up contraptions, if I have removed the hoses and cleaned them I hang them with a cloths pin on a hanger and let them dry in a cool, dark, dry area.

I do like Luis also, after a weekend or week or a dive trip I will remove the hoses and rinse them in clean water and let them dry. I usually don't split the can unless I have some reason to warrant it during a dive trip but I might when I get back or at the end of the season at which point I take it apart and do what I need to make it new again.

N

 

[halocline]

When I got mine I soaked them in very hot soapy water for a couple of days, then scrubbed the outside with a toothbrush and 409. They had kind a of a dark brown powdery film, almost like ground in dust. It took a while to get that off. I bet the bottle brush is perfect for getting the insides really clean.

I was wondering about how to store them. Taking them off to drain and dry seems like a good idea.

When you said you weren't going to dismantle until the phoenix rebuild, I assume you were not referring to taking off the hoses. Forget about cleaning them while they're attached to the reg. If you're sending your reg to Bryan for the phoenix, I think I read he doesn't want you to send the hoses anyway.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I posted above my own precautions, but have one addition. I see that many say to hang the hoses up vertically to let them dry. I have found that it is easier to spin the hoses several times to get the water out of the inside of the hoses. If you hang onto one end, and spin them vertically several times, you'll see the water come out of them. And if they break or split, at least it happened when you were cleaning them, and not in the water. After that, they can either be hung or just left out to dry. Neoprene does not like sunlight, so I would not keep them in the sun for drying (not a problem here in Oregon in January anyway).

I'm at home, and looked again at the US Navy Diving Manual from March 1970. On page 336, is Section 3.3 titled "Equipment," there is a discussion of cleaning breathing hoses (for both open circuit and closed circuit diving). This came about, according to the US Naval School for Underwater Swimmers instructors, because in the mid-1960s the Navy had a few instances of lung infections, apparently from dirty (fungus infected) hoses. Anyway, here is what the US Navy Diving Manual from March 1970 says about cleaning the hoses:

(a) Disassemble breathing hoses and mouthpiece.
(b) Clean all exposed parts by scrubbing with detergent (DETERGENT, SURGICAL, 5 ounces) and suitable brushes (for hoses, BRUSH, FLASK, 4 1/2 inches; for mouthpiece, BRUSH, TEST TUBE, 1 1/8 inches). The interior surfaces of air hoses must be thoroughly scrubbed.
(c) After rinsing with fresh water, immerse all rubber parts in a 100-ppm chlorine solution for at least 2 minutes prior to reassembling. One-quarter ounce of CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE, TECHNICAL (70 percent available chlorine) in 12 gallons of water approximates a 100-ppm chlorine solution. Mouthpiece assemblies containing metal parts should be sterilized in a noncorrosive disinfectant (DISINFECTANT, GERMICIDAL AND FUNGICIDAL, 1 quart; or DISINFECTANT, GERMICIDAL AND FUNGICIDAL, 1 gallon. Disinfectant must be completely removed from the apparatus before it is used.

More later, as it is supper time.

SeaRat

 

[John C. Ratliff]

One more note. This evening, after supper I took three of my regs apart and washed the hoses. I soaked them for about 10 minutes in a Chlorox solution, then put them in new water with dishwashing detergent. I soaked them again while I did other things, then washed them out with a bottle brush. I found out that the hoses I had with a Hope-Page mouthpiece part on them would not allow the bottle brush inside, so I only got half of those two hoses (max stretch hoses from Vintage Scuba Supply--very nice hoses, by the way). I had those attached with electrical ties rather than the stainless steel clamps I usually use--I'll probably go back to them.

Anyway, there was one more step I haven't mentioned. After all this, a good rinse is very important. I wash the hoses by putting them under the facet and putting cold water through them while they are in a "U" position, with the outflow lower than the inflow. I rinse until the water is clear, then reverse the flow with the other end low, and again rinse until the water flows clear.

Finally, I took the hoses outside to swing them from both ends until no more water came out the hoses. Now, the hoses are wrapped around the facet, airing out. Tomorrow I'll probably put them back on the regulators.

Sometimes, you have to go back through the motions to remember the details.

SeaRat

 

[rstofer]

Is there any reason I can't flood the regulator itself with bleach/water solution. I suspect there is no problem on the exhaust side (not useful for my purposes) but I was wondering about the intake side. Obviously, I would keep the high pressure inlet sealed. If it would help, I could sink the regulator while connected to a tank and pressurized.

Any suggestions where I might get the requisite bottle brushes? I can search online but if there's a preferred source, I would rather buy there.

When I have the Phoenix upgrade done, I will look into replacing the hoses and, perhaps, the mouthpiece. Watching Sea Hunt, I notice that the hoses are much longer than mine (a DAAM) and apparently more flexible because there is no way in the world I can flip mine over my head.

Richard

 

[rstofer]

I really wanted to dive the regulator this coming weekend. Nuts with it! I am in the process of ordering new hoses, valves and cages from VintageScubaSupply.com. I really don't want to get some creeping crude growing in my lungs.

It's just that I got that wonderful harness from Allan Klauda and I am anxious to get it wet What a neat setup on an Al 50! I also have the bands and manifold to build a double Al 50 setup. I just need a couple more tanks.

Richard