washing undergarments

[PeppermintPaddi]

Friends with more dry suit experience than I are telling me that I will ruin the insulating qualities of my (MK2) undergarments if I wash them with soap, and particularly if I dry them in a dryer. They are using vinegar and letting them drip dry. They don't smell too bad so I guess it works, but I'd sure like to really clean mine - especially right now when I spend the SI in 95F air.

I've looked on the whitesdiving site, on here, and googled and I'm not turning anything up. So what is the proper cleaning procedure?

Thanks in advance.

 

[jridg]

I've had my Mk2 for close to two years - wash and dry it with the machine every other or whenever it needs it - no issues so far.

 

[sffrenchman]

I wash mine with just a little bit of laundry detergent and on the delicate cycle, and only air dry.

 

[TSandM]

I just wash mine in water, and dry it on low. (Mk3) It still seems to be insulating well.

 

[flots am]

Friends with more dry suit experience than I are telling me that I will ruin the insulating qualities of my (MK2) undergarments if I wash them with soap, and particularly if I dry them in a dryer. They are using vinegar and letting them drip dry. They don't smell too bad so I guess it works, but I'd sure like to really clean mine - especially right now when I spend the SI in 95F air.

I've looked on the whitesdiving site, on here, and googled and I'm not turning anything up. So what is the proper cleaning procedure?

Thanks in advance.

Not sure which underwear you have, but underwear that's made out of a single laywer of fleece holds up well to washing and drying.

Underwear that consists of several layers (outer shell, inner shell, insulation in the middle) is sort-of washable, but will eventually separate into layers and the insulation will ball-up, leaving you big wads of formerly-fluffy stuff in inconvenient places, which you'll then need to cut out.

If your DS underwear is really smelly or really needs cleaning, I'd suggest a soak in the tub with something like Woolite, a little hand washing, then gently rinsing and air-drying outside in on a table.

Flots.

 

[Van Isle]

I just wash mine in water, and dry it on low. (Mk3) It still seems to be insulating well.

Do you use a little bit of normal detergent, a normal amount, or...?

VI

 

[jlw]

I use light detergent on everything I wash -- but I wash my MK2 garments after most dives. I hang them out to dry. I havent noticed a change in insulating characteristics at all.