Moldy booties and gloves

[Darmok]

Hi guys...

I just looked at my gear bag and it turns out that my booties and gloves have mold... any tips to clean them?

Thanks!

[Duckydiver]

Perhaps soaking them in some water with neopren shampoo for a few hrs. Rinse and repeat.

My gut says 1/100 bleach with water too. But I have never done that and I don't know how the rubber would react. Try the former first.

[Splitlip]

Originally Posted by Darmok

Hi guys...

I just looked at my gear bag and it turns out that my booties and gloves have mold... any tips to clean them?

Thanks!

Here this thread should answer your question.

My Booty stinks. - ScubaBoard

[Darmok]

Originally Posted by Splitlip

Here this thread should answer your question.

My Booty stinks. - ScubaBoard

That's a funny thread (it would be much funnier if I weren't worried about how to clean my gear), but I feel that after reading 8 pages I didnt reach a conclusion...

I just realized that my mask smells funny and so does my snorkel, but no indication on mold in those....

Any idea how to clean this? I don't want to mess up the neoprene or mess up the colors using bleach...

THANKS!

[Splitlip]

Your a good sport.

Try putting them in the sun, see if the UV kills the mold, then just clean as you normally would.

If that fails, soak in a very mild bleach soultion and back into the sun.

If you end up damaging the boots and gloves in trying to remedy the situation, oh well. I would have just bought new boots and gloves to begin with.

Take better care in the future. Make sure they are rinsed and dryed completely before storing. And DON"T store then in a bag, particularly a damp one.

[3rdEye]

try a vinegar mixture

[Lj82]

Soak --- Wash --- Dry --- Sun

That should do the trick

[fisheater]

When (and if) you've got them nice and clean again, consider getting a boot and glove dryer. They're marketed to skiers and snowmobilers, but they work great for scuba.

[GIFFMANN]

Vinegar diluted with some water will most likely do the trick. We've used it when my wife has forgotten a load of laundry in the washer for too long and it works well.

Maybe even some wetsuit shampoo with the vinegar added to it.

[scubadiver888]

Mold cannot grow without moisture. So you need to think about how you are going to dry them after cleaning. If the humidity in your home is too high the mold will just come back.

To clean them, wash them with an unscented detergent and a little bleach. Make sure the detergent does not contain ammonia (the ammonia will react to the bleach). Rinse. Repeat if necessary.

You want to use unscented detergent. Often the visible signs of mold go away but you can still smell the stale oder. If you use unscented detergent it will make it easier to detect the oder of mold after each cleaning.

Check with local dive shops to see if they have a detergent for cleaning the inside of BCDs. McNett Corporation ( McNett ) has cleaner for BCDs which kills organic residue.

Darrell

P.S. you have to figure out some way to have the boots rest upside down with the toes pointing slightly higher than the heel. This will let the moisture in the boot drain out. You need to do the same thing for the gloves or you might be able to turn them inside out.