Drysuits and pee valves

[Marie13]

Remember the idea is to NOT scare people.

Vinegar is a useful tip, I've been trying to decide what to use for the flush.

I’ve been told to use a solution of half rubbing alcohol/half water. Good thing I bought two big bottles of rubbing alcohol before the stupid plague hit. You want 70% alcohol. I’ve been told vinegar can damage the p-valve but alcohol doesn’t. I also use the alcohol to clean my She-P.

 

[michael-fisch]

Not sure what alcohol does to the rubber diaphram inside the P-Valve. I'm more comfortable with a strong vinegar solution.

Michael

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Another option for those not conducting long dives, but still wanting to go for a pee without undressing, is too have a pee zip fitted. One of the guys I work with has one and swears by it. Very handy if you're standby on a commercial job and need to stay kitted up for long periods. That said, I'm fine with staying plumbed in.

 

[Scuba Cobra]

I use 1:1 vinegar and water to clean mine, picked up a ketchup squirt bottle from dollar tree, fits right in the hose and makes it easy to flush without getting the solution al over inside my suit.

 

[formernuke]

I’ve been told to use a solution of half rubbing alcohol/half water. Good thing I bought two big bottles of rubbing alcohol before the stupid plague hit. You want 70% alcohol. I’ve been told vinegar can damage the p-valve but alcohol doesn’t. I also use the alcohol to clean my She-P.

I use 90% around the house a lot and had just did a bulk buy before this hit. Not sure it's too strong or not.

Not sure what alcohol does to the rubber diaphram inside the P-Valve. I'm more comfortable with a strong vinegar solution.

Michael

Vinegar is acidic acid so I'm sure if not to strong a mix it will be fine.

I'll call light monkey and ask what the internals are to see which is the better way to go.

 

[formernuke]

I use 90% around the house a lot and had just did a bulk buy before this hit. Not sure it's too strong or not.



Vinegar is acidic acid so I'm sure if not to strong a mix it will be fine.

I'll call light monkey and ask what the internals are to see which is the better way to go.

Or on second thought I could use the the acetone I used to clean pre glue, that will remove EVERYTHING.

 

[Storker]

Vinegar is acidic acid so I'm sure if not to strong a mix it will be fine.

<nitpick>
Acetic acid. "Acidic acid" is a pleonasm, if I've ever seen one.
</nitpick>

Unless it's proper vinegar, like malt, wine or cider vinegar. Then there's a bit more than just the acetic acid there and you'd probably want to use the cheap stuff for rinsing your p-valve. And for the trivia of the day, did y'all know that "vinegar" comes from "vinaigre", which literally means "sour wine" (old French "vyn egre", from Latin "vinum" + "acer")?

Over here, vinegar comes in different concentrations. 5%, 7% and 35% are the most common. So the type (concentration) is rather important.

 

[formernuke]

<nitpick>
Acetic acid
</nitpick>

Unless it's proper vinegar, like malt, wine or cider vinegar. Then there's a bit more than just the acetic acid there and you'd probably want to use the cheap stuff for rinsing your p-valve. And for the trivia of the day, did y'all know that "vinegar" comes from "vinaigre", which literally means "sour wine" in French (Old French "vyn egre", from Latin "vinum" + "acer")?

Over here, vinegar comes in different concentrations. 5%, 7% and 35% are the most common. So the type (concentration) is rather important.

Blame auto correct, I did not know the origin of the word but I'm not surprised. One way to make it is to leave wine open and sitting out so it "sours"

 

[broncobowsher]

Traveling, nobody has issues with bringing a bottle of mouthwash. I have a couple of hotel bottles for travel. It's mostly just alcohol. I always rinse as well. If disinfecting the rebreather that day, some of the disinfectant will get used instead.

Always hook the plumbing up but don't always use it. Not every dive needs a pee. But when you got to go, it is nice to go. Amazing how much stress the thought of having to hold it can build up.

 

[Nomad-Diver]

The advice from a very helpful Diving Doc was to make sure the tubing was properly dried by flushing with methylated spirits. His full text is below, for info :

The bacteria involved is usually pseudomonas which loves to grow in moist warm places like a P valve tubing (and ears on tropical dive trips!). Urine is sterile but is an excellent culture medium so leaving urine in the tubing adds to the problem. I strongly suspect that the corrugated style of tubing is worse than the smooth sided silicon or rubber tubes.

So the best remedy is something that kills the bacteria but more importantly drys the tubing...hence a flush with methylated spirits is probably the best idea, cheap and readily available. I use a tomato sauce bottle. Some metho always spills on the suit and runs down the outside of the leg and seems to have no detrimental effect on the drysuit after several years of doing this. And the mess evaporates straight away anyway.

You do not want pseudomonas in your urinary tract, trust me! Not just unpleasant but potentially life threatening.

BTW when you see your doctor, the normal antibiotics for UTIs will usually not work. Tell them you probably have a pseudomonas infection and will need a different antibiotic (Norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin or gentamicin for example).