#8046
Rich-D-Fish - 6/12/2012 10:51 AM
I use just tap water and dry everything out of the sun. I have a big trash can specifically designated for gear, dump everything in after spraying off any sand, and fill it up for a good soak. I like to soak a minimum of an hour to allow as much of the salt deposits to loosen up from any crevices. Sometimes I just leave it soaking overnight. Regs, camera, knife, mask, and lights I soak in my sink for a couple hours and then air dry on a towel after a shake off. I immediately dry off my mask lens inside and out to avoid water spots/calcium deposits. The main reason I avoid sun as much as possible is to keep the rubber parts, hoses, etc. from drying out and cracking. If you have a clear silicone framed mask you will be amazed how quickly sunlight will turn it yellow. I would be leery of any soap products unless it was specifically made for diving equipment, and not sure how much it would help. I used to always use a cap full of the sink-to-stink enzyme liquid to help get the stink out of my neoprene, back when I had to hang dry my gear inside the house. The wife HATES the smell of wet neoprene in the house. But now I just hang dry it outside under our patio cover. The worst is the dive booty stink, because they take forever to dry. I ended up ditching my neoprene booties for some Henderson Insta Dry booties which are basically non-porous rubber. Love them! Don’t forget to add water to the inside of your BCD bladder and swish it around to get the salt water out of there as much as possible. I was told by my local dive shop that salt water, and especially chlorinated pool water, can wreak havoc on the rubber bladder from the inside out. I must be doing something right because my equipment is 5 years old, used every other week, and still works like new.