Not too long ago I was talking to someone who made a comment regarding their rented dive gear. They said that since they rented the gear, after diving they don’t wash or clean it. Essentially, they were saying that it is the dive shop’s problem. This type of thinking couldn’t be further from the truth. Yes, dive shops rent gear out and no it isn’t going to be the absolute top of the line gear, but that doesn’t mean you can misuse or mistreat it. If you rented gear, treat it like it is your own. It is imperative that gear is well treated and well maintained.
So, how do you maintain and take care of gear? First off, the last thing you want to do is throw wet gear into a bag and then throw it into your trunk. Basically, if you have gear that has gone in salt water, it needs to be washed and cleaned. What we use is Simply Green, it is an all purpose cleaner that you can get at virtually any convenience store. We bought ours at Walmart for around $1.50. We pour a small amount into a large tote container and fill it with fresh water. Before we soak any of our gear, we hose it off with fresh water. One of the things that we do soak our gear in the fresh water and simply green for around 60 seconds. After a minute or so, take the gear out and then place the gear in a well ventilated area. One of the things that we do is change our the water in the wash bin after we soak our BCDs and after we soak our wetsuits. The reason why we change the water is due to the amount of salt water accumulation on the BCDs and wetsuits. Once you soak your wetsuits, turn them inside out and then hang them. Also, make sure you have all the water out of the BCD. Always hang up your gear, don’t pack wet or damp gear.
Also, like we said previously, if you rent dive gear then you must treat it and care for it like it is your own. For more information about how to care for dive gear, please message us!
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