P-Valve, care & use

[captio2000]

Route the hose up, over the waistband of your undergarment and down to your business. If you wear a jumpsuit you'll have to figure something else out.
Cut half the attachment end off the catheter before connecting to the hose, this leaves less chance of kinking and blockage.
I flush with plenty of water, the Poland Springs water bottles (Labeled appropriately for Pee Valve flushing) fit really well against the hose fitting.
If you don't feel back pressure when you pee, stop - you've been warned, you don't want to fill up your boot, LOL

---------- Post added October 13th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ----------

I decided NOT to use a quick disconnect even after buying one - more points of failure and if you need to pee between dives you have to figure that out. It doesn't really take that long to figure out how to push the catheter end over the hose end with your hands down your pants, LOL - it is a learned skill though. You mileage may vary.

 

[rddvet]

Route the hose up, over the waistband of your undergarment and down to your business. If you wear a jumpsuit you'll have to figure something else out.
Cut half the attachment end off the catheter before connecting to the hose, this leaves less chance of kinking and blockage.
I flush with plenty of water, the Poland Springs water bottles (Labeled appropriately for Pee Valve flushing) fit really well against the hose fitting.
If you don't feel back pressure when you pee, stop - you've been warned, you don't want to fill up your boot, LOL

---------- Post added October 13th, 2015 at 12:01 PM ----------

I decided NOT to use a quick disconnect even after buying one - more points of failure and if you need to pee between dives you have to figure that out. It doesn't really take that long to figure out how to push the catheter end over the hose end with your hands down your pants, LOL - it is a learned skill though. You mileage may vary.

Rarely does a qd fail and if it did it would be while donning gear on the surface. So reliability is a nonissue. Also, if you're putting a valve on the cath side you're doing it wrong. Use a male adapter with no valve on the cath side and once you're out of the suit if you got to pee, just pee

 

[tcphil]

Regarding cleaning, what is wrong with Dawn dish soap or similar fairly mild but effective cleaning soap, in hot water, sprayed through, lots of volume, then rinsed well in hot water. Works for me. Seems if soap and water is good for diapers and other kids clothes that really need to be cleaned well, should be good for pee. Also no worry about chemical build up, or harsh chemicals affecting delicate check valves etc.

According to the CDC, when washing hands, soap and water is the best way to reduce the number of microbes in most situations, and better than alcohol based sanitizers.

 

[Angry Turtle]

Regarding cleaning, what is wrong with Dawn dish soap or similar fairly mild but effective cleaning soap, in hot water, sprayed through, lots of volume, then rinsed well in hot water. Works for me. Seems if soap and water is good for diapers and other kids clothes that really need to be cleaned well, should be good for pee. Also no worry about chemical build up, or harsh chemicals affecting delicate check valves etc.

According to the CDC, when washing hands, soap and water is the best way to reduce the number of microbes in most situations, and better than alcohol based sanitizers.

In hand washing with soap and warm water the reduction of microbes is achieved by mechanical action. Do you think you can get the same inside of a p-valve?

 

[Pilot_dc]

Rarely does a qd fail and if it did it would be while donning gear on the surface. So reliability is a nonissue. Also, if you're putting a valve on the cath side you're doing it wrong. Use a male adapter with no valve on the cath side and once you're out of the suit if you got to pee, just pee

There's a o-ring in there, it can and does fail. On top of the mating point between parts of the QD, having a QD system adds one more barb-to-tubing connection. Each connection is a potential point of failure.

I still use a QD because I like the fact that it locks off when disconnected and prevents the venting of the contents of the pee tube onto the deck of the dive boat. A failure of a pee valve is a little gross, embarrassing and can make you a little uncomfortable, but it's not like a failure of a piece of major life support equipment, so adding a point of failure in the p-valve really isn't as much of a problem.


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[tcphil]

In hand washing with soap and warm water the reduction of microbes is achieved by mechanical action. Do you think you can get the same inside of a p-valve?

Very good point that mechanical action is important. It is not the only factor or wouldn't even need soap, just the mechanical action. It is also important to note that many antibacterials require a significant contact time to be considered effective. In addition, in at least one case, both soap and water and antimicrobials are recommended. Using the proven "Clean Intermittent Catheterization (CIC)" protocol as a starting point, the first step is washing the catheter inside and out with warm soapy water, then having it soak in an antimicrobial solution such as vinegar, bleach or hydrogen peroxide for 30 minutes. This does support that more than just soap and water may be necessary, but it also points out that just flushing with antimicrobials may not be sufficient.

Understand that cleaning an external tube is different than an internally inserted catheter, but the bad stuff we are trying to get rid of is the same.

 

[Angry Turtle]

Very good point that mechanical action is important. It is not the only factor or wouldn't even need soap, just the mechanical action....

We are getting a little beside the point here, but no, soap is part of the mechanical removal of microbes in hand washing. It is an emulsifier and helps in mechanical transport of the microbes in the warm water, in addition to breaking down oils that help in the otherwise "retention" of those microbes on your hands.