Scuba diving is a type of underwater sport that has never failed to stimulate non-divers.
In the beginning, the sport may seem to be complex, but it is all fun when you get into it.
Apart from the sheer diving experience it conveys, the sporting needs appropriate scuba gear or scuba set for recreational activity.
What Is Scuba Gear?
Scuba gear or diving equipment is an essential tool that helps you breathe, see and move in a most comfortable way when you are diving underwater below the surface.
For a while, scuba gear allows you to feel like an aquatic being. These scuba set kits include:
1. Buoyancy Compensator Device: Widely known as BCD, it is a device that implements proper breathing techniques.
The gadget is designed to support the neutral buoyancy requirements of the diver.
2. Diving Mask: There is no good focus without a good diving mask. It creates a space between the eyes and the tempered lens of the mask.
This will let you enjoy flora and fauna of the underwater lives.
3. Diving Cylinder: It is a usual 80 cubic feet tank holding compressed air up to the maximum value of 4500 per square inch of pressure.
4. Scuba Regulator: This is another vital device of the scuba set. It is integrated into an open circuit scuba set to minimize intermediate pressure flowing from the tank that can cause lung injury if it is fed directly to the diver.
5. Diving Wetsuit: The diving wetsuit is essential as it will insulate the body from the chilly water temperature as well as also provides protection against jellyfish stings and coral abrasion.
How To Clean Scuba Gear?
You should know that scuba gear is the savior of the divers. Therefore, it is essential that it should be maintained in a proper way.
Most importantly, scuba diving is done in ocean waters.
We are well aware that seawater contains many sediments and salts at different levels of concentration. This, in turn, actually clogs the opening of the tool, along with rust builds.
Sometimes this hard water also causes corrosion as well on diving equipment.
As a result, this leads to irreparable loss of the scuba gears. This can be expensive for you, as you need to buy a new one for sport.
Hence a sportsperson needs to get their scuba gear cleaned up regularly to avoid the damage or loss of the equipment.
Knowing some facts and tips about washing your diving equipment may help a lot.
Let us check some of them here in the below guide.
1- Washing the Regulator
The scuba gears are provided with the regulators; these regulators will be provided with a security cap, which should be washed with extreme care.
While washing this, you should ensure that no water should enter the regulator.
In order to dry it out, use a clean, dry towel. Make sure that you start from the inside when drying.
Once you place the dust cap in the exact position, you should submerge the regulator in pristine water so that no germs remain; after that, you need to soak it for 5 minutes.
2- Washing the BCD or BCs
While washing the BCD, make sure that you wash it thoroughly until and unless the salt particles, as well as the crystal sediments, drain off slowly.
After that, you should focus on cleaning the inner parts of the BCD.
Sometimes, it is seen that the saltwater enters the inner portion through the valves, and as the saltwater dries off, you can see that the exhaust valves get inactive due to the remnants of the dried salt particles.
Therefore, you must wash it very gently with utmost care.
3- Washing the Fins, Mask and Snorkel
Scuba gears like fins, mask, and snorkel needs proper rinsing in fresh water.
For cleaning, you can use a bit of dish soap and rub it through the nose area, the lenses, the skirt, and the little pockets around the mask.
After rubbing, rinse the soap off with warm, clean water.
Upon quick rinse, you should then store them in a clean dry location.
When storing scuba fins, make sure that you keep the fins flat or by using some sort of support. Do not ever make them stand on the end, as this can get them warped.
4- Washing the Camera, Computer, and Knife
After all the above steps, you should never forget to sprinkle water or rinse the camera.
Along with that, you should wash the other gears like knives, sheaths, computers, and dive torches as well.
While cleaning the knives (made of stainless steel), you can consider rubbing them with petroleum jelly to add an extra protection layer for storage.
5- Washing the Gloves, Booties, and Wetsuit
For washing gloves, wet suits, booties, etc., you should get a good quality detergent. By simply submerging them in the water, you can clean them nicely.
Care that you do not wash your wetsuit in the washing machine.
Also, do not put it into a dryer for drying. Instead, you should soak it in a wetsuit cleaner and rinse it with warm water after a few minutes.
Care that no salt particles cling back, and you dry them up completely by hanging them using wide hangers.
If you need, you can put a specially designed wax (for dive gears) on the zippers to keep them in good condition.
After all these steps, your gears are now ready and can be used safely again.
How Does Ultrasonic Cleaner for Scuba Help?
Ultrasonic cleaners for cleaning scuba gear can prove highly beneficial in cleaning your diving equipment effectively for the next usage.
Cleaning of your scuba gears with ultrasonic methods is made possible with the help of cleaning machines such as Ultrasonic Cleaner.
This machine is manufactured by various reliable brands and is effective enough in cleaning small parts, including those from scuba regulators/valves.
Most of the time, while cleaning your gears, it gets difficult to reach the inner parts of scuba gear, which are inaccessible.
The introduction of ultrasonic cleaners for scuba regulators has eased all these problems efficiently.
These machines are efficient enough in cleaning all the germs and bacteria that get deposited at the gear openings which may affect their working.
The working procedure comprises of the bubbles that too in microscopic form which are introduced into the solution with great power.
The best thing about these ultrasonic cleaner machines for cleaning scuba gears is that it works very smoothly as well as in a very gentle way so that instant result is obtained.
Moreover, this cleaning can be done on any type of surface which meets the liquid.
Few Things to Avoid when Storing Your Scuba Gears
Storing your gears RIGHT is equally important as cleaning.
When packing them away after use, ensure that you do not do these things, especially when you want to avoid unpleasant surprises.
- Don’t store your gears wet.
- Don’t prop the fins up against your wall
- Don’t leave them out in the sun to dry quickly
- Don’t use any kind of chemical solvents or petroleum-based products for cleaning.
- Don’t leave scuba cylinder valves open after use. This can allow getting moist air inside, causing internal corrosion.
How Often Do BCD And Regulators Need Servicing?
Most scuba gear manufacturers recommend getting your BCD overhauled once a year. However, if you use them much, you should get them serviced every 40 dives.
To ensure correct functioning, your scuba regulators should also be inspected by an authorized service center at least once a year.
Most of the time, it’s recommended to replace the first stage valve every two years or every 200 diving hours, whichever comes first.
In the end, the proper functioning of your scuba gears depends on how well you maintain them.
If you want to ensure a safe and pleasurable scuba dive every time, make sure that you take proper steps to clean and maintain your unit after each dive.