Do you rinse... or do you not?

[caymaniac]

Recently off the Star Dancer, there was a dedicated rinse tank for your wetsuits with a bacteria killer in it. There was a dedicated rinse bucket for camera gear only. There were three showers on the back of the boat to rinse youself off or any gear that you had with you. I didn't notice if my regs or BC were ever rinsed by the crew........like you said, we were off to, fun, nap, eat, read, sun deck, relax, shower in room, enjoy air conditioning, study fish charts, converse with crew, fish, observe your surroundings, change film, work on camera housing, change lenses, change batteries, take somemore pics. Five dives a day is alot!
At land based it seems like there is more of an oppurtunity to rinse your own stuff after every dive day. Of course at a land base very seldom do we get more than 3 dives a day, maybe the only exception I can think of is the Brac and Bonaire...shore diving.

 

[RumBum]

I agree with those who say there is not enough water on a boat for everyone to rinse their gear after every dive. It would be rude to do so.
Besides, dive gear is practically indestructable. Yes, I want to take care of my gear but I am just not going to be paranoid about it. That's like having a truck and refusing to carry anything in the truck bed. It is just going to get scratched, get over it.
Just soak/ rinse/ repeat/ repeat once home. I also get my regs serviced regularly.

 

[dougaldiver]

Similar for me.
Camera gets a rinse after each dive and then kept out of the sun. Computers at the end of the day (normally just in a small amount of water) and then dried off. I also normally try to give the regs a quick clean at the end of each day. If all else fails dunking the 1st stage, each 2nd stage and the SPG into a basin of water is better than nothing. I do this mainly to try to avoid any build up of salt deposits.
On getting home it's a thorough soak for everything

 

[menemsha43]

I rinse the camera after each dive. I give the wetsuit/booties a quick rinse after the night dive. All of the other gear has to wait for the end of the trip. If its getting used every day I don't think it makes a lot of sense to rinse most of it

 

[wardric]

I've bought my dive gear 10 years ago, I try to rinse it after every day unless it is sure not to dry before the next dive. I rinse my camera and computer after each dive if possible. My stuff is still is in excellent condition, and I am pretty sure the rinsing and general good care has something to do with it.

When I say I rinse, I mean it. I've seen many times people dunking once or twice their meshbag with the gear in it, in a barrel full of not-so-fresh-anymore water and thinking that it's enough. I prefer more than not enough. It's not only an economic matter, it's also a question of security.

I never went on a liveabord so I dont know the water restriction on those.

 

[rickyd]

On the last dive of the day, I'll try to stand under the shower with all my gear on, to give it a rinse, assuming no water capacity concerns. On some of the boats, the crew hoses down all the gear at night, to get the salt off.

Remember to dump any accumulated water from your BC. Amazing how heavy it can get after a few days !

 

[wardric]

Remember to dump any accumulated water from your BC. Amazing how heavy it can get after a few days !

good point, I also fill and rince the inside of my bc after saltwater diving days.

 

[Kim]

I never rinse gear on a liveaboard until the end. I take off my wetsuit under the shower on deck. People always rinse their cameras.

Stuff doesn't get much chance to dry, and even if you rinsed, there's good chance they'll soon move the boat and it will get doused by the spray anyway.

This is exactly how I do it too. As many have said, on boats there isn't a lot of fresh water. As far as salt deposits go I think that even if they start to form they will be redissolved during the next days dives. On the last day I'll stand under the shower and rinse everything fairly quickly but the real cleaning happens when I get home.

My camera gets rinsed after every dive - I put it in the camera tank.

 

[Whatgoesdown]

Your gear is only going to get damaged if salt crystals form. I try to rinse at the end of the day, unless it's been a really long one, and give the whole lot a 30 minute soak once a week before my days off. Also rinse the inside of the BC once a week. If the whole lot gets stored damp I'll rinse regs and mask with Milton sterilising solution before using again. It is best to let gear dry out of direct sunlight, some people are doing more damage to the materials through UV exposure.

 

[Mike Veitch]

When i worked on liveaboards we would spray the bc and regs down at the end of the day, ie after the night dive. Most people do not rinse their gear until the end of the week, those who do it after every dive get a strange look from the crew

Personally, i haven't rinsed anything but my wetsuit in months....