Wetsuit maintenance (cleaning) at the end of the season

[Gab]

Hi,

do any of you wash your wetsuit before you put it away for a long time (winter)? I just read here (French) that it is good to do this at the end of the season to remove all the salt and that it makes the wetsuit last longer :

A la chasse sous-marine

It says to do the following:

1. Choose a short & delicate program (wool, silk, etc)
2. make sure the temperature is no higher than 30°C for this program
3. put half a regular dose of detergent, the kind for delicate things like wool
4. Deactivate the spinning cycle of the program
5. Once done, dry on a hanger inside and out for several hours on each side. Do not use heat to dry it!
6. Hang in a dry cool place with little heat and humidity variations, do not fold.

Do any of you do this? Is it really safe? What about for tailor made wetsuits?

Thanks,
Gabriel

 

[scottwilson]

Hey gab.

I put the wetsuit in the washing machine once a month on a 30 minute wash at 30 deg then stick it in the garage to dry. During winter I dive at least once a month so never really store it away but I have heard of people putting baby powder in the suit to stop it sticking.

 

[Scoobaru]

I don't really leave my suits in storage, but when the smell gets too much I will soak them in mint and tea tree shower gel and water for a day or two. I then wash them with fresh water and hang them on coat hangers inside out. I keep them out of sunlight in a ventilated garage. I've been doing this for a few seasons now and have had no problems at all. Both of my suits are like new.

 

[Apneaddict]

I've found that a "clarifying" shampoo (used to strip away hair-product gunk / build-up) to be quite effective on wetsuits that are starting to get a bit smelly / stinky / nasty.

 

[hank49]

Seriously? All that stuff on a wetsuit? I've never done anything but rinse them with freshwater. They're just getting broke in when they start to stink.

 

[Apneaddict]

I only "figured it out" the first time I went depth diving in cold water and needed to borrow a 5mm suit from a friend.

I figured if he was nice enough to pull an old suit out of storage for me... The least I could do (considering I knew it'd sit for a long time unused) is not return it smelling of pee!

Considering how easy it is... I'd rather mine not have that stench - particularly important on hot days or if you leave your gear in a hot car!