What you should have added to your list:
Simply taking care of your gear and investment - PRICELESS.
No matter how or what you do to care for your gear, proper maintenance will make it last.
Drying equipment?
- Thread starter stanw
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Simply taking care of your gear and investment - PRICELESS.
No matter how or what you do to care for your gear, proper maintenance will make it last.
Cleaning and drying gear is very much a local issue.
The process and tips for a guy that dives quarries and lakes in the mid-west differs wildly from that same guy when he is diving in Panama or Hawaii.
Since you are in LA/SoCal, you likely dive our shores or from boats. Our weather allows air drying without worry of mold, fungus or mildew. Max's plan is the same as mine with the same outcome.
When I return from diving, I toss the gear, save the regulators and computer into a tub with fresh water and a splash of Woolite. Let soak anywhere from an hour to overnight. Rinse in fresh water, hang inside out till dry. Regs and computer just get a fresh water rinse and air dry.
I also splash a capful of cheap mouthwash in the boots and inside my wing/BC bladder. Rinse again and dry.
charlesml3
Contributor
What's improper about my maintenance? Besides, the post is about "drying equipment" not maintenance. I've been diving now 25 years and am only on my third regulator and third BC. I think I know how to make things last.
All these racks, fans, special hangers and "wetsuit shampoos" are nonsense. You don't need any of it. Just rinse your gear thoroughly to get the salt or chlorine off, and let it dry. Use some common sense. If you stuff a bunch of wet boots and suits in your dive bag and leave it for two weeks, you're gonna get mold. Hang them up in your basement/garage/bathroom for a couple of days and they'll dry just fine.
scubadiver2001
New
There are sure a lot of great ideas posted. Some of them will be good to try, like the mouthwash. I did purchase 3 special hangers for my gear. After rinsing everthing in a cool water tub sometimes with and/or without a rinsing agent, the wet suit gets put on a hanger, the boots and gloves on their hanger and the BCD upside down with some air in it after draining the water on the third hanger. All of this is hung in the bathroom (due to location restraints) on a reinforced shower rod.
When we travel we make sure to hang the wetsuits and BCD's over the towel racks in the hotel room. For the boots we place these upside down on another towel rack if available.
The main thing I found for drying gear no matter what, where or how is to make sure the room it is hanging in has some sort of air flow. This may sound simple enough but some places do not have any air blowing around in the room the gear is hanging in. If this is the case leave the door open for some sort of circulation or try to drape it across the backs of chairs (or something that will not damage the gear) in an airy location. During warm weather at home I put a small fan on to keep the air moving. Otherwise as common sense would have it, the gear can get stinky.
Hope some of this helps a little bit.
When we travel we make sure to hang the wetsuits and BCD's over the towel racks in the hotel room. For the boots we place these upside down on another towel rack if available.
The main thing I found for drying gear no matter what, where or how is to make sure the room it is hanging in has some sort of air flow. This may sound simple enough but some places do not have any air blowing around in the room the gear is hanging in. If this is the case leave the door open for some sort of circulation or try to drape it across the backs of chairs (or something that will not damage the gear) in an airy location. During warm weather at home I put a small fan on to keep the air moving. Otherwise as common sense would have it, the gear can get stinky.
Hope some of this helps a little bit.
RoyalScubaAustin
Guest
One of the best things that gets overlooked sometimes ... with wetsuits it is a great idea to let them dry inside-out. Even if you are diving again the enxt day, there is something to be said about pulling on a dry wetsuits on a chilly moring vs a wetsuit that is dry on the outside, but still damp on the inside.
