How to Clean Scuba Gear
Cleaning your scuba gear is one of the most basic skills of a scuba diver. Your gear is exposed to salt water – one of the most corrosive elements on earth – so it’s important to protect your investment by caring for it properly. If you are a beginner looking for basic steps and pro tips, or maybe just haven’t used your equipment in a while, read on for an easy guide to cleaning your gear properly.
MASK
A clean and clear scuba mask is essential for having a great diving experience. Who wants a foggy mask obscuring the underwater view during a dive? Despite what you hear, spitting in your mask is not a good idea, because it actually makes the skirt of your mask susceptible to bacterial growth.
Baby shampoo is a cost effective – and eye-friendly – way to clean your mask. After your dive, you can take care of your mask by soaking it in warm, fresh water, so that the salt water doesn’t damage the integrity. Make sure to scrub your mask down using a toothbrush in order to keep the oil from your fingers off your mask.
BCD (BUOYANCY CONTROL DEVICE)
Your diving BCD is an integral part of your diving equipment and keeping it clean will help lengthen its life. Soaking it in fresh water is a great way to clean your BCD. Be sure to clean the inside and outside of the BCD. To move the fresh water throughout the BCD, you can orally inflate it and swoosh it around. Then drain the fresh water through the mouthpiece by holding it upside down and pressing it.
Squeezing out all the water is important to make sure it will dry properly. Go through these steps repeatedly, until you have removed all salt water residue from the BCD. This is especially important because salt water can damage your BCD from the inside.
WETSUIT
Having a clean wetsuit – like wearing clean clothes – seems so basic, but it can make all the difference to your diving experience. To clean your scuba diving wetsuit, soak it in warm water for a few minutes. Then, twist and knead the neoprene to squeeze and clean out the air pockets in the material, which can trap salt water.
Rinse the suit after you are confident you have gotten all the salt water out of the wetsuit. Finally, turn the scuba wetsuit inside out and perform the same actions. This will ensure the entire wetsuit has been cleared of any debris or salt water that may be harmful to the suit’s integrity. To get it squeaky clean, you can soak it in diluted cleaner, such as mild dish detergent and scrub it around in the solution.
To dry a scuba wetsuit, it’s best to turn it inside out and hang to drip dry. Putting a wetsuit into a washer and dryer is not the proper way to clean it.
REGULATOR
This is one of the most important parts to keep clean because it goes directly in your mouth and allows you to breathe underwater. Big deal, right? Keep your regulator clean to ensure the proper function – did we mention breathing? – and long life of this vital piece of gear.
Before you secure your first stage, release air and see if anything comes out. This ensures that if something is in the tank it will be released. After a dive, make sure to dry the dust cap before you replace it. Water is the most common way for this equipment to get damage.
Finally, soak the regulator in fresh water for a few minutes and then rinse thoroughly. Do not purge the second stage because you do not want water getting into the hoses.
FINS
Out of all the equipment, this might be the easiest to keep clean and maintain in good working order. To clean fins, soak them in fresh water to clean off all the salt water. If you don’t clean properly, they might begin to smell and lose their flexibility. You can also spray the rubber parts down with a silicone conditioner to keep them well conditioned.
Small details matter. For instance, it’s helpful to have a diving bag large enough to fit your fins, so you can pack them into the sides without bending them. You do not want these to warp.
There are plenty of other accessories and additional gear that you can use for scuba diving, but these are the few basic items that every diver should know and carefully maintain.
The cleaning and maintenance of your gear is one of the most basic, yet most important, factors to scuba diving. Proper cleaning of your gear not only helps you have a great experience, but makes your scuba equipment last longer!