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Buy a mouthpiece for $6.00 and have them put it on for you or put it on yourself before you dive.
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I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Scuba gear is pretty much naturally disinfected as it is pulled out of the water from the last dive. Salt water has long been considered a natural antiseptic and helps clean and sterilize open wounds. This was discussed in my OW class in a joking way when we had to buddy breathe.
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Greg - 6/27/2013 11:42 AM 
I fill a small spray bottle with some Listerine and carry it with me in my gear bag. The high alcohol content helps to kill germs, plus it makes the regulator mouth piece taste better :)
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" Scuba gear is pretty much naturally disinfected as it is pulled out of the water from the last dive"
Problem with that is the reg went into the same rinse tank as the wetsuits and you know what divers do in them :(
Break out the Listerine!
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o.O You can just buy a mouthpiece and replace it on any reg? I asked my instructor if that was possible and he said no. If I could just get a mouthpiece that would be awesome, I’m sitting here thinking of getting my own regulator to bring lol. It’s not so much the normal germs I’m worried about, it’s the people who throw up in them after getting seasick or like LatitudeAdjustment said, them not getting cleaned great after in "fresh" water. Listerine - good idea!
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Your instructor either doesn’t know what I’m talking about or you don’t? Here is the link to leisurepro.com:
http://www.leisurepro.com/Catalog.aspx?op=ItemDisplay&Pr...mouthpiece&Hit=1
It is a $5.95 mouthpiece and attaches with a zip tie. I’ve replaced a countless number of these over the years and it is literally a 2 minute job to get the old one off and the new one on for any standard regulator.
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It’s possible there was a miscommunication between he and I because that’s exactly what I was talking about, he said I would have to just buy my own reg. Awesome, thank you for the link! I’m debating between getting a basic cheap one or splurging on one of the ones that you can get molded to your mouth, the one that was on my rental reg last weekend cut into my gums.
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Yes, it sounds like they are thinking about the whole 2nd stage portion of the regulator and not just the mouthpiece itself. The molded ones are nice, that might be a good option for you.
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I don’t think your instructor misunderstood you. He probably just doesn’t want to deal with someone cutting the zip tie for the existing mouthpiece, deal with finding a safe spot to save it, installing the new one and cutting the new zip tie excess off, and then doing it all over again when you are done. You would need a second zip tie and a pair of wire cutters (not always handy). If you were going to dive with one reg over multiple days then I can see you might want to do this. Otherwise I would go with Greg’s suggestion and bring some listerine.
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That big an inconvenience for either a dive shop taking you on a trip or an instructor leading one, really? I have a spare mouthpiece, zip ties, cutters, fin straps, mask strap, o rings, low pressure hose, and other miscellaneous goodies all in my "save a dive" kit.
If it is "too big a deal" for the instructor you could throw them in your dive bag and do it yourself.
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Is this instructor also owner of the shop??? I do not think at instructor level one would mistake 2nd stage for a mouthpiece. It looks for me as he just wanted to make a sale in not 100% honest way ;)
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Buy a set of regulators. Even if you use them once a years it’s worth the investment.
Most rental gear is mid-range at best, so even if you bought reasonably price regs you’d be no worse off
in quality of what they would rent you.
Then again, it’s probably no worse then eating the BIG MAC some pimple popping teen threw together after picking his nose.
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If you are health conscious, another thing to be aware of is the communal pre-dive face mask rinse tank.
The rinse tank can spread pink eye or conjunctivitis, and other eye infections.
see: http://www.divephotoguide.com/underwater-photography-scuba-o...tion_in_rinse_tanks/
I recommend avoiding use of these, and always rinse my mask after I enter the ocean. You can rinse your mask with a spritz of fresh water from a bottle you bring, as well.
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Just for the record, a mouthpiece is not ’One-Size-Fits-All’, the regulator orifice size varies on some reg’s. Here’s a blurb from Dive Gear Express listing the different sizes:
The only difference is the orifice which mounts on the regulator
mouthpiece fitting. You will need to select the appropriate size for your regulator. Almost all regulator
mouthpiece fittings fall into two general sizes with some fittings being only slightly larger or smaller. The
slightly smaller fitting retention lip (about { 1&1/4 in x 3/4 in |
3.2 cm x 1.9 cm }) takes a SeaCure 1, and the slightly larger fitting
retention lip (about ( 1&7/16 in x 7/8 in | 3.7 cm x 2.2 cm })
takes a SeaCure 2. There are also the Seacure 3/4/5 specialty sizes
which fit the unique retention lips of some specific brands including
APEKS and Poseidon.
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