Disinfection of the rental gear

[Riksu]

Hi All,

I am very new to diving, just finished the pool training sessions and am about to do the first ocean dive in Mexico in April. Now, I am concerned with the possible bacteria etc in the rental gear, so my question is that is it a common practice to disinfect the reg and rental gear? Are the methods well validated? I am even thinking of buying my own reg before the dives, the idea of sharing the mouth piece is not very attractive to me (I was already worried in the pool...:blinking

Thanks!

 

[Dive Junky]

If you think that disinfecting regs is a major concern of dive operators on the islands you better think again.

 

[Lowrider Steve]

One of the reasons I bought my own gear. One of my first trips was down to Cozomel off a cruise ship. Really got tired of dragging all that gear off the ship and to the dive operation, but on the boat, I went down to the head and there were all the rental regulators laying on the floor in that tiny bow of the boat within inches of the toilet. Can't describe how light that gear felt from that day forward. Not a problem at all.

 

[terrillja]

Hi All,

I am very new to diving, just finished the pool training sessions and am about to do the first ocean dive in Mexico in April. Now, I am concerned with the possible bacteria etc in the rental gear, so my question is that is it a common practice to disinfect the reg and rental gear? Are the methods well validated? I am even thinking of buying my own reg before the dives, the idea of sharing the mouth piece is not very attractive to me (I was already worried in the pool...:blinking

Thanks!

Is it common to disinfect before use, yes. Do some shops just throw it back on the rack? Yes. Buying my own regs was one of my first purchases, the thought of sharing a mouthpiece. Ew.

 

[JahJahwarrior]

To disinfect my gear, I always swish it back and forth in the water three times. Start on the right, moving to the left, then back to the right, then to the left, then lift and shake the water off. You must say the magic words, "ready to dive?" as you do this, and your gear will be magically cleaned!!


(ok, so that doesn't actually do diddly squat. I own my own gear, always get it wet before sticking it in my mouth, and always rinse it off after diving. To do breathing checks on land before I get a chance to swish the mouthpiece in water, pull the sides to the side wth your hand and press your lips up to the hole like it was a gal' and you was a-kissin' her and breathe. )

 

[fisherdvm]

Disinfection? I think they dunk it in the same tank with the rental wetsuits. The urea from the urine helps to kill fungus that grows inside the regs. Your spit has enzymes that breaks down the rest of the cruds....

Ha, ha, ha... sanitation is not an issue with rental gears. That's why I bring a blow torch along, and flame the inside of my rental regs.

Honestly, if you are really paranoid about it, you could theoretically bring along some Listerine mouth wash and pour it into the reg and slush it around a bit. Wiping off the mouth piece with an antibacterial hand wipe, and that's probably the best disinfectant that reg has seen since the last person with OCD walked on board.

 

[scubadale]

Or just take a new mouthpiece.

 

[JBRES1]

I dive my own reg, and I still clean it after every dive. Yes I am anal, but I know it.
I use that Dow bathroom scrubbing bubbles stuff and a tooth brush.
I spray the foam stuff on, then use a tooth bruch to work it around the mouth piece, then rince and dry.
Jim breslin

 

[ravenfish]

If you are renting and are afraid of the germs and you should be, get to the dive shop early ask for a new mouthpiece. Some will happily put a new one on, most will make you pay for it. The smart move would be to bring your own. Bring a mouthpiece for every day of diving you will do. It is not worth it to take it on and off, mouthpieces are cheap. Forget about the dive op holding the reg just for you or that they would treat it any different than the other rentals because it has your mouthpiece on it.

The Listerine bath is a good idea but I would flush it with fresh water to get the sting out.

After the dive, I hose my gear with fresh water. I don't dunk in the tubs. The tubs have all kinds of disgusting things in it. I soak everything back in the hotel tub.

 

[Geoff_H]

I've never worried in the slighest about germs on regulators or mouthpieces - I just rinse in fresh water before & after my dives.