Being a professional organization, we are responsible for other divers safety on each of our oceanic excursions. Given our clientele of disabled scuba divers, we have to make sure our scuba gear is always operating at 100% efficiency and this means doing regular maintenance. If you are looking for some in depth guides, Diver World has some great guides for buying and maintaining the best scuba gear on the market. Scuba gear maintenance is actually quite simple once you get used to it, and any professional diver knows it can extend the life of your scuba diving equipment by many years. Any dive shop that does not regularly service their regulators or has wetsuits that are in disrepair is not a professional operation you will want to be dealing with.
Basic Scuba Diving Equipment Maintenance.
The most effective thing you can do to properly maintain your scuba diving gear is to rinse each piece of gear after every dive. You must use fresh water to rise off the damaging effects that salt water can have over time. Salt from the ocean will rapidly degrade almost all materials that scuba gear is made from, ruse metal and eat through most synthetic materials.
No one likes getting into a smelly wetsuit or BCD, and by rinsing your equipment you will not only get rid of excess salt buildup, but also wash away all the micro organisms found in the ocean that will begin to live in the materials. Bacteria and small plankton can become embedded in your scuba gear and this can really start to stink after a couple days!
The most expensive piece of equipment most people tend to forget is their dive computer! If you go for the best dive computer you can find, then chances are it is made from salt resistant materials, but even those can be damaged over time if you forget to rinse it properly after a dive. Seeing as most divers wear their diving computer 24/7 on their wrist, this can be easy to forget.
Secondly, after rinsing all your BCD, fins, scuba mask and wet suit, you are going to want to hang them to dry. You should not put them in the sun to dry, as this can lead to damage over time as well, from the UV rays slowly degrading your wet suit and fins. When storing your scuba fins or snorkel gear you are going to want to either hang them vertically, or store them in a flat position. This can stop your scuba fins from being bent over time and helps keep the blades strong.
The final piece of advice we have for divers is in regards to your scuba regulator. This is literally your life line under the water so be sure to get it serviced atleast once a year. The membrane in a regulator can become sticky or break down over time, leading to problems with oxygen delivery during a dive, and this can be fatal. Most dive shops will be happy to help you with this, as it can be delicate work and should be done by a professional. Luckily this service is rarely expensive and well worth the investment.
So there you have it! A beginners guide to scuba equipment maintenance. If you follow these simple steps your gear should last you for years at a time and many happy dives below the waves.