Gear cleaning

[tflaris]

Rinsing everything in fresh water, like in a bathtub, is a good idea. It is probably a better idea to keep electronic gadgets in the water a lot longer. There are some cleaning compounds that are appropriate for wetsuits and the like. Make sure you drain and rinse all the water from the BCD. Let everything dry completely before storing it away.

But prolonging the life of equipment means you won't have a reason to upgrade. Bummer...

Richard

Press the buttons on your electronic devices ie dive computers when diving salt water and rinsing them in fresh water. It helps to prevent the buttons from sticking or sometimes even corroding. Also store in a cool dry area all equipment and not in the garage.

I am sure you already know but don't depress the purge button when rinising the second stages and make sure the dust cap is in place when rinising first stages.

Hope this helps

 

[Xaryo]

I was taught to cover the air hole of my first stage (sorry, I am sure there is a technical term for this!) tightly with my thumb when submerging it in fresh water after a dive, to make sure that no water gets into the system.

NEVER do that. A regulator is allergic to water. No matter what, NEVER submerge a reg in water unpressurized. Even if you put the dust cap on or you cover the hole with your finger, water can enter from the second stage and go to the first stage.

To rince a reg, hook it on a tank, open the pressure and voilà! You are ready to submerge it and purge both your main reg and octo.

It is no me saying this, it is the tech at the LDS. Each time he goes diving with the club, he remembers us never to submerge an unpressurized reg.

 

[pasley]

I too use a 100 gallon hard plastic horse watering trough with a drain plug. I take a gallon plastic pickle jar or bucket with me to to all dives. I come out of the water (I dive ocean) and set my tank down, air still on and put the regulator, octopus and computer go directly into the fresh water in the pickle jar for a soak while I get out of my suit, I also poor some over the 1st stage (attached to tank with air on). That way the initial rinse has occurred before anything has a chance to dry. As soon as I can I dump water out of my Wing (BC) and poor some in. I find a small garden sprayer works well, After I have rinsed off my drysuit, dump and inflator valves I remove the wand and fit it over the fitting where the air hose connects to the inflater of the Wing(BC) and add water, same goes for the plumbing fittin (P-Valve) on the dry suit. I also add some water though the oral inflater, slash around and dump, then add more to keep things wet for the trip home. Once home everything (Regulator attached to steel tank with air on) goes into the tub for a soak, agitating now and again. I leave it for several hours. I also pull back the strain reliefs from the top of the hose to rinse under there.

 

[TennisCoach]

Hey Guys,

When I talked to my LDS they told me that I should not use detergent to wash the BC. The guy there told me to just use fresh water inside and out and to leave it inflated until it drys. So should I use detergent or not? and if I should what is the detergent that I should use? Is there a special detergent for BCs?

Thank you
CC

 

[ChimChim75]

I've noticed one LDS drops everything into a Simple Green solution... I know SG is bad for aluminum parts (which is why they make a special version for cars). Any thoughts on dunking or soaking BCs and wetsuits in it?

 

[lmorin]

Hey Guys,

When I talked to my LDS they told me that I should not use detergent to wash the BC. The guy there told me to just use fresh water inside and out and to leave it inflated until it drys. So should I use detergent or not? and if I should what is the detergent that I should use? Is there a special detergent for BCs?

Thank you
CC

The problem with doing it that way is that the BC will not dry if it is inflated. Moisture will be trapped inside because the valves are sealed to keep the air in. I had mold grow in a mask, so I became worried about mold growing inside my BC. My LDS said just to rinse it out well. They've never seen mold in BCs. The mold probably needs light to grow and won't, because BCs are opaque. As for the detergent, I can't see that it would do harm, as long as it's mild. One dive op we used in Curacao put Downy in all its rinse baths.

 

[diveguy1]

On the regulator, I've always put the dust cap on the first stage tightly, then submerged and and/or rinsed the entire regulator in fresh water. In 20+ years of diving, I've never had any problems with water entering the unpressurized system. It's important not to press the purge button on the second stage, and make sure the cap is tight on the first stage. Doing this, I haven't had a problem.

If water enters the system, you can sometimes see the pressure gauge fogging up, and of course corrosion in both first and second stages will increase and could lead to failure. I have seen - many times - divers forget to put the dust cap back on the first stage after a dive, return rental regulators without the caps on, or hose them off without the dust cap not in place. Not good. Make that the first thing you do when removing a regulator from the tank - dry off the cap and replace it on the regulator.

Salt is completely soluble in fresh water. A nice soaking and rinse will get rid of the salt very effectively - no chemicals needed.

When diving on a charter boat and doing several dives a day, I try to rinse off my gear soon after the dive, but if I don't get to it immediately, no worries. Soaking my regulator or other gear immediately after a dive in not necessary, in my opinion. I'm probably using it within a few hours anyway, and any salt on it will be gone (dissolved), replaced by new salt!

When shore diving, rinsing with fresh water immediately after a dive is not always practical. On the regulator, be sure to replace the dust cap, pack up the rest of your gear, and rinse it when you get home. It's not the end of the world.

As for other gear....

Mask/Fins/Snorkel - a thorough rinse or soak in fresh water
Tank - hose it off thoroughly, paying attention to the valve and boot area
B.C. - Soak or hose it down on the outside, and add some fresh water to the inside through the oral inflator. Swish it around, and drain it all out by holding the BC upside down and draining it out of the inflator hose. Do this several times, and store the BC partially inflated. There are some cleaning solutions for the inside of the BC that might be worth while, but I've always used fresh water.
Hood/Boots/Gloves/Wetsuit - It's best to soak these in a tub of water, and wetsuit shampoo makes them smell pretty and is probably better for the fabric. Make sure they're completely dry, inside and out, before putting into storage.

 

[dpbishop]

I've never subscribed to "gotta pressurize" school of regulator cleaning and I've had regulators that lasted more than 20 years. I keep a covered bucket of fresh water in the back of my truck and put the regs, mask, knife, etc. in while I drive home, then just hang them up. Everything else goes into the shower with me.

 

[fladiver1]

At the end of a diving season I wash the wet suits in cold water with mild detergent

When IS the end of the diving season???

 

[don Francisco]

The end of the season is whenever you need to take a break of more than a week for things like regulator service, family responsibilities, etc.

The nice thing is that the off season is so short.