proper wettie care

[nz girl]

hey guys
what do you guys do to keep your wettie nice? i always wash mine with hot water and soap, and try and get it as dry as poss between surfs, but it still smells like sh*t when its drying in the living room which does not make for happy flatmates, i can tell you. i heard that drying it outside in the sun is really bad for it, so if you guys have got some better ideas, feel free to tell me.
cheers!

[Phil]

ive never used soap to clean my wetsuits i normaly just rince them down using the hose or in the shower

my 3mm summer suit ive had for 6 years now and its vertuly as good as when i brought it

[GinjaNinja]

Don't pee in your wetsuit while you're out in the water. Even on really cold days. You'll freeze, but your wettie won't smell so bad :)

[tree_hugger]

You could buy some wetsuit conditoner but i usually just use hair shampoo which does the same job. Also when you dry it try hanging it up in a shed or some sheltered place outside just make sure it doesn't go in the sun cos the uv fu*ks the neoprene.
surf mello

[Guest]

Hey NZ Girl.
Bodyline here in Mount Maunganui have a good flyer they give away with all their wetties. They state within.
"If you enjoy the pleasure of relieving yourself in your wetsuit, it may smell after awhile, to remove this smell, soak your wetsuit for a couple of hours inside out in a bathtub of lukewarm water and a cup of Detol. There should be enough water in the bath to cover the wetsuit completely". Never tried it myself (but my wetties doesn't smell:-)

When I get home fro a surf I throw my wettie in the shower and rinse it out (hot water) when I jump in myself. I hang it up on an old coat-hanger and let it drip off, later I hang it up in my car garage to dry in the stable dry air.

I suspect part of your "smell" is perhaps caused by artifically drying neoprene in a closed room i.e fan heater going full-bore in a cold Dunners scarfie flat? That would surely smell like a retreading factory I imagine...

Brent

[nz girl]

hey brent
we actually have a garage but with no door on it so it might be a bit dodgy leaving my wettie in there. i've heard that peeing in your wettie attracts sharks and what with the great white shark factor of st clairs, thats one sin i actually avoid committing! you might be right about the heater though, i will try and find somewhere else to dry it....! cheers for all the tips guys!

[IrishGirl]

It might be the soap you're using? I remember using this liquid hand soap on my booties and whatever happened they just stunk for weeks!! (And no...it's not from my feet!!)

I thought it was a bad idea to use hot water? Somebody said that to me before anyway, probably a load of rubbish but it's not meant to be good for the glue.

[Guest]

I cannot imagine hot water would make a difference. Contact Glue used in wetsuits is a petrolum product...not water based, so therefore water of any temperature should not harm it.....but I'm not going to test this personally. My wettie maker said lukewarm water with about a cup of disifectant for enough water to fully cover the wetsuit (I read that as about 1/3rd full). If & when it smells.
I intend to do exactly what they say. Nothing else.

Brent