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The care and maintenance of your diving gear is essential for longevity. It helps you save money to don’t always have to spend getting new gear every now and then due to damage. This practice also makes you look like a better diver interested in nothing other than good performance in a water environment.
Before and after you put a piece of diving equipment and accessories underwater, you need to clean them and get rid of deposits and debris properly. Another reason why you have to do this is to ensure