Lesson learned the hard way

[DeepDiverBob]

I helped out last weekend with a S&R at a local lake here in town. I was warned ahead of time to make sure to wash my gear very well afterwards, because of what might be in the water. As soon as I got home, I cleaned off my gear like I always do, let it hang outside to dry, and then brought it inside when the sun started to go down, before it started to freeze.

Well, about 2 days later, the most God aweful smell I have ever smelled starting making its way out of my gear. I thought maybe it was my dry suit undies, because I have sweat in them quite a bit this year. I was told you dont want to wash those until you cant stand it anymore. Well, I was at that point, when I realized it wasnt the undies, it was the dry suit itself. As I type this now, my dry suit is submerged in my bathtub, with a lot of dry suit shampoo. I havent decided it I am going to let it soak all night yet or not.

Lesson learned.

[MgicTwnger]

Let it stink! Take it to Australia to show those Aussies what a badass you are.

[scububa]

Hmmmm....I am curious about the advice not to wash undies. Are they fleece? Normally they are much more effective when clean and 'fluffy' since it is the trapped air that really provides the majority of the insulation. So building up body oils, bacteria and soil doesn't make much sense to me. And, fleece seems to be pretty durable.

So, not throwing rocks here, but curious as to source of advice and logic behind the advice.

Jim

[SLIM]

If they are Fleace thn they need to be washed regularly to help them perform better and to keep the inside of your suit cleaner. Just turn the suit inside out, zip it up and use a regular dish soap to clean with and let dry.

SLIM

[sobfrogg]

THere are soaps designed just for fleece and other active wear. It leaves the fleece nice and soft and fluffy. No smells either