sgtmnstr
Guest
A toothbrush and non-gel toothpaste to cleanse the mask of its original film. Baby shampoo and water, wicked cheap. You can spray it in your boots before you go in keeps em baby clean...........................
Mask de-fog question
- Thread starter Morg_NZ
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Once you have cleaned the inside of the glass with toothpaste, scrubbing twice as long as you think you should have to. I recommend Sea Drops. Having worked on dive boats for 10 years now, and seen all the other brands fail. If no one leaves a bottle on the boat by accident, I will actually go out and buy another bottle, when I get low.
Aloha Turtleguy
Aloha Turtleguy
pippa0520
Registered
Morg_NZ::bravo: HEY THERE FOLKS,
Whats the best way of stopping your mask fogging up?, I'm used to the "ol spit" method but I've heard that toothpaste and even baby oil work.
What new or different ways have you heard of ?
There is no substitute for a good quality defogger. Yes you can do quick fixes with home made remedies such as diluted washing up detergent, but we'd recommend these as a last resort only.
We've run tests in the ocean, pools and in the labs which show that spit has absolutely pitiful defog properties. Diluted washing up detergent is reasonable, better than say 90% of most defoggers you can buy. But the other 10% are good quality products that any homemade remedy will not outperform.
At Salclear we looked at every variable possible. How the products stand up to warm and cold humid conditions... and for how long too. How they resist washing off in hot and cold water... salty and chlorinated water too. How they sting your eyes, how they smear your mask, and how they clean various soils from glass such as wax, lipstick, olive oil etc etc
Spit is technically a very poor defog. It doesnt smear, doesnt sting your eyes, and is poor at cleaning. Its cheap.
Washing up detergent is a good defog. It washes off easily, smears you mask to hell, and stings your eyes. It has poor humidity resilience and is of course cheap.
Check our website and look at Salclear AquaSport, or for that matter any other producers quality defogs. It really is a different world altogether.
You have to ask yourself "why is my mask fogging?"
I have taught thousands of divers in both the ocean and pools, and I constantly find that pools fog masks more than the ocean, why? because of the thin layer of oil on the top of the water.
Therefore, it is the oily film (whether from manufacturing or other source) that causes the mask to fog, you have to find a way to get rid of this.
toothpaste for new masks is the standard, I have never had to repeat this if done properly the first time.
A cigarrette lighter can also burn off this layer, heat the glass and you will see the change in colour, then wipe it with a tissue but be careful not to burn the silicone.
In my dive tank, I installed one of those bathroom soft soap dispensers on the wall and keep it full of anti bacterial hand soap (non moisturising type) which works a treat, but stings the eyes.
I like the baby shampoo idea, but have yet to try it.
I have yet to find any product on the market that is anything other than an VERY expensive little bottle of anything other than soap, and I have even tried automotive products that repel rain, and windscreen defog. Neither worked although work fine in the car.
Wash your face before diving, this is the biggest trick apart from keeping your mask on your face. Skin oil, suncream, makeup, bacon and egg sandwich residue hair conditioner, etc etc is what gets transfered from face to glass and makes the fog.
I have taught thousands of divers in both the ocean and pools, and I constantly find that pools fog masks more than the ocean, why? because of the thin layer of oil on the top of the water.
Therefore, it is the oily film (whether from manufacturing or other source) that causes the mask to fog, you have to find a way to get rid of this.
toothpaste for new masks is the standard, I have never had to repeat this if done properly the first time.
A cigarrette lighter can also burn off this layer, heat the glass and you will see the change in colour, then wipe it with a tissue but be careful not to burn the silicone.
In my dive tank, I installed one of those bathroom soft soap dispensers on the wall and keep it full of anti bacterial hand soap (non moisturising type) which works a treat, but stings the eyes.
I like the baby shampoo idea, but have yet to try it.
I have yet to find any product on the market that is anything other than an VERY expensive little bottle of anything other than soap, and I have even tried automotive products that repel rain, and windscreen defog. Neither worked although work fine in the car.
Wash your face before diving, this is the biggest trick apart from keeping your mask on your face. Skin oil, suncream, makeup, bacon and egg sandwich residue hair conditioner, etc etc is what gets transfered from face to glass and makes the fog.
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