The fight against smelly gear

[nixmatters]

Hanger vs other ways to hang dry or store:

With modern super stretchy and supple foam wetsuits, folding and storing flat creates permanent creases in a couple of days.
I've had one of my Yamamoto 39 suits on a wide coat hanger with 5,5cm 'shoulders', with a non-slip flock coating - the result was visible marks and slightly thinner foam in the wetsuit shoulders after 2 months.

I've now mocked up this and I feel it will work well. Key point is that the extra padding should have a good grip and distribute the load onto a wider surface.

For drying, I've got a cheap 20$ blow hanger with just 150W power. Does the job overnight. But I needed to tape 2 halves of a wide coat hanger, as the original 'blades' would damage any wetsuit in no time.

Another point about quick drying - a salty suit will never dry completely in a humid environment. The salt just absorbs water from the air. Need to rinse it with fresh water first.

[dice]

Another point about quick drying - a salty suit will never dry completely in a humid environment. The salt just absorbs water from the air. Need to rinse it with fresh water first.

The reason I rinse my wetsuit with fresh water is because salt is not good for a wetsuit. It's abbrasive and stuff like that.
Not because it absorbs water, since that would be a good thing. The more water the salt absorbs, the less water there is in the wetsuit.
It's like putting a wet electronic item in rice, it will absorb the water. Not keeping it wet.

[nixmatters]

Another point about quick drying - a salty suit will never dry completely in a humid environment. The salt just absorbs water from the air. Need to rinse it with fresh water first.

The reason I rinse my wetsuit with fresh water is because salt is not good for a wetsuit. It's abbrasive and stuff like that.
Not because it absorbs water, since that would be a good thing. The more water the salt absorbs, the less water there is in the wetsuit.
It's like putting a wet electronic item in rice, it will absorb the water. Not keeping it wet.

Yes and no. Salty water is good and bad.

- It does stop any form of life growing in your wetsuit, but won't help against pee stink, that's ammonia.
- It does not cause fabric or foam aging or discoloration.
- It does not cause abrasion unless the wetsuit is fully dry (and you get salt crystals) and driven on a bumpy road for hours.
- It does not wick the water out of the material, as it is soaked in the material (both foam and fabric). It just keeps the material damp.
- It is bad (and can be very bad) for metal parts like zipper sliders, keeping them damp in humid environment and accelerating oxidation.

[dice]

...

Yes and no. Salty water is good and bad.

- It does stop any form of life growing in your wetsuit, but won't help against pee stink, that's ammonia.
- It does not cause fabric or foam aging or discoloration.
- It does not cause abrasion unless the wetsuit is fully dry (and you get salt crystals) and driven on a bumpy road for hours.
- It does not wick the water out of the material, as it is soaked in the material (both foam and fabric). It just keeps the material damp.
- It is bad (and can be very bad) for metal parts like zipper sliders, keeping them damp in humid environment and accelerating oxidation.

But how can it keep the wetsuit damp if it absorbs water? That's why I used the comparison with putting wet electronic devices in rice.
And it causes abbrasion when you wear it, the more salt between your skin and the wetsuit, the more abbrasion. But your skin will have more problems with it.

[nixmatters]

...

Yes and no. Salty water is good and bad.

- It does stop any form of life growing in your wetsuit, but won't help against pee stink, that's ammonia.
- It does not cause fabric or foam aging or discoloration.
- It does not cause abrasion unless the wetsuit is fully dry (and you get salt crystals) and driven on a bumpy road for hours.
- It does not wick the water out of the material, as it is soaked in the material (both foam and fabric). It just keeps the material damp.
- It is bad (and can be very bad) for metal parts like zipper sliders, keeping them damp in humid environment and accelerating oxidation.

But how can it keep the wetsuit damp if it absorbs water? That's why I used the comparison with putting wet electronic devices in rice.
And it causes abbrasion when you wear it, the more salt between your skin and the wetsuit, the more abbrasion. But your skin will have more problems with it.

The salty water gets absorbed in the foam (3-8%) and the fabric fibers (4-14%), unlike rice in electronics. The correct term is adsorption btw.
When wet, salt is not abrasive. Only when fully dry in the form of crystals, which is unlikely to happen inside your wetsuit.
And since salt is very hygroscopic, it tends to absorb (not adsorb) water from the air. For that reason salty water will never fully dry if air humidity is high and there is no direct sunshine or some heat.

[dice]

Thanks about the explanation about salt.
But about the abrasion I still believe salt can cause that.
When I was younger I used to go body boarding. And in the ocean I needed to wear a t-shirt because the salt water would create micro cuts in my belly which hurt like hell.
Never had that issue when bodyboarding on waves in an indoor pool with fresh water.

Also the shop where I bought my wetsuit said the same thing.
The wetsuit is not wet right away, only after you crash a few times. So sand that's left over inside your wetsuit will still abrase (i don't know the correct word) around the wetsuit and your body.

[nixmatters]

Thanks about the explanation about salt.
But about the abrasion I still believe salt can cause that.
When I was younger I used to go body boarding. And in the ocean I needed to wear a t-shirt because the salt water would create micro cuts in my belly which hurt like hell.
Never had that issue when bodyboarding on waves in an indoor pool with fresh water.

Also the shop where I bought my wetsuit said the same thing.
The wetsuit is not wet right away, only after you crash a few times. So sand that's left over inside your wetsuit will still abrase (i don't know the correct word) around the wetsuit and your body.

A bit off topic, but thanks for mentioning sand. Another good reason to rinse or properly wash a wetsuit once in a while.
Some jersey wetsuit fabrics tend to capture a lot of sand and that's causing abrasion and wear.
I've never come completely dry out of any of my wetsuits. If water doesn't flush in, it'll be sweat. No salt crystals anyway.

Back to the stinky stuff - there are special detergents that quite successfully remove body odor from the fabric, but nothing is efficient against a smelly foam. It'll stink forever.

[beebad]

All my soft kiting gear, impact vest, booties, gloves, neoprene shorts, hats wetsuits go into the front loader as soon as get home with about a couple tablespoons of HE detergent. Stuff comes out fresh and clean. Stuff i dont wash smells like SH*T. Simple as that

[AndersP]

A good dehumidifier and some freshwater does the thing for me
I turn it inside out, hang it half folded over a bar. Then you avoid the streching.
After a couple of hours i turn it back to normal and dry it overnight. No problem of smell whatsoever.

If I'm away from home and dry it outdoors I always start with inside out. The faster you dry the inside the less your suit will smell. A 0.5mm fastdry shortjohn under the suit will also help keeping your suit less smelly if you can't put it in a really dry place.

I have very soft boots. I turn them inside out too. It'll keep them free from smell.

[Herman]

In my circumstances I feel I am better off spending money on extra neoprene gear rather than drying equipment. I hose off suits with fresh water using a large hangar on the washing line, but then hang them draped over at the waist on a length of drain pipe, held up on the line by a v of rope, to dry. I store dry suits rolled up. Prevents thinning of shoulders by stretch/creep.

For booties I rinse and then pour in a little diluted dettol for the final rinse. Drain and dry by the radiator. Tolerant wife helps, but, these are generally expensive and hard to come by.

PS when changing from winter to summer gear I give all the gear a diluted dettol bath in a 70litre muck bucket and dry thoroughly before storing. I avoid booties where reasonable.