How to get mold off equipment??

[maged_mmh]

i would start with the vinegar, bleachers will, well... bleach
for the smell, it will vanish on the very first dive.
as peter said, not all will be removed though (e.g. if reached mask silicone sealant)

 

[peterbj7]

I meant to add that mould can be a problem on glass. If you store an u/w camera housing damp you'll likely get mould forming on the glass itself, and this is IRREMOVABLE. It actually bonds with the glass. Another thing that will cause permanent damage to a lens port is salt water that's allowed to evaporate and dry on it - again, it bonds with the glass.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I need to also ask the question, How can your gear not get used for months? That's the problem. You are not diving nearly enough. In Arkansas you're not far from the gulf. I'd be in the water every couple weeks at least.

 

[Andi327]

I need to also ask the question, How can your gear not get used for months? That's the problem. You are not diving nearly enough. In Arkansas you're not far from the gulf. I'd be in the water every couple weeks at least.

So, 550 miles is considered "not far"? Hhhmmm. I'll stop there. Sorry, but posts like that are just not helpful. :no

 

[kelpmermaid]

What about Oxyclean? I've had luck using it on other stains, and it shouldn't affect colors (you might want to test it first, though.) Throw some in warm water and let the items soak, then soak again in clean water and dry in the sun. It's worth a shot.

 

[Andi327]

Thanks for the suggestion kelpmermaid. I do have some oxyclean that works on nasty stuff in the shower. I'll give it a try today.

 

[lmorin]

I used a weak bleach solution for a short period of time to kill mold growing in my wife's mask, in all the tiny nooks and crannies around her prescription lenses. It grew because the mask was not 100% dry when stored in its box after a trip. The residue of the killed mold was removed with a 2-3% hydrogen peroxide solution. Worked very well.

Pre-test the Oxyclean carefully. It contains 10-30% sodium hypochlorite (bleach), 10-30% potassium hydroxide and 5-10% sodium hydroxide. The last two are very strong bases found in products like Drano.

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I see people mention Simple Green to clean drysuits from time to time. Might be something else to put on your list of things to try for the BC.
Ber :lilbunny:

 

[Captain CaveMan]

I second the Simple Green cleaner. Works very well to kill Zebra muscles

 

[Andi327]

I normally use Simple Green to clean everything after a dive trip, but I don't think it'd be strong enough. So, to update I soaked everything in white vinegar and oxyclean yesterday. Today I rinsed it and now it is soaking in oxyclean. I think tomorrow I will rinse it once again and soak it in very diluted bleach water. Then, give a it a good scrub, rinse, dry, and hope that it is clean. Thanks for all the suggestions. I figured someone would have had this hapen to them before.