Salt, Sand, and Sun: How to Rinse and Care for Your Dive Gear in the Tropics
You know the smell. That faintly funky, low-tide whiff coming from a wetsuit that got stuffed into a bag wet and forgotten. It’s the smell of gear that wasn’t looked after, and here in the tropics it sets in fast.
Dive equipment is a real investment, and Bohol’s warm, salty, sun-drenched conditions are tougher on it than most divers realise. The good news? Keeping your kit alive is simple once you understand what’s actually attacking it.
The tropical trio working against you
Three things quietly wear down your gear out here, and they all start with S.
Salt is the sneaky one. As seawater dries, it leaves behind tiny crystals that corrode metal, seize up buckles and clips, and grind away at moving parts. It never sleeps, and it does its damage between dives, not during them.
Sand is the saboteur. A few grains in a fin buckle, a zipper, or worst of all an o-ring, and suddenly things stick, scratch, and leak. Alona’s soft beach sand gets everywhere.
Sun is the slow killer. Tropical UV is brutal on rubber, silicone, and neoprene, fading colours, hardening straps, and cracking mask skirts long before their time.
Beat those three and your gear will happily last for years.
The golden rule: rinse now, not later
The single most important habit is to rinse your gear in fresh water as soon as you can after diving, before the salt has a chance to dry.
A quick dunk is better than nothing, but a proper soak is far better. Salt dissolves with time in the water, so letting things sit for a few minutes beats a rushed splash and dash. And keep your delicate items, like your regulator, computer, and mask, out of the communal BCD tub where everyone’s dunking heavy kit. Give them their own clean rinse.
Item by item
Regulators need the most care and the gentlest hand. Before rinsing, make sure the dust cap is firmly in place and dry, so no water sneaks into the first stage. Rinse gently and, crucially, don’t press the purge button while the second stage is submerged, since that can push water up into the hoses and first stage. Swish it around, rinse the mouthpiece, and let it dry out of the sun. Then keep to the manufacturer’s servicing schedule, because a reg is life-support equipment, not a gadget.
BCDs hold a dirty secret: seawater gets inside the bladder through the inflator and dump valves. So rinse the outside, then put a little fresh water into the bladder, inflate it, give it a good slosh, and drain it out through the dump valves. Press the inflator and deflate buttons under fresh water to flush salt from the mechanism, then store it partially inflated so the insides don’t stick together.
Wetsuits, boots, gloves, and hoods love to grow mildew in this climate. Rinse them well, turn boots and gloves inside out to dry, and give the suit an occasional wash with proper wetsuit shampoo to keep the smell at bay. Never, ever leave neoprene balled up and wet in a bag overnight. If you’re still figuring out how much neoprene you even need here, our guide to Bohol water temperatures year-round has you covered.
Masks and fins are easy to neglect and easy to save. Rinse your mask, keep it out of the sun, and store it in its box so the silicone skirt doesn’t get squashed or cooked. For fins, pay attention to the foot pockets and buckles where sand loves to hide, and store them flat or hanging rather than bent.
Dive computers just need a gentle rinse and a little patience. Soak the buttons and sensor area so salt dissolves instead of crusting up, and keep the unit out of prolonged heat and direct sun. If you’re renting one of our Shearwater Peregrines, we handle all of this for you, but the same care keeps your own computer ticking for years.
Drying: shade is your best friend
It’s tempting to lay everything out under that glorious tropical sun to dry fast. Resist it.
Direct sunlight is exactly what ages your gear quickest, so dry everything in a breezy, shaded spot instead. Hang wetsuits inside-out first on a wide hanger to protect the shoulders, then flip them once the inside is dry. The goal is fully dry, never sun-baked.
Storing and packing for the trip home
Whatever you do, don’t pack or store gear while it’s still damp. A wetsuit sealed into a suitcase in this humidity will come out smelling like a science experiment.
Make sure everything is bone dry, loosen the straps, and store it somewhere cool, dark, and ventilated rather than a sealed plastic bag. If you’re flying out after your trip, our travel tips for divers visiting Bohol cover packing and getting home smoothly. And if this is starting to sound like a lot of kit to look after, remember that owning your own gear is a milestone worth reaching, something we talk about in our rundown of gear every dive pro should own.
Let us take the hassle out of it
Here’s the best part of diving with us. When you’re on a trip or a course at Sierra Madre Divers, we take care of rinsing, drying, and storing your gear between dives, so you can spend your surface intervals with a mango shake instead of a hose.
Don’t own gear yet? No problem. Our well-maintained rental kit is ready whenever you are. Come dive with us, and we’ll keep the salt, sand, and sun where they belong.
