Scuba diving equipment care and maintenance

Scuba diving is a sport that is heavily reliant on equipment. Contrary to some other sports, without equipment, we wouldn't be able to dive at all! Therefore, ensuring the equipment that keeps you safe underwater is working properly is a big part of the sport.

In this article, we'll have a look at why it is important to take care of our equipment, the general rules and guidelines to clean, store, and maintain it, followed by an in-depth guide on how to clean and store each piece of equipment. At the end of the article, we'll have a section about the mistakes you should avoid!

This article focuses on care and maintenance of your diving equipment, but if you're interested in learning more about the equipment scuba divers use, check out this article, which talks about all the equipment pieces in detail.

The importance of maintaining dive equipment

As detailed before, the equipment we use is a core part of scuba diving: a lot of divers call their equipment their life-support equipment, as it keeps them safe underwater! This introduces our first point as to why maintaining your dive equipment is important: safety.

To give some examples, you need to be confident at depth that your regulator will deliver air as intended, without malfunctioning; you need to be confident in your dive computer that it won't randomly stop working, as it allows you to closely monitor your depth; you need to be confident in your BCD that it won't tear, preventing you from ascending. Regular maintenance and inspection of your scuba gear will not only make you safer but also make you more confident in using the gear that keeps you safe underwater.

The second point is simply comfort: you will feel more comfortable using properly maintained, clean equipment.

The third reason why taking care of your dive equipment is important is that well-maintained gear will last longer. By correctly washing and storing the gear after each use, you can significantly extend its lifespan. As dive gear can often be a big investment, it is natural to want to make it last as long as possible and get the most out of it!

General guidelines for taking care of your scuba diving equipment

Although each piece of equipment is different from another (as we will see later on in this article), there are common themes on how to clean, store, and maintain/service them. Let's have a look:

Cleaning

After each use, all the equipment should be rinsed with freshwater (the only exception is the regulator's first stage, which should not be wet to prevent water from getting inside the regulator): This is especially important for saltwater dives, as not washing the saltwater may lead to salt crystals forming on the gear once the water dries, which can create potential damage on the equipment over time. Chlorinated water (meaning after diving in pool water) should also be rinsed out, as it can deteriorate the equipment.

Storage

Before storing any equipment, ensure that all the water has been washed out (for example, empty any residual water from your BCD's bladder) to prevent mold formation. For the same reason, avoid humid and warm places for storing your dive equipment. Ideally, use cool, dry rooms as storage areas. Avoid direct sunlight if possible, as it can damage fabric during prolonged exposure (especially during intense and warm days).

Servicing

Servicing the equipment is performed by a certified professional, periodically (some pieces of equipment, such as regulators, have a specific maximum number of dives before they require servicing). Servicing a piece of equipment involves replacing small components that deteriorate over time and can become failure points for the equipment.

For example, when a technician is servicing a regulator, they will disassemble the first and second stages and remove all worn parts (O-rings, washers, filter, diaphragm, etc...). Before installing new ones, they will rinse the metallic parts (usually via ultrasonic cleaning) to remove any dirt/residue that may hinder the regulator's mechanism. After cleaning and reassembling the parts, the first and second stages are ready to use again. Generally, it is recommended to service dive gear every 100 dives or annually, whichever comes first. For the regulator, this ensures it is always working as intended and remains usable for a long time.

Examples of other pieces of equipment that may require periodical servicing are: Drysuits, computers, cameras, BCDs/wings, and tanks.

By equipment

Let's have a look at how each piece of equipment should be taken care of:

Mask

Masks can easily develop mold if they aren't regularly washed. After each dive, rinse your mask thoroughly with fresh water mixed with a little bit of antibacterial product. Avoid storing your mask for too long in a humid area, as mold will grow on it. If your mask is left without being used for a while, it may start fogging up: to prevent that, we recommend coating the inner lens with toothpaste before diving and applying an anti-fogging solution (to learn in more detail about how to prevent mask fog, you can read this article).

One common failure point on masks is the mask strap, which can easily break if it is pulled too hard. Luckily, the strap is easy to replace, and therefore, we recommend always having a spare mask strap in your spare bag!

Fins

Fins are some of the most sturdy pieces of equipment in your diving system. They can last you your whole diving career if you take proper care of them. After use, rinse them with freshwater to prevent salt formation or harmful chemicals from deteriorating the fins. Avoid putting too much pressure on the fins while on land; this means, don't walk with the fins on land (on top of damaging the fins, it increases your risks of falling), and don't store the fins with their weight resting on their blade (instead, either hang them up or lay them down flat).

Such as masks, one of the weak points of fins is the finstraps, which (although usually durable) can break if they are pulled too hard! Same as for the mask straps, fin straps can be easily changed, and we recommend always having a spare strap in your spare kit.

Suit

Your wetsuit (wetsuits and semi-dry) should be rinsed after every dive and hung up using a hanger to dry off. Do not store the suits in strong sunlight to dry them, as it can damage neoprene. Wetsuits deteriorate and become thinner naturally over time. If you dive frequently, a good way to make your wetsuits last as long as possible is to get yourself 2 distinct wetsuits and alternate between each one: when one wetsuit is wet, use the other one while letting the first dry completely (putting on a wet wetsuit creates more small tears than putting on a dry one, and those mini tears can aggregate over time). Doing this will give your two wetsuits a longer lifespan than if you purchased them one after the other.

We also recommend repurposing old wetsuits and cutting some neoprene patches: you can then use those patches on future wetsuits to cover cuts and tears (you can use special neoprene glue to glue the neoprene patch on the suit).

