Small apartment dive gear cleaning

[Brewingfisherman]

Just want to get an idea what other divers do that do not have access to bath tub or out door area.

I am thinking of getting an attachment for the shower head that attaches to a hose rinsing well in the shower. Inflating bcd letting dry and then store.

Just looking for some good ideas. Bins for soaking is a good idea. But we are in small apartment and would prefer not just adding more stuff to our apartment.

 

[chillyinCanada]

I'm in a big house and still just use my bathtub. The showerhead already has a handheld nozzle on it.

From my perspective, as long as the two of you aren't stumbling over your gear all the time because of shower schedules, there's no reason you shouldn't do it that way.

 

[SleepySlipper]

I’m in a very small studio without a bathtub, just a shower basin. I use the same storage tote for cleaning, that I also use in transporting my gear to/from every dive site. I put together some pvc pipe in the shape of a crude H-frame for less than $20 in material. When my gear is done drying in the shower basin, I can dissasemble the frame and stow it under my bed. For reference, my gear consists of a BP/W and drysuit, seems to dry relatively fast if I turn on my vent fan and have a separate fan blowing into the bathroom.

 

[Marie13]

HangAir suit dryer (has a fan in it) lives from the back of the unused second door in my bathroom (goes into bedroom). I hang drysuit from it with a large plastic tub under it to catch drips. Since I’m a freshwater diver, the only time I rinse gear is when it gets gravel on it from the quarry. Boots with gravel on them are rinsed in a bucket in the tub.

 

[MichaelMc]

I use a $9 1 gallon pump yard sprayer at the dive site on regs, bolt snaps, and most everything else. Plus squirting in and draining the BC bladder. An idea stolen from tbone I think. Then I put the regs and small stuff in a small covered bin with a gallon of water for the drive home.

HDX 1 Gal. Pump Sprayer-1501HDXA - The Home Depot

(Plus flushing in tubs in the tub using the shower....)

 

[Altamira]

I doubt most apartments/studios are smaller than the cruise ship cabins we have been on during the past 10 years. Even on ships where we were not in a balcony cabin, we were able to wash and dry two complete sets of dive gear using the bathroom sink and shower (which are miniscule if you have never seen one.) I rinse/soak the regs, camera housing, masks in the sink. Dry with a towel and put them on a surface not bothered by a little water. Fill the bcd bladder from the sink faucet and drain in the shower a couple of times, then put bcds, fins, boots, wetsuits on the shower floor to rinse while taking a shower. After showering/rinsing the gear, I hang the wetsuits in the shower, fins against the wall, bcds inflated on the shower floor, and boots on the bathroom tile floor. I leave the vent fan running, and by the next morning everything is dry enough to move somewhere else in the cabin if needed. If I can't put the wetsuit outside to finish drying, it takes about 36 hours to dry enough to store without any issues.

 

[luscioman]

I am not sure who you are driving with down here but most places have rinse buckets at the dock to clean your gear. I myself user a bathtub at home.

 

[Altamira]

I am not sure who you are driving with down here but most places have rinse buckets at the dock to clean your gear. I myself user a bathtub at home.

You are a braver person than I. The only equipment I would put in a communal rinse bucket is my camera, and then I soak the hell out of it when I get back to my room/home.

 

[Jonn]

I just march into the shower stall with all my gear on, sans tanks and weights. Take each piece off and give it a good rinse, no hose required, and dump it on the floor. Don't step on the camera! If I don't want a soapy shower for my own hide it can stay there 'til it dries. Not as convenient as the setup a dive resort would have, but it works just fine.

 

[tbone1004]

@SleepySlipper hit the nail on the head.
I use these for my gear. They're cheap, durable, and just work. Will easily hold a full set of dive gear.
HDX 27 Gal. Tough Storage Tote in Black-HDX27GONLINE(5) - The Home Depot

If I didn't have a tub, I'd rinse everything in the shower, then I'd throw everything in there, and fill it with water.
Get something like this. Disclaimer, I don't have one of these, but this one looks appealing with the magnetic vs. suction cup attachment for the bin. The important point is getting water circulating for a few hours. Rinsing is great for anything on the surface, but any dried salt has to be rehydrated and then diluted/washed out and it has to soak. It's dry by the time you get home, so especially for the regulators, you need to soak with flow.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q4D477...&pd_rd_r=e5f001ff-a183-11e9-b12c-b3b24ccffadb

The only other thing is I would get a small tank to keep the regulators pressurized during this exercise, and they're also good for IP checks before trips. Any small bottle will work, as long as it fits in the bin and they're fairly cheap. Hell, you could use a sodastream bottle with a new valve, go find a cheap tank on craigslist, etc.