New gear question--impact of chlorinated pool water?

[Griffo]

Jut fill up a bath and let it soak for a while.

What's more disturbing is what you might see on the bottom of the pool..... My local pool is an olympic training center, so you'd expect it to be pristine. But with a mask on, the bottom of the dive pool was very off-putting.

 

[eelnoraa]

I think a few pool dive should matter. Here is a trick told by a well known diver/gear manufacturer. Before you get into the pool, soak your bc/wetsuit/drysuit with fresh water. In the case of drysuit, you d-on and take shower (of course). Let the fresh water saturate the gears first, so when you are in pool less chlorined water will be absorbed. It kind of made sense. But I only dive the pool in classes, and I was too lazy to pre-soak my gears

 

[kathydee]

I know it may sound entirely obsessive, but I do test with chemical test strips to make sure the balances are "normal" before taking my equipment into public pools.

If the chlorine level is high enough, I've seen it cause significant and very obvious damage to equipment from one day submerged in a pool.

If chlorine level is "normal", rinse well after the dive and it shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[Lizard Leg]

Not too worried about it fading, but about the chlorine making the plastic pieces, seals, bladder, etc. deteriate faster than normal.

 

[knotical]

Has anyone ever found an authoritative reference that addresses the issue? I haven’t. What do scuba equipment manufacturers say?

My own experience is that at most, chlorinated pools (and/or saltwater and/or sun) may fade the fabric of BCs, but otherwise do no discernible damage. This is equipment that sees hundreds of dives in all sorts of conditions. I do rinse my equipment, including the inside of the bladder. I also perform the recommended periodic maintenance (usually every two years) which replaces “soft parts” (o-rings etc.) No worries.

 

[Kitty_Kat]

I actually try to take my ocean gear into a chlorinated pool a couple times a year... Chlorine kills anything/everything that grows on/in my gear

 

[Lizard Leg]

Had to send my Bc back to get a different size - had them ship the new one second day so it would be here today - and they freakin' lost the package!!!:chairfight:

 

[Damselfish]

and you were worried about chlorine...

 

[Lizard Leg]

My UPS rep is on my list right now...

 

[cudachaser]

For my classes, I have four sets of gear that alternate between ocean, springs and pool on a very frequent bases. These units are about 10 years old...no damage from pool use. The only maintenance I do on a regular bases is rinse in fresh water after ocean use

Joe