Do Drysuits have the Same Smell as Wetsuits?

[Ryan Neely]

We're still diving wet up here but plan to get into some drysuits this coming spring. For several years we've been using the spare bathroom as a place to store wet gear. Thanks to this, our entire house has begun to reek of swamp water despite being quite liberal with Sink the Stink. I've been putting together blueprints for an outdoor scuba locker to store all that wet gear between dives ...

... then I thought, "Do drysuits begin to smell the way wetsuits do? Maybe when we buy drysuits this year I won't nave to worry about the stench permeating the house anymore?" I wouldn't have to build this [potentially problematic] locker.

So ... do you have the same smell in your drysuit as you do in your wetsuit?

 

[2airishuman]

I don't dive dry but have never found any of our many wetsuits (my kids dive too) to be odoriferous. We just rinse them after a dive, dry them overnight, turn them inside out, and dry them again. We dive all over Minnesota and surrounding states/provinces.

 

[M-Cameron]

my wetsuit smells like death, however i dont notice any significant smell in my drysuit(viking pro)

 

[Marie13]

I’d suggest NOT getting neoprene drysuits.

 

[drk5036]

I have a neoprene drysuit and I love it, and it has no smell.

The trick to most easily having a no-smell drysuit is to get it fitted with drysuit socks, then dry the outside, followed by inverting and drying the inside.

For your wetsuit room, buy a dehumidifier. They should NOT smell that bad. Wash them with stink the sink, then dry them completely, inside and out, within a day. The smell is due to bacterial growth. I guess your suite have stayed wet for far to long after use.

 

[RyanT]

I can't speak for drysuits, but just rinse your wetsuits in a baby shampoo rinse shortly after the dive. That should mitigate the smell.

 

[Esprise Me]

My wetsuit doesn't smell. I agree the trick is to dry it completely every time before putting it away. Drysuits may dry more quickly, but they can still develop a smell if they're put away wet.

 

[drl]

Trilam dry suits don’t typically stink. I can’t speak for neoprene dry suits.

 

[rob.mwpropane]

Gosh I have a neo drysuit, hung up by the attached boots in the basement near a dehumidifier. It smells like neoprene. It doesn't have a bad odor to it at all. As a matter of fact I kind of like it and sometimes take a whiff when I walk by....my wife thinks it's weird. I also talc the inside every so often (when dry of course).

Now what does tend to stink is my wicking base layer...that is usually washed every other dive and that tends to remind me of death in a high school gym locker.

 

[Marie13]

Gosh I have a neo drysuit, hung up by the attached boots in the basement near a dehumidifier. It smells like neoprene. It doesn't have a bad odor to it at all. As a matter of fact I kind of like it and sometimes take a whiff when I walk by....my wife thinks it's weird. I also talc the inside every so often (when dry of course).

Now what does tend to stink is my wicking base layer...that is usually washed every other dive and that tends to remind me of death in a high school gym locker.

Washed after every OTHER dive? Yuck. Wash it after every diving day. Use Tide. Really helps with stuff smelling bad.

I can’t imagine not washing my base layer in between diving days.