Steamy eyes or two bum masks?

[opalobsidian]

Hey Justwander!

I have the same problem with masks fogging up which is due to air seeping out my nose. In COZ last month I discovered a new trick, which along with a vigorous scrubbing beforehand did a great job and I will share it with you now....

When those little patches of fog started to appear, instead of doing a full mask clearing I would use my finger to open the skirt just enough to break the seal a wee bit and let in just a little water to accumilate at the bottom of my mask. Then I'd shake my head just enough to make that water slosh over the surface of the lens. Voila! No more fog and, as just that little bit of water wouldn't get in 'em, no stinging eyes! Worked perfectly for me- my frustration factor went way down!!!!!

 

[Northeastwrecks]

There may be an issue with the manner in which you are using the defog.

I use Sea Drops. I find that it works best to apply defog well before you enter the water. Leave it on until it dries. Give your mask a quick dunking to rinse it. You want to keep the defog on the glass, so don't dunk it for too long. All you're trying to do is wash off the excess.

I've been using this method for several years, and it works well for me.

 

[Texasdivechick]

One thing that no one else has mentioned is that once you defog, rinse, and put the mask on, leave it on until the dive is over! Don't take it off while surface swimming or waiting to descend. On the surface inteval, repeat the steps. This suggestion was given to me by my instructor and it works every time. I never have fogging issues, regardless of the mask, water temp, or type of defog (baby shampoo, spit, Sea Gold drops, etc...).

 

[The Chairman]

WARNING...

Make sure you are cleaning the INSIDE of the mask.

I have never had this issue before and I constantly breathe out of my nose!

 

[BuoyantC]

I can't believe all you experienced divers who have never seen nose exhalation cause fogging! Geez, in cold water it happens fast regardless of the age of the mask, defog methods, or materials. In warm water, it still happens, but not so quickly or often.

What I have seen is when people have a slightly leaky mask and clear often, fogging is then a common additional problem. Another way to find out if you exhale , even slightly, through your nose is to remain stationary, breathing normally, and have another diver look to see if bubbles are coming out around the skirt. I'd be willing to bet they are.

Once a mask is cleaned, and you are not exhaling warm moist breath into your mask, almost any defog, or spit should work fine.

Hold off on buying a different mask!

Dennis

 

[Scubakevdm]

I can't believe all you experienced divers who have never seen nose exhalation cause fogging!

Sorry man, even during three and four hour dives, Caribbean or Catalina, I've never had a problem.

 

[UnderSeaBumbleBee]

Are you completely rinsing off the defog or are you leaving a small residue on the glass? If you rinse it all off then it does no good. Just a thought, maybe you have alread taken this into account.

 

[dave4868]

I can't believe all you experienced divers who have never seen nose exhalation cause fogging!

My usual habit of slightly exhaling through my nose doesn't fog my mask, even on ice dives, unless the defog has been rinsed excessively.

I've had fogging happen less than a handful of times and most of my dives are in cold water.

I think the main factor is keeping the defog on the glass by not over-rinsing.

Just my humble opinion.

For what it's worth, for defog I just use Johnson's Baby Shampoo, diluted 50:50 with water.

Dave C

 

[Doc]

I have two different masks that are always fogging up on me.

1. both were in cold and warm water diving.
2. i've used 3 different types of toothpaste on both.

Stop there. Toothpase (with a brush) just before every dive.

3. i've used more than 4 different types of mask defoggers on both.
4. i've spit and others have spit in both masks
5. both were in salt and fresh water
6. have used mask with and without hood, inside and outside of hood, and with or without snorkle attached.
7. i even tried a soft shower mit to loofa the surface of one mask
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.....

Get some 0000 Steel Wool?

 

[Justwander]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to scrub my masks some more and then work on not breathing through my nose and also making sure I'm leaving enough goo on my mask.

I'll let everyone know how my first 'seeing' dive goes. I bet it's incredible.