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Dry suit question
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 8:09 pm
by LowDrag
What does everyone do to clean out your dry suit when you get a leak of any kind or any size? Do you just let it hang to dry out or do you use some kind of solution to get the saltwater out of the inside of the suit? My leak was pretty small. I was going to use my dry gloves but then changed my mind. The only problem is I forgot to tuck my thumb string from my undergarment back under my wrist seals on both sides. At about 50' I felt wet inside my sleeve and signaled Bob that I needed to head up to fix the issue which we did. Afterwards we continued our dive, me with a soggy sleeve. 
So...what do you guys do?
Thanks,
Dave
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Sun Nov 02, 2014 9:30 pm
by Greg Jensen
When it's just a sleeve, I rinse that area with freshwater and turn it inside out to dry.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:27 am
by LCF
For a wet arm, I don't bother with anything. If I get flooded, I turn the suit inside out, hose it off, and (depending on the suit) hang it dry, or put a fan on to blow into the boots so they dry out.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:17 pm
by KneeDeep
+1 if leaked
LCF wrote:For a wet arm, I don't bother with anything. If I get flooded, I turn the suit inside out, hose it off, and (depending on the suit) hang it dry, or put a fan on to blow into the boots so they dry out.
I did do a soap wahs the one time it got wet in Cali.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:58 pm
by CaptnJack
My suit gets rinsed in the lake or when I need to leak check it. I see no reason to dump a bunch of fresh water inside only to dump it back out and have more to dry out. Pretty sure nobody's had a suit "fail" from lack of rinsing (inside or out).
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 6:27 pm
by LowDrag
Cool...thanks everyone, I am going to just let it dry out because it was just the sleeve to my elbows that got wet.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 8:02 pm
by Cetacea
I use a large commercial fan to blow on my suit and gear after I rinse it. I used to let it drip dry in the garage and it would take days to dry. I have found that even in the cold weather, having a fan or two blow on your gear for 12 hours, it dries out quickly. Not sure why it took me 30 years to come to this conclusion but glad I finally figured this out.... I'd love to see what other cool drying systems people have come up with.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 9:51 pm
by Jeff Pack
I have a heated and dehumified shack, and use one of those UK drysuit hangers with a fan built in.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 8:12 am
by CaptnJack
Cetacea wrote:I use a large commercial fan to blow on my suit and gear after I rinse it. I used to let it drip dry in the garage and it would take days to dry. I have found that even in the cold weather, having a fan or two blow on your gear for 12 hours, it dries out quickly. Not sure why it took me 30 years to come to this conclusion but glad I finally figured this out.... I'd love to see what other cool drying systems people have come up with.
When the inside is wet/damp I have a couple of boot dryers that I extended the wires on. They go down in the legs and their slight warmth creates a draft to remove the moisture overnight. But I basically never rinse my suit so its not like its soaked inside very much. Usually only when I stuff it in the bin wrong and some of the outside water gets inside.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:22 am
by Nwbrewer
If you're suit is wet into the boots, and you need to dive it the next day, turn a shopvac to blow mode, and shove the end of the hose all the way down to the feet. 5-6 minutes each foot results in dry feet, even on my neoprene suit.
Re: Dry suit question
Posted: Sun Nov 23, 2014 8:27 am
by LowDrag
Great ideas guys thanks. I ended up not filling up my suit as much as I originally thought. I hung it up on a hanger with the zipper partially open and it dried quite nicely but I will keep these ideas in mind for that dreaded full flood.