Rinsing your BCD with antibacterial flush?

[PfcAJ]

I don't worry about it. How much fungus could really be amoung us? Can't get behind the bacteria hysteria.

 

[KeithG]

That's the point: the bladder is sealed so unless you pull apart OPV/inflator valves, or have some other special drying procedure, the moisture gets sealed in. If you store it partially inflated by blowing into it, moisture (and bacteria) in your breath gets sealed in.

And I might want to suck the last bits of air from my wing to pack it tighter. So even if I plan to never breathe from it... sanitizer is cheap.

Oops, i forgot to include that we always remove the shoulder valve. So our bladder is vented, nothing gets sealed in.

 

[TMHeimer]

I use baby shampoo and lots of fresh water after emptying as much salt water out that I can. Then I orally inflate to help drain the fresh water/shampoo. I do this as well over the next couple of days to get as much water out as possible. My next dive is usually a week later and there is still some water in there, as I agree--the inside of my BC has probably never been dry. I've not gotten ill from the oral inflation yet. But, I tend to have a steel stomach and have never had any kind of food poisoning.

 

[Patoux01]

It's useless.

You're not breathing that air, why should it be perfectly clean? Give a quick rinse and be done with it.
- Saves time
- Saves money
- Saves environment
At the cost of
- if you're an incredible moron that skipped scuba 101 and breathes off a bcd, you might get a tiny bit less chance to get an infection.

Definitely not worth it.

 

[dmaziuk]

Oops, i forgot to include that we always remove the shoulder valve. So our bladder is vented, nothing gets sealed in.

That I'll take.

I'm not pulling apart my valves (yet) and I breathe/suck air out of my wing when packing it all the time. No deadly lung infections so far, but adding a cup of bug killer to the rinse doesn't cost much and here in the land of affordable health care could potentially save a fortune in hospital bills.

Coincidentally, I talked to a guy at an LDS the other day, he claimed he had an infection from a mouldy reg once and so they are always disinfecting their rental 2nd stages. Plural of anecdote is not data and all that of course...

 

[kurtisenbecker]

Hello demaziuk. How long have you been using Sanizide on your BCD? Just curious as to the long terms effects of the cleaner on your bladder.

Thanks everyone for all the info and the articles. Great stuff.

 

[dmaziuk]

Just curious as to the long terms effects of the cleaner on your bladder.

Crystal clear urine samples? I only recently started using, no long-term effects yet.

I picked sanizide because it was one of 3 (?) options listed in some US Navy study/publication for which a I don't have a cite but could probably find it again if I really tried. It was the cheap and available one. My resident biochemist (I'm married to one) tells me it's a "cell disruptor", it's what they use to wash petri dishes after growing bacterial cultures in 'em, it should have no effect on the stuff BCD bladders are made of.

 

[Tug]

I don't worry about it. How much fungus could really be amoung us? Can't get behind the bacteria hysteria.

I'm the same way... although if I remember, I might squirt some sanitizer in there whenever I sanitize my rebreather... maybe...

 

[kurtisenbecker]

dmaziik thanks for the info (on your bladder and BCD). If I dove my BCD more often (and rinsed) I would not even worry about it but on of my BCD's stays in Hawaii so it sits for longer periods of time between dives. In those conditions any type of bacteria or fungus would grow a very large colony by the time I used it again.

Thanks

 

[Patoux01]

In those conditions any type of bacteria or fungus would grow a very large colony by the time I used it again.

Well, that's the case on mine. Stayed dry for a year, dived 15 times in fresh water with no rinsing, then flushed it with fresh water and it sits again for a year.

The question is, why should it matter?