Drying equipment?

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If you're diving saltwater, a thorough rinse in fresh water is very important. If your gear retains some salt, it's always going to want to absorb moisture rather than get really dry. Be sure you're rinsing your gear thoroughly.
 
I hang everything and allow to air dry. When my booties are dry on the outside, I ensure they are really dry inside by spritzing them with Fabreeze then stuffing them with wadded-up up newspaper. I keep the news paper inside the bootie overnight. Before storing in my dive locker, I remove and discard the newspaper. The newspaper absorbs the remaining moisture.
 
I wash all my gear in wetsuit shampoo then hang it to dry in my garage. I've been doing this since 1989 and never had mold in my gear.
 
Garrobo:
I put all my neoprene in the washing machine on gentle with a small amount of soap powders and dry them in the dryer on low. I slosh my BC around in the bathtub in lightly soaped water then rinse with clear water a couple times after which I hang it on the shower head to drip dry. After this I hang it on my bedroom door to dry. When dry the BC hangs in my closet and the other stuff goes in my suitcase ready for the next trip. Never had any problem doing this.
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I have always thought about putting my wetsuit in the washer but I had the old top loading type and thought it may be to rough on them. But now we have the new front loader which is suppose to be more gentle on stuff so I may give it a try.
 
stanw:
What do you do to dry off your equipment such as your booties, mask, etc. to ensure they do not get moldy? I ring out the water after getting out of the water and use a towel to dry off as much as I can. Is there anything else I should consider?

Thanks.
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Booties, skins & wetsuits hang on an open air back porch (covered) clothes line till dry....masks, wrist computers, lites, regs, fins etc air dry indoors in a bathroom then put up & stored in a dive bag...

EDIT: all gear is freshwater soaked in a tub for 2 days(each nite I change the water)-----following saltwater dives....
 
Well, let's do a tally on my gear:

- Home-made PVC dryers. None.
- Dehumidifiers. None.
- Special "wetsuit hangers." None.
- Newspapers. No subscriptions.
- Fabreeze. Never bought any.
- Wetsuit shampoo. You have to be kidding me.
- Ski Boot dryers. None
- Fans. Haven't owned one since college.

Only Scubaboard could generate two pages of replies to what has to be what my old professor would call "intuitively obvious to the casual observer."

Basically, I rinse my gear thoroughly with fresh water. Then grab whatever hangers happen to be in the laundry room and hang the stuff in the garage. Everything will dry on its own in a day or two.

Mold and mildew will not develop. It takes constant moisture for that. Neoprene wicks water to the outer surface by design where it will evaporate away.

-Charles
 
after salt water i rinse mine first with the dunk tanks the LDS has (when going with them), then rinse with water hose again once home. They used to be put on regular plastic hangers and hung on my back deck which is covered. The booties and gloves simply were put on the table on the deck. everything is out of the sun and aired out as well. Now I have those "fancy" BC and wet suit hangers because I ordered some new "toys" so got them too LOL I don't think it makes a big difference of the hangers since I have someplace the air can help dry them out without being in the sun.
 
Since most of my diving is in the summer, I have a rack in my garage (made from two bike hangers, and a clothes bar for a car) The gear pretty much stays there all summer in between dives, and gets as dry as it wants until it gets wet again...
 
A very inexpensive drying rack can be made out of two eye screws, a sturdy length of rope, and a piece of PVC pipe. Just need to find a ceiling stud for the eye screws and determine how far down you want the PVC "bar" to hang for accessability. I've got kids so mine is high off the ground. PVC pipe is a little over 4' long. I have used this for my bike leathers and foul weather gear as well.
 
Honestly I just rinse everything out then hang it in front of a box fan. Typically it will dry booties out in about 2 to 3 hours and wetsuits in about 8 to 24 hours depending on the thickness. Boxfans on high work wonders and at walmart run about 10 dollars. Make sure you lay the boots though where the air can get down inside the booties
 
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