Proper care for scuba gear?

[Tropicalwolf]

Rinse in fresh water, don't overpack stuff, air dry out of sunlight. I am still using some gear that was used when I bought it over 20 years ago...still going strong. Don't buy all the over-protective hype.

 

[phenom]

Thanks for the help guys! really appreciate it!

 

[j2s]

Some operations use a 'dip' tank for divers to rinse their gear off....If it's the only source of fresh water and every one's using it, it'll accumulate salt.....Re-rinse your gear as soon as you can w/a hose or in the shower........The salt water environment is a great place to dive, but it's a 'hostile' environment to gear.......

 

[windapp]

Don't forget to rinse the inside of your BCD, and flush water through all of the dump valves to remove salt or chlorine. I personally soak all of my gear in the bathtub for 2 hours after a freshwater dive trip, a saltwater dive day, or a dive in the pool. My wetsuits go in the frontloader on handwash cycle with a little woolite.

 

[soltari675]

I have a front load washer, so every so often I wash my wetsuit, hood, and gloves with a very small amount of Woolite. Does wonders. I also use Woolite for cleaning my 5mm boots. Those things can start to stink fast.

Also, depends what type of water you dive in. If you dive in fresh water, a quick rinse on everything is good enough. If you dive salt water, a soak is better.

 

[Hank49]

If I don't plan on diving for a month or more, I soak everything really well after sea diving. If I'm diving every day, a quick dip and hang it up.

 

[Dive the World]

You pretty much have it figured out.

One thing I would add is make sure you get water into your BCD bladder through the dump valves. Shake it about and dump it out through the dump valve.

Repeat - the second time get the water out through another dump valve.

 

[Tropicalwolf]

Just today I threw a bunch of gear (weight belt, pockets, 3mm shortie wetsuit, booties gloves, integrated weight pouches, etc) into the washing machine on medium load. I used the same detergent I use for hunting gear (Tink's). Everything came out perfectly...and odor free! Don't be a scaredy cat!

 

[McDiver]

I have a 30 gallon trashcan that I fill with fresh water and I usually let my gear soak for a couple of hours to make sure its completely salt free, I actually rinse it BEFORE I put it into the bucket.

I saw that your using Alcohol to clean your mouthpiece, I wouldnt recommend it, the alcohol can prematurely damage the silicone or rubber, listerine works without drying, and not nearly as harsh as Alcohol.

Rinse the inside of the bladder with fresh water and dry while leaving the cap off and shake out..

Also another tip, if there are things that your worried about drying out (rubber and silicone) you can put a little bit of vegetable oil on them if storing them or want to help preserve them once in a while, it works very well for almost no cost. Sounds wierd but works. Thats why they call me McDiver (MacGyver), lol.

 

[graham_s]

Personally, I rinse out the inside of my BCD with water/milton fluid (the stuff you use to disinfect babies bottles)
The best way to clean a Drysuit, is to get into it, then get into the shower.