Rinsing your BCD with antibacterial flush?

[kurtisenbecker]

I just came back from a dive where a fellow told me that he used an antibacterial rinse for his BCD bladder. Is this necessary? I have always just rinsed 2 or 3 times with fresh water and then allowed it to dry. He spoke of an article he read about a diver who ran out of air and then took a final breath from his BCD bladder which resulted in a fatal fungal infection of his lungs. I have never come to the point where I even considered taking a breath from my BCD but now I wonder if I should rinse my BCD with an antibacterial flush. If I had to ever manually inflate my BCD I guess there is a chance that you might inhale some of the air in the bladder. I am worried about what flush to use in this case since I do not want to damage the bladder.

Thanks

 

[tridacna]

"An article"? Where did he find it? In the National (scuba) Enquirer? Or News of the (scuba) World?

 

[dmaziuk]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00589RV96/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now I have a gallon of this stuff, it'll probably last us longer than our BCDs.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Some people do rinse their BC bladders with a sanitizer, such as Listerine or Steramine. But you should never have to take a breath from the BC because you should never have to run out of air.

Some previous threads:

Disinfecting agent for the BC that kills all fungi and TB-inducing bacteria?

bc bladder cleaning

Another good thread here: Cleaning/sanitizing/disinfecting your gear

 

[offfi]

I do sanitize my BCD bladders regularly.
However, I would still prefer taking a breath from the filthiest germ infested BCD over drowning.

And the shocked faces of fellow divers after telling them you practiced breathing from the BCD are priceless.

 

[KeithG]

I rinse and then let mine dry. Bacteria needs moisture...
Four Conditions for Bacterial Growth

 

[kurtisenbecker]

The guy I talked to did not quote his reference but it started me thinking. Thanks for all the links. I think that since my gear sits for longer periods of time I will do the sanitize thing.

 

[uncfnp]

This is the article...

Emergency Breathing from Your BCD: Undercurrent 06/2011

You might also find this interesting...

Alert Diver | Microbial Hazards

In reality the risk of fungal infection must be exceedingly low or there were be many more examples to cite. Exposure to bcd air also occurrs when some divers ensure their bladders are empty for hot drops by breathing off the bcd and some exposure is also possible when orally inflating a bcd.

 

[dmaziuk]

I rinse and then let mine dry. Bacteria needs moisture...

That's the point: the bladder is sealed so unless you pull apart OPV/inflator valves, or have some other special drying procedure, the moisture gets sealed in. If you store it partially inflated by blowing into it, moisture (and bacteria) in your breath gets sealed in.

And I might want to suck the last bits of air from my wing to pack it tighter. So even if I plan to never breathe from it... sanitizer is cheap.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
In reality the risk of fungal infection must be exceedingly low or there were be many more examples to cite. Exposure to bcd air also occurrs when some divers ensure their bladders are empty for hot drops by breathing off the bcd . . . .

I sucked mine down the other day and then remembered "whoops, you're not supposed to do that." No fungal infection so far. I have never sanitized my BC bladder.