Surfing Waves

Hi everyone,

I'm just after a bit of advice if that's okay. I bought a wetsuit a few days ago, and I used it for the first time yesterday. The thing is, I was a bit stupid, I was trying to be very careful, but when I was taking it off, I accidentally dropped it at the edge of my towel and it got covered in sand on its inside. I hung it up in the shower as soon as I got home and started washing it down, inside first, but I noticed that although most of the sand was washing away, there were large areas where the sand was literally enmeshed within the wetsuit! I tried as hard as I could, and increased the power of the shower, but they wouldn't come out, it seemed that the only way to get the particles out was to stretch the wetsuit and to scrub the sand out!

Anyway, I washed the other side of the wetsuit and it's still hanging in the shower now, 15 hours on. I just don't know what to do, I wanted to be so careful with the wetsuit, I'm really anxious that the sand is going to damage it.

Would it be worth just putting it on and using it again, and making sure that I take it off on grass every time from now on? Will any sand that is in the wetsuit come out over time?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Xagan

Is the sand getting in the mesh of the neoprene? I've seen that in my kids wetsuit, but that cost $25 from Aldi; better quality suits shouldn't have that

Sand doesn't hurt a wetsuit except to the extent it might create some sandpaper type rubbing effect; it's more likely to irritate your skin that cause any serious issues. Think about what your wetsuit goes through just laying on the board, moving around, sliding etc. they are tough

The suit's cherry is popped....you can carry on and not be so careful now....sand will come out over time and no doubt more will go in....it's meant for the beach and ocean; it's just got a touch more authenticity now.

When I was a dive master, we would take all the rental suits and soak them in fresh water with a touch of bleach and soap after getting them back...urine, sand, parking lot gravel....all of it ground into the suits....a soaking and they were pretty much good as new and ready to be rented again in the afternoon....take care of your suit but it isn't a Hugo Boss or Saville Row bespoke so remember it it designed for the environment you use it in including sand.