Newbie BC Cleaning Question

[Foo2]

Hi! Fooman2 just bought a used BC and wants to clean it but isn't sure what to use. The bladder is stinky and we thought about putting vinegar & water in it to clean it but didn't know if you can do that. Also, he has heard that you can use baby shampoo. Just wanted to get opinions from the pros. Thanks ya'll!

[TxScubaBear]

Wow, good point Foo2, glad you asked- we ALL can learn from this!

[deepdiver47]

There are several ways to clean a BCD, if it stinks you can also use baking soda to nutrilize the odors. BTW, this works great on wetsuits where we tend to pee in! (fess up, we all do)

Baby shampoo works just don't use too much of it. Baby shampoo is also great as a mask defogger. Been using that for years, no expensive defog for me.

[Phestr]

Originally Posted by deepdiver47

Baby shampoo works just don't use too much of it. Baby shampoo is also great as a mask defogger. Been using that for years, no expensive defog for me.

I agree. Baby shampoo may as well have a picture of a scuba diver on it.

[TAH 73]

Pour some mouthwash into the baldder and swish it around, kills germs leaves it minty fresh.
I dump some in mine from time to time give it a swish and a soak and it has been great.

[letsgodiving]

Originally Posted by TAH 73

Pour some mouthwash into the baldder and swish it around, kills germs leaves it minty fresh.
I dump some in mine from time to time give it a swish and a soak and it has been great.

LOL.

The best thing you can do is clean the BC properly after every dive. I clean the bladder by removing the dump valve, and filling the BC with a hosepipe. I let it run for a couple of minutes to flush out any saltwater that might have seeped in while diving.

[3rdEye]

i've heard mouthwash in the bladder works well, I also use a few Polident (denture cleaner) tabs in some water to clean the bladder of my camelbak...effervescent action, so that might work as well.

and no, I don't wear dentures

[vel525]

how about just bcd cleaner? anything wrong with using that (i'm guessing it's more expensive than baby shampoo or mouthwash...lol)

[letsgodiving]

Originally Posted by 3rdEye

i've heard mouthwash in the bladder works well, I also use a few Polident (denture cleaner) tabs in some water to clean the bladder of my camelbak...effervescent action, so that might work as well.

and no, I don't wear dentures

I wouldn't use anything not intended or tested for the job. There may be chemicals in some of these household products that are not compatible with the BC materials. Having the seams on your bladder fail at 130ft because they have slowly degraded from the usage of something like mouthwash just wouldn't be cool.

[3rdEye]

Originally Posted by letsgodiving

I wouldn't use anything not intended or tested for the job. There may be chemicals in some of these household products that are not compatible with the BC materials. Having the seams on your bladder fail at 130ft because they have slowly degraded from the usage of something like mouthwash just wouldn't be cool.

i wouldn't think it would be an issue.....but, i guess you never know.

anyway, I looked at the ingredients on McNett BC Clean, and the active ingredient is Nonoxynol-9, so I guess you could safely dump some spermicide in there to get it clean