Removing salt residue from silicone/rubber part of mask (Atomic Subframe)

[snoballz]

I thought I was very careful rinsing my gear in fresh water after every dive. Recently I dove in the Caribbean (salt water) and rinsed my gear after every dive.

However, just yesterday I was going through my gear and noticed that there was this chalky salt residue on my Atomic Subframe. So I soaked the mask in fresh water overnight but the residue is still there, particularly around the nose part of the mask.

Is there a way of removing it or am I just SOL? I'm thinking back what I could have done wrong. Perhaps the mask dried in the hot sun while it was sitting on the boat in any one of the multiple dives. I'm not certain.

It's just more noticeable since the mask is black.

TIA.

[Dive Rong]

I've had the same problem. I used "Marine Sports Mask, Lens, and Slate Scrub". I rubbed it undeluted on the skirt with a finger tip as if polishing the skirt - rinsed and finished buffing off with a terricloth towel. Worked great. You might also try the same thing with McNett's Sea Buff Mask Cleaner which you can get from Scubatoys - DRg

[3rdEye]

mine kinda does that even in fresh water, and after rinsing...i'm guessing maybe it's just mineral deposits from the water?

[Panmanmatt]

White vinegar will remove those deposits. Just put some on a paper towel and wipe them away. Also reverse osmosis water is reported to remove salt deposits too.

[Coqui Diver]

I soak all my gear in a water and white vinegar solution after every dive , whether salt or fresh water diving. The acidity in the vinegar kills any microorganissm that cause stink also dissolves the salt crystals. I use about a cupful of vinegar to every 3-4 gallons of water. Then rinse with fresh tap water. My gear is salt free and never stinks.

[snoballz]

Thanks! I'll try the white vinegar first since it's in my cupboard. I'll order the McNett's Sea Buff Mask Cleaner in my next ST purchase, which will be very, very soon.

[mitsuguy]

Originally Posted by Coqui Diver

I soak all my gear in a water and white vinegar solution after every dive , whether salt or fresh water diving. The acidity in the vinegar kills any microorganissm that cause stink also dissolves the salt crystals. I use about a cupful of vinegar to every 3-4 gallons of water. Then rinse with fresh tap water. My gear is salt free and never stinks.

we do the same around here...

nice thing about vinegar - it's cheap, and who cares if you use a little much...

[Black-Gorrilla]

Originally Posted by mitsuguy

we do the same around here...

nice thing about vinegar - it's cheap, and who cares if you use a little much...

does the smell of the vinegar stick to neoprene or Bc's?

[mitsuguy]

nope... it's diluted so much you really hardly smell it at all even when its in it...

[Coqui Diver]

A good rinse with tap water helps get rid of any residual vinegar smell. I never smelled the vinegar after a rinsing, and most importantly never been teased about smelling like vinegar.