Washing a second hand drysuit undergarment
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It depends on the garment. There should be a tag with washing instructions somewhere inside.
If it is a Thinsulate undergarment - you really have to consider how much washing it means to you, since washing Thinsulate will drastically reduce it's insulation value.
Many of us buy a Thinsulate new, after a few months of use only hang it outside and after flies start avoiding it because of the smell, finally wash it before placing it in Ebay as "Thinsulate undergarment, only washed once according to Ebay rules".
If you have to wash it filling your bathtub with almost hot water and a little bit of dishdetergent (I like Palmolive) and then gently dunking the garment for a few hours in the tub so all of it gets gently dunked many times under the surface. Then drain the bathtub and refill with lukewarm water keeping the garment in motion, drain dunk and keep refilling untill the soap bubbles are gone. Now lay it out on the biggest bath towel you have, put another bath towel on top of it and gently press, keep doing this with fresh bathtowels untill the towels are only damp after use. now place the Thinsulate on an outdoor drying rack for several hours. Finish up by tumbling in your dryer without heat for only a few minutes to fluff it back up.
It'll still be damaged goods, nowhere near as good as new, but washing it this way caused the least amount of damage and made it clean again.
Michael
Many of us buy a Thinsulate new, after a few months of use only hang it outside and after flies start avoiding it because of the smell, finally wash it before placing it in Ebay as "Thinsulate undergarment, only washed once according to Ebay rules".
If you have to wash it filling your bathtub with almost hot water and a little bit of dishdetergent (I like Palmolive) and then gently dunking the garment for a few hours in the tub so all of it gets gently dunked many times under the surface. Then drain the bathtub and refill with lukewarm water keeping the garment in motion, drain dunk and keep refilling untill the soap bubbles are gone. Now lay it out on the biggest bath towel you have, put another bath towel on top of it and gently press, keep doing this with fresh bathtowels untill the towels are only damp after use. now place the Thinsulate on an outdoor drying rack for several hours. Finish up by tumbling in your dryer without heat for only a few minutes to fluff it back up.
It'll still be damaged goods, nowhere near as good as new, but washing it this way caused the least amount of damage and made it clean again.
Michael
If it’s not Thinsulate, pretty much can’t go wrong with turned inside out, cold water, gentle cycle, and not a ton of laundry detergent.
Hang to dry.
This only applies to fleece and polypro.
Hang to dry.
This only applies to fleece and polypro.
Personally, I'm skeptical of the increased performance of clothing specifically sold for use under dry suits. Seems that there are inexpensive options that provide some loft, retain body heat, are lightweight, anti-bacterial, wicking, etc. So for me, I would wash it, gently, and if somehow it broke down, just replace it with an inexpensive option.
Do you dive dry?
Above applies for base/wicking layer. Lots of folks here buy whatever merino wool is available or whatever wicking base layer they can get. Main undersuit is different, IMO.
I’d never buy Thinsulate as I want to wash my undersuit after each diving day/trip. I’m quite happy with fleece.
Didn’t know washing the undergarment had all these implications... I will check carefully the manufacturer’s website for info about the way to wash it properly... I have heard about diving with clothes not specifically meant to be used as drysuit undergarments and I also tried myself once, but mostly people here seem to use Thinsulate undergarments
The flies avoiding it because of the smell, after airing out... hmmm... must be powerful smell...
Note to self: Don't buy used undergarnment...
I've been diving dry for twenty years now and have always ignored the "rules" and washed my undergarments in a washing machine with a normal cycle, lots of detergent and a couple of cycles through the dryer. Even after five or six years they don't seem to lose any of their warming properties.
We had a friend on our boat who, as a newer diver followed every rule. His suit smelled so bad that we had to tell him to wash it. Until then, he had only rinsed it and hung it to dry. He now washes it as I do.
We had a friend on our boat who, as a newer diver followed every rule. His suit smelled so bad that we had to tell him to wash it. Until then, he had only rinsed it and hung it to dry. He now washes it as I do.
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