OUR READERS HELP.(Brief Article).

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How Do You Clean Your Gear?

Q: How do you clean all your gear--mask, snorkel, BC, booties, gloves, regulator, light, etc.?

SCOTT BARCLAY

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

I get all the obvious dirt off the outside, then pitch it all in the jacuzzi bathtub. Fill with warm water, then turn on the jets for about 45 minutes. Add Sink the Stink or BC Life as needed. Never fails.

LARRY LOZUK

DALLAS, TEXAS

We do the same as Larry--one of us takes the BCs and suits to the jacuzzi master bath, and the other takes the regs, fins, masks, lights, etc, to the spare bath. We rinse everything thoroughly (all our dives are salt water). BCs inside and out, draining from all the vents and the oral inflator, and letting warm water rinse through the mouthpiece of the regs for several minutes (make sure not to press the purge button while you're doing this or water can get to the first stage). Then everything soaks in fresh water--at least overnight.

VIA RSD MESSAGE BOARD

I run my dry suit in the shower both inside and out and then hang it up to dry. Hood and gloves get an occasional washing with Woolite in warm water. I don't need booties anymore, but I used to wash them in Woolite too. Wash them inside-out so that you make sure to clean all smell out of them. Let them dry very well before turning them right side in again or all the little buggies grow between dives.

VIA RSD MESSAGE BOARD

I use wetsuit shampoo for everything. I usually soak my regs in fresh water on the way back from the dive. I don't soak anything more than a few minutes and haven't had any odor problems.

PHIL GARNER

SAN PEDRO, CALIF.

We try to do a good soak before we leave the boat or resort to get the salt off--including a couple of rinses inside and out for the BCs--and get things as dry as possible before repacking for trip home. I get a tank so I can give the second stages a good soaking in fresh water or rinsing under tap with the reg pressurized. Then blow a lot of air out with the purge button on each reg. Once home, everything but the regs goes in the shower with shampoo for another soak and rinse. Once everything is really dry, it gets packed away.

ROBERT DELFS

HONG KONG

A tip that I picked up a while back really works for keeping the booties from getting rank while on a dive trip and when they don't have a chance to dry out from one day to the next: After the last dive of the day soak the booties in a sink of water with some mint-flavored Listerine added.

JIM N. PARKHILL

McALLEN, TEXAS

At the end of each day of diving in salt water, if I plan to dive the next day, I rinse the reg (while it's attached to a tank) with a hose, and then blow out the second stage with the purge. When I make the last dive of a trip, I prefer to immerse the reg in warm water, again attached to a tank, and rinse it thoroughly (I use a large ice chest for this). If you can't rinse the reg while attached to a tank, be careful not to shake the second stage or press the purge button with the reg immersed or full of water. That could allow water to pass the second stage valve and enter the first stage.

CHARLIE PARMELEE

MARIETTA, GA.

Source Citation
"OUR READERS HELP." Rodale's Scuba Diving July 2000: 45. Academic OneFile. Web. 31 Jan. 2011.
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