Washing Gear in the Cold?

[tokillamurderer]

Hello everyone, I searched around and didn't really see this discussed. I'm a year-round diver in the northeast US, but I'm just now starting to dive a drysuit, so my mid-winter diving has been less frequent than the rest of the year since I've been in a wetsuit.

My question is: does anyone have any good tips or ideas for cleaning the gear after diving in frigid temps? I'm mainly worried about my gear freezing as soon as it leaves the wash bin. (I clean my gear outside, as I don't have a great place to do it inside.) My usual method is to dunk gear, hang it on my dive gear rack which has wheels, and after it drip dries enough to drip at a minimum, roll the rack into my basement where I have air plumbed into the rack and fans. My aim is to keep soaked gear and pouring water out of the basement. So, since the gear is outside for a minimum time, it's not really an issue usually. Just when it's so cold things freeze instantly.

Sorry for the long winded explanation! Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful. Thanks!

 

[davehicks]

Pointing a fan at wet gear will always dry it much faster. Put a desktop or standing fan in your basement next to your gear rack.

 

[broncobowsher]

Do you have a bathtub in the house?

 

[KenE]

I designed my personal drying rack to fit in a bathtub and it fits nicely on a tray that was designed for large dog crates. The tray has a one inch lip that tends to fill just below overflow with a large wetsuit and all other diving gear on the rack. I wash outside and then put it on the rack in the garage which is well above freezing. This keeps any water off the garage floor. It evaporates off the tray in about a week or two. I really don't much attention to it.

 

[tokillamurderer]

I designed my personal drying rack to fit in a bathtub and it fits nicely on a tray that was designed for large dog crates. The tray has a one inch lip that tends to fill just below overflow with a large wetsuit and all other diving gear on the rack. I wash outside and then put it on the rack in the garage which is well above freezing. This keeps any water off the garage floor. It evaporates off the tray in about a week or two. I really don't much attention to it.

I like the dog crate tray idea. I'd been trying to think of a mat of some kind with a lip to perform exactly that function. I'll look into that. Thanks!

 

[BoltSnap]

I designed my personal drying rack to fit in a bathtub and it fits nicely on a tray that was designed for large dog crates. The tray has a one inch lip that tends to fill just below overflow with a large wetsuit and all other diving gear on the rack. I wash outside and then put it on the rack in the garage which is well above freezing. This keeps any water off the garage floor. It evaporates off the tray in about a week or two. I really don't much attention to it.

Pics???

 

[Outbound]

I like the dog crate tray idea. I'd been trying to think of a mat of some kind with a lip to perform exactly that function. I'll look into that. Thanks!

You can also try a boot tray. That's what I use.

 

[rick00001967]

cant put near a floor drain in the bsmt?