It can be hard to know how to clean (and love) your wetsuit.
You just got out of the water, and the conditions were perfect. Thirty-meter visibility, clean right handers, an abundance of schooling fish. You get the idea.
Now, back on the beach, the sun’s out and it’s time to get off that soaked wetsuit, right? Wrong! Unless you can get away from the sand (standing on your towel doesn’t count), maybe not.
RELATED: How to Care for a Neoprene Wetsuit
Removing your suit on the beach is a surefire way to cover it with sand and mud. This makes it harder to clean and a nightmare to transport if you’re trying to keep any semblance of cleanliness in your car or truck.
1.) Keep your wetsuit clean
If you’re dying to get it off, try to find a patch of grass, cement, a lifeguard tower—anything to get your sopping suit away from granular beach during removal. Once off, take it back to the shoreline and rinse the remaining sand off with lapping seawater as a good first rinse.
On the dive boat, this isn’t so much of an issue, but you’ll still want to take action to clean your suit and ensure it’s kept in tip-top shape so as to expand its lifespan and performance.
2.) Rinse your wetsuit with freshwater
Salt crystals are the enemy of your suit’s long term health. The neoprene in your suit does just fine when the salt is dissolved in the water, but as your suit dries, the crystals form and act like tiny shards that can slowly corrode your suit.
To prevent this salty slow death, once you’re back home, be sure to do a second rinse of your neoprene suit with freshwater. This helps dissolve and rinse off those pesky salt crystals that are waiting to sink their claws into your high-performance BARE gear.
3.) Dry Your Wetsuit
Just like those salt crystals, the funk also lies in waiting. Without properly drying your suit, mold and raunchy odors can quickly develop. So, even if you’ve rinsed your suit with freshwater, do your best to let it dry and breathe on both inside and out.
No stuffy back seats or dark trunks allowed! Your suit and rig WILL STINK! You can tell a lot about someone by the way they take care of their gear, so be a good steward of your neoprene.
