Fishy Smell!!!

[darylm74]

I volunteer at the zoo cleaning the aquariums and had been dying to work in the penguin tank. I keep bringing my drysuit and when the chance came, I pounced on it today. I spent an hour and a half cleaning the penguin tank (in a balmy 45 degree water). The problem is it had not been cleaned for awhile along with some filtration problems so lets just say I pour peroxide in my ears, took an antibiotic and scrubbed really well when I got home. The big problem remains is my new TLS350 smells like fish!!!. I took all my gear home and rinsed it off in a tub of water with listernine in it but for some reason the smell is just embedded in my suit and my rock boots especially. Think I may put the rock boots in the washer but can't do that with the drysuit. Any ideas? I have used the wetsuit shampoos before but not sure that they would even take this kind of smell away.

(ok guys and no jokes about feminine hygeine products or anything, because that was suggested to me by my dive buddies already)


Thanks

Daryl

 

[Wayward Son]

Baking soda.

 

[SoCalAngel]

OK, try "sink the stink." It's this little yellow tube stuff. Put as much of your zipped up suit into a tub of water with the stuff in it. Woolite might work...

Yikes! I am soooo feelin' for ya!

enguin: But, how cool was it to be in the pen with the penquins? enguin3: It HAD to be worth it, right? :51:

 

[Gidds]

"Fishy" smells are generally from oils so if you use a detergent that has good oil-removing capacity that ought to do the trick. A wipe down of your suit with rubbing alcohol might also help. In the future I suggest alcohol for your ears (while peroxide will kill bacteria alcohol is better) and not to use antibiotics prophalacticly unless under the guidance of a physician. If you kept your mouth and nose free of penguin water and then scrubbed really well afterwards you shouldn't need the prophalaxis unless a physician recommended it.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

another vote for "Sink the Stink'. it tends to work pretty well...and next time don't take your new 350 into the tank!

 

[darylm74]

"Fishy" smells are generally from oils so if you use a detergent that has good oil-removing capacity that ought to do the trick. A wipe down of your suit with rubbing alcohol might also help. In the future I suggest alcohol for your ears (while peroxide will kill bacteria alcohol is better) and not to use antibiotics prophalacticly unless under the guidance of a physician. If you kept your mouth and nose free of penguin water and then scrubbed really well afterwards you shouldn't need the prophalaxis unless a physician recommended it.

I was above water for a little bit and did get some nasty water in which I was spitting out pretty quickly. I had some antibiotics left over from a sinus infection I had about 3 weeks ago and thought it better safe than sorry.........but point well taken. I thought about the alcohol but wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not but at least I'm informed.

I'll be trying some of the suggestions to see what cleans it up. I think I can just throw the rock boots in the washing machine or something, but just didn't want to do anything that was going to mess with the glues on the drysuit.

Thanks again all!!!

 

[redacted]

Stay out of the shark tank for a while.

 

[darylm74]

OK, try "sink the stink." It's this little yellow tube stuff. Put as much of your zipped up suit into a tub of water with the stuff in it. Woolite might work...

Yikes! I am soooo feelin' for ya!

enguin: But, how cool was it to be in the pen with the penquins? enguin3: It HAD to be worth it, right? :51:

I wished I had a picture of the pengins on my shoulder when I was working. I think I am going to put shoulder pads (like the knee pads) on my drysuit since the penguins like to sit there and since they asked me to do it again.

 

[darylm74]

Stay out of the shark tank for a while.

They were doing a "scuba tour" at the zoo. They ended up having way too many volunteers for the morning so that is part of the reason they let me do the penguin tank. Typically they want the penguin tank done during the week when I can't get off work (though that is going to change since they said I did such a good job). Anyway they had us "show boating" (i.e. waving at the kids, did a few flips, sticking our tongue out and such) in the shark tank. Since I did the penguin tank and they were missing a few people for the last shift of the day, I got in the shark tank to play. Though I had a clean wetsuit, my wing and so forth still smelled of fish. The sharks didn't seem to bother me but the eels and a wrasse seemed to be very interested.

 

[Tamas]

Vinegar works as well, that is what I use on my wetsuit boots when they start to attract the neighbourhood cats.

Just dilute some in water and soak the "soiled" garment in it, then let dry. Vinegar evaporates and you are only left with a slight smell, next time in the water it washes off.