Rinse after fresh water dive??????????

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Location
Louisville, KY
# of dives
50 - 99
Im new to diving so bare with me. Is there any reason to rinse your gear, and I mean ALL of it, computer and all, after diving in a fresh water rock quarry in Kentucky?

I "THINK" its only necassary to rinse after diving in salt water or cholorine enviroments.
 
The primary reason for rinsing gear after salt water diving is to remove the salt. As salt water dries, the salt crystalizes, which can damage your gear. Salt water creates a hypertonic environment, meaning it actually kills bacteria.

Fresh water, such as lakes, will harbor bacteria. For that reason alone it makes sense to rinse all your gear in clean water after diving in a fresh water environment.

As for "all your gear," such as the computer, knife, and other plastic or metal items; I would still rinse them after diving in fresh water for two reasons. First, it is just a good idea to discipline yourself to rinse and clean all your gear whenever you dive. Think of it as the Zen of diving. The second reason is, do you really want to take a chance that some nasty organism is living on your dive computer? After diving in a lake, I usually dunk my gear in my pool, then rinse it off. That should kill pretty much anything.

On a more practical note, my gear seems to smell worse after fresh water dives.

Jeff
 
I would have to agree that the bacteria thing alone is reason enough to rinse. Also I have found too that fresh water seems to be dirtier then salt water and you never really know if any dirt or debree gets into your bcd and what not.
 
I wash all mine with soap and water, but for wet suits - we turn them inside out and spray them well with urine remover first. Really helps...

H40020Z500ML_SPRAY.jpg

It's also good on sweat stains on a hat. :cowboy:
 
I've found that after diving in my local quarry, Alabama Blue Water Adventures, my gear gets stinky on the ride home. I couldn't imagine allowing it to dry, and just putting it away. For that reason alone, I clean my gear after each fresh water trip.

I've found that using a low concentration of Simple Green in my bathtub works great for cleaning my scuba kit.
 
If you dog is peeing in your suit you really should store it higher up :rofl3:. :joke:

But seriously, I rinse my gear inside and out after every day's diving.....fresh or salt. Once in a while my gear will sit until the next day to get rinsed if I am exhausted, but a rinse always happens. As mentioned, the bacteria is enough to get me to rinse it.

I wash all mine with soap and water, but for wet suits - we turn them inside out and spray them well with urine remover first. Really helps...

H40020Z500ML_SPRAY.jpg

It's also good on sweat stains on a hat. :cowboy:
 
If you dog is peeing in your suit you really should store it higher up :rofl3:. :joke:

But seriously, I rinse my gear inside and out after every day's diving.....fresh or salt. Once in a while my gear will sit until the next day to get rinsed if I am exhausted, but a rinse always happens. As mentioned, the bacteria is enough to get me to rinse it.

:rofl3::rofl3:
I have a Great Dane.... The roof may work..
 
Salt water creates a hypertonic environment, meaning it actually kills bacteria.

that's a surprising statement. why do beaches get closed because of e-coli and other nasty bacteria in the water? there are plenty of bacteria in the ocean. what am i missing? i suspect you need much higher salt concentrations than ocean water to create a hypertonic environment(?)

btw, while i do not doubt that you can grow all kinds of things after diving in fresh water i can also tell you that i know few who rinse their gear after diving in a freshwater cenote and my gear never smells afterwards. the local quarry is a different story. some fresh water is fresher than others.
 
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some fresh water is fresher than others.

Sadly I can vouch for this :shakehead:....hence the rinsing. The local quarries sort of scare me with the stuff that grows in them but they are too close to ignore sometimes.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

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