Cleaning the inside of your BC

[NJDiveGirl]

I've self ended my dive season locally as its just too cold for me - so I did a "mega" cleaning of my gear including the inside of my BC. I realized I only usually clean the inside once or twice a season.

How often do you clean the inside out?

 

[FLArmyBrat]

We just make it a part of our regular post dive cleaning. Especially since we dive salt water mostly.

Laurel- The Frog Queen
:royal:

 

[Karl_in_Calif]

NJDiveGirl once bubbled...
I've self ended my dive season locally as its just too cold for me - so I did a "mega" cleaning of my gear including the inside of my BC. I realized I only usually clean the inside once or twice a season...

Arnie will need the taxes from the tourist revenue!

 

[scubasean]

FLArmyBrat once bubbled...
We just make it a part of our regular post dive cleaning. Especially since we dive salt water mostly.

Laurel- The Frog Queen
:royal:

ditto....

I clean mine after each dive day...Its a slight hassle, but hopefully it will pay off over time in keeping nasties from growing in there.

 

[docmartin]

i clean it after every dive. it did not used to be that way. i now dive a pioneer wing and after diving it has water in it. my old bc, an oceanic chute, would stay totally dry inside if i only used the shoulder dump valve. therefore, i did not have to clean the inside. of course, a shoulder dump will kill you as we all know
so now my chances of survival may be better but i do hate cleaning that thing. it is such a drag to get that last bit of water out afterwards.

 

[lairdb]

docmartin once bubbled...
i clean it after every dive... my chances of survival may be better but i do hate cleaning that thing. it is such a drag to get that last bit of water out afterwards.

Let's see if we're all on the same page on what "clean" means -- one person might mean "dump out the salt water", and the next may mean "after the 3rd complete fill-and rinse with 20% diluted Listerine, I detach all the hoses and use a bottle brush through the exhaust ports for 45 minutes before filling for storage with argon-with-aerosolized-betadine."

For me, clean during a multi-day trip means end-of-day let in a couple of pounds of fresh water, slosh around, repeat, leave loose with a little air in it. After trip, it's: soak in freshwater and completely fill with freshwater, slosh, repeat, fill with tank air until (apparently) dry air vents and store loose about 3/4 full of air.

--Laird

 

[NJDiveGirl]

lairdb once bubbled...
For me, clean during a multi-day trip means end-of-day let in a couple of pounds of fresh water, slosh around, repeat, leave loose with a little air in it. After trip, it's: soak in freshwater and completely fill with freshwater, slosh, repeat, fill with tank air until (apparently) dry air vents and store loose about 3/4 full of air.

I'd say that qualifies as clean! in that respect, OK I do clean it after every dive. I just did an end of season soak/BCLife dip and clean and the whole nine yards... I feel a little better now! thanks!

 

[RICHinNC]

Like most...clean after every dive....

while some would say it would just be another point of failure... i would be interested in seeing an in...and out...valve like attachment that would allow me to hook up a hose and really get some water in and out of there for a super cleaning....

 

[Charlie99]

RICHinNC once bubbled...
while some would say it would just be another point of failure... i would be interested in seeing an in...and out...valve like attachment that would allow me to hook up a hose and really get some water in and out of there for a super cleaning....

What's the problem in just unscrewing a rear dump? A garden hose slips right through the dump valve port on my SeaQuest BC.

 

[oatmeal769]

I rinse all my gear in a trash bucket with water and some Rapidyne. It's good stuff, it disinfects, and literally breaks up salt, and minerals. Just don't soak light colored items for more than a few minutes, it'll turn it orange.

As far as the BC, I take a garden hose, and hold it tight against the oral inflator while depressing the inflate button. (yes, you will get splashed...) I allow the BCD to become about half full, then fill it with some air from my cylinder.

After sloshing it around, I keep on filling until the overpressure relief valve pops. If I hold the BCD so that the valve is at the lowest point, the air very nicely pushes all the water out. Just be careful not to keep inflating once it pops, just give it little 'taps' to keep it going. This might not be the 'accepted' way to do it, but I've been doing it nearly every day for years on my setups, and everything functions like new.
I don't usually end up with any salt water inside my BCD, but I do it anyway to clean the valve, and disinfect the inside.