Post dive care of equipment

[Rich Keller]

I carry my gear in a kit bag so when I get home I just fill the bag with water and let everything soak for a while before rinsing each item with fresh water.

 

[theduckguru]

It's funny you say that, I read somewhere (honestly don't remember where now) that putting a little bit of mouthwash in there will help prevent that. I would thing leaving the dump valve off so it could air dry would be just as effective.

On of the main ingredients in mouth wash is alcohol. I don't think I would do that.

 

[Aquabot]

On of the main ingredients in mouth wash is alcohol. I don't think I would do that.

Yea I guess that's why in theory it would work. I don't do it I just thought it was interesting (and odd).

 

[swimmer_spe]

I had an issue with the dry suit whip not holding pressure when not hooked up to the drysuit. Thankfully I was able to swap it for my whip to my BCD for that dive.

After soaking the octo in warm water for a week, it sealed up.

Now, after a dive, for at least one day, I soak it.

 

[Bryan Cunningham]

Currently post dive, I soak the entire BC with Oceanic XS Air attached in bin of water with added vinegar. At end of dive trip, I disconnect the XS Air and thoroughly rinse the BC bladder, usually with a rinse marketed for BCDs. Is this the best after dive care? And would it be harmful to place disconnected XS Air in bucket to soak in warm water?

i also rinse all the other dive gear as well in a vinegar solution, press all buttons and work the zippers. Is this a good thing and is there anything else I should be doing?

Last question, after soaking wetsuit, any reason you can not use the washing machine on spin to remove excess water to speed the drying?

Thanks for all input.

I would be careful of soaking too long in vinegar. It is very corrosive. If you do, rinse afterwards in bi-card soda to neutralize the acidic content of the vinegar.

Bryan

 

[Hatul]

I would be careful of soaking too long in vinegar. It is very corrosive. If you do, rinse afterwards in bi-card soda to neutralize the acidic content of the vinegar.

Bryan

That's the problem with soaking in anything but water-- you're creating more work for yourself by having to rinse that off. I just use plain water.

 

[KeithG]

As vacation divers our pattern may be a little different.

On a live aboard we generally walk away from most of our gear after each dive. The mask & computer & camera all get a quick fresh water rinse. The rest of the gear is left on our station and is rinsed by the crew each day. I have noticed many people dunking their wet suit after each dive, but I am not sure why. Theirs smells as bad as mine by the end of the week.

For land based trips all gear gets a quick fresh water dunk after each dive. Nothing special.

The end of each trip sees a slightly more thorough rinsing with a hose followed by a quick panic drying session prior to packing and heading home.

Once home all gear goes into the tub / sinks for an extend soak (we dive salt water). We generally take 3 or 4 days per load with new water each day. Gear is then left to dry before packing it back into the bag.

Wetsuits & booties go through the washer with a small amount of detergent - they are tougher than any other clothes I own. We just repeat the wash cycle several extra times with no detergent to make sure they are rinsed completely. Hang dry then lay them flat on a shelf. I folded my suit once which seemed to permanently crush some air cells.

Second stages and masks get a quick once over afterwards with a tooth brush to get rid of any remaining sand or salt. Bcds get no special treatment. I do fill them with fresh water for the soak. Then drain and fill with air to dry.

Every 5 years or so i will break the masks down and give them a real good tooth brushing with a small amount of vinegar or bleach. I only let them have 20 minutes of so in vinegar or 1/4 strength bleach. Then a long soak.

This has been working well for us. We have never had issues with mold or salt deposits and have much of our original gear.