Care and Maintenance for your Scuba Diving Gears

Knowing how to use your scuba diving gear is not enough to ensure you of a safe dive. Since you will depend on your scuba gear to keep you alive and avoid any diving related accidents, you should also know how to properly maintain your scuba diving gears.

Here are the following maintenance tips to maintain your scuba diving gears:

Mask
• Rinse with freshwater after each use to eliminate contaminants and corrosion.
• Keep out of direct sunlight.
• Store in a cool, dry place.

Snorkel
• As with the mask, rinse thoroughly with freshwater.
• Keep out of direct sunlight.
• Store in a cool, dry place.

Fins
• As with the mask and snorkel, rinse thoroughly with freshwater
• Keep out of direct sunlight.
• Store in a cool dry place.

Buoyancy Control Device (BCD)
• In addition to rinsing, drying and storing out of sunlight there are additional maintenance considerations.
• The inside, not just the outside of the BCD should be rinsed with freshwater. To rinse the inside fill it about one-third of water through the inflator hose, then inflate the rest with air. Turn the BCD upside down several times and completely drain through the inflator hose.
• Store your BCD partially inflated.
• Avoid laying your tank on top of the BCD.

Scuba Tanks and Tank Valves
• Rinse the outside with freshwater, dried and stored in a cool, dry place.
• Never let it completely emptied of air pressure to avoid moisture entering the tank.
• Tanks should only be filled with compressed air for breathing– never pure oxygen.
• Tanks should only be filled to the rated pressure to avoid metal fatigue.
• If your tank has a rubber or plastic boot, check underneath it occasionally for corrosion.
• Tanks must be pressure tested by what is called hydrostatic test periodically.


Regulators
• Rinse with running water.
• Be sure the dust cover is firmly in place to keep water out of the first-stage.
• Do not use high pressure water to rinse your regulator – only gently flowing water.
• Do not depress the purge button during rinsing, because this would open the second stage inlet valve and allow water to flow up the hose into the first stage.
• After rinsing attach the regulator to the scuba tank and press the purge button briefly to blow out any water that may have entered the first stage accidentally.
• Keep your regulator free of sand, mud and other debris.
• When storing regulators, allow the hoses to form large, gentle curves rather than tight loops to avoid damage to hoses.
• Get your regulator serviced by a professional diving equipment specialist at least annually.

Submersible Pressure Gauge (SPG)
• Do not drop or bang it.
• Avoid laying heavy objects like the tank to the SPG
• Since the SPG remains attached to your regulator, simply rinsing and soaking it along with your regulator takes care of the maintenance.
• When taking your regulator for its annual servicing, be sure to ask the serviceman to inspect the SPG as part of the servicing.

Exposure Suits
• Rinse both sides.
• Air-dry inside out.
• Store without folds on a wide hanger.
• Lubricate zippers and fasteners.
• Store out of direct sunlight.

Diving Knife
• Although diving knives are made from stainless steel, they will still rust. Be sure to rinse your knife in freshwater after use and sharpen it occasionally according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Equipment Bag
• Your equipment bag should be emptied and rinsed inside and out after each use.
• Allow it to dry before storing it.

These are the steps to follow to ensure you that your scuba diving gears will last for a long time. Just remember the three basic maintenance steps for all diving gears: Rinse with freshwater, keep out of direct sunlight and store in a cool dry place.