If you are using a drysuit, the process is slightly different: you will need to wash the entirety of the outside of the suit (making sure to rinse thoroughly the zipper, valves, and other potential points of failure where salt could form), ensuring the drysuit is closed and the inside doesn't get wet. If the inside does get wet, leaks during a dive, or gets humid, we recommend aerating it once in a while to prevent odors from forming from the humidity. Drysuits should be serviced periodically as the seals (neck seal, wrist seal) and valves can deteriorate over time.

BCD

After use, rinse your BCD (or wing) with freshwater with a little bit of disinfectant product mixed in. Before storing, empty all the water inside the BCD's bladder using one of the dump valves (as leaving water sitting inside the BCD for a prolonged period of time will lead to mold formation); Then, orally inflate the BCD as it accelerates the drying process. If there are any Velcro straps, close them to prevent dust/dirt from accumulating on them while the BCD is in storage.

Periodically (we recommend once per year), the inside of the BCD's bladder should be rinsed with an antibacterial product. This should be done only by a certified technician, as it requires unscrewing a dump valve/inflator hose to have access to the inside of the bladder. The technician should also verify the integrity of the O-rings, springs, and washers inside the inflator hose.

Regulator

After a dive, rinse the regulator with freshwater (once again, the water should be mixed with a little bit of antibacterial solution; this will prevent mold growth, especially on the mouthpieces, which are in constant contact with your saliva). Rinse lightly inside the seconds stage's mouthpiece, and press the purge button while the second stage is submerged to dislodge any stubborn salt water. The first stage should not be submerged in water, as you risk flooding the inside of the first stage (the inside of the first stage is always sealed from the outer environment; it is where the air travels from the tank to the hoses: if water gets inside, it could rust and/or damage some components). To prevent that from happening, we recommend always keeping the dustcap on the first stage when you wash the regulator, and gently scoop up water and put it on the first stage, while ensuring nothing gets inside the valve screw.

A regulator should be serviced once every year or every 100 dives. As detailed previously, a regulator servicing ensures the regulator works properly and its mechanisms aren't hindered. The regulator technician disassembles the first and second stages, cleans the hard part in an ultrasonic bath to remove any residual dirt, and changes the small parts that deteriorate over time (such as O-rings or washers) before reassembling everything.

Computer and accessories

Computers and accessories are easy to maintain: rinse them with freshwater after each dive. If you have buttons on your dive computer, press them gently while the computer is submerged in freshwater to dislodge any dirt or saltwater that may have stayed in a small crevice.

Before each dive, ensure the computer is properly charged, and/or doesn't require a battery replacement. If you are doing more intense/deeper dives we strongly recommend diving with two computers in case one stops working during the dive.

Dive computers also require periodical servicing, as they have mechanical parts and O-rings, which can deteriorate over time.

tanks

Scuba tanks require more thorough investigation when they are serviced, but small checks can still be done before every dive: Have a quick visual inspection before every dive, ensuring the tank you are using isn't presenting any structural damage; If everything looks sound, slightly open the valve and smell the air coming out (open the valve before having your nose in front, in case you open the valve a bit too much!), if the air has any strong smell such as an oily or metallic smell, do not use this tank (this usually mean that the compressor has an issue with the filter and it needs a new filter, or that the oil hasn't been drained from the compressor). The air you breathe should be odorless.

Servicing a tank consists of verifying its structural integrity: Firstly, there is a visual inspection of the inside of the tank, which is to look if there is any rust formation inside. If there is, the inside can be sandblasted to remove the rust. Then, the tank is subjected to a hydrostatic test: this consists of filling the tank with a high-pressure incompressible liquid and observing if the tank gets permanently deformed. The test is usually performed at a pressure higher than the rated pressure (usually about 1.5 times the rated pressure, although that depends on standards and regulations). The tank will expand slightly while it is filled with this high-pressure liquid: the test aims to see if the deformation is reversed when the pressure inside the tank drops (basically, does the tank go back to normal, or does it stay deformed). To pass the test, the permanent deformation present should not be more than a certain percentage of the tank's total volume (the exact percentage varies depending on each organism and country's regulations).

Mistakes to avoid

Forgetting to rinse after a dive: After diving, it is important to always rinse your gear with freshwater. Although it is easy to forget and you probably have other things on your mind right after finishing a dive, forgetting to wash your gear may lead to a deterioration of the equipment. Especially with saltwater, the issue with forgetting to rinse your gear after a dive is that the saltwater drying out may lead to the formation of salt crystals. If this is done regularly, it can deteriorate the equipment.

Storing equipment in a wet area: Avoid storing your diving equipment in a wet/humid area, such as a travel dive bag (especially if the bag is closed). Instead, we recommend storing your equipment either by hanging it up, in a crate, or in a mesh bag, allowing the equipment to aerate. Leaving the equipment in a closed/humid space may lead to mold growth.

Drying wetsuits in the sun: While it may be tempting to use sunlight to dry your wetsuit faster after a dive, direct sunlight (especially when the sun is strong) may damage neoprene and make it brittle. Instead, we recommend hanging the neoprene suit in a dry place (with a fan pointed at it if you want to accelerate the drying process).

Cleaning with aggressive cleaning agents: The water that is used to rinse the gear after a dive can be mixed with a mild cleaning agent, but you should avoid products such as bleach, detergents, alcohol, and acids. If you want to mix something with your water to make sure your gear is as clean as possible, we recommend putting a little bit of liquid soap inside, or a little bit of mild antibacterial product (such as Sanitol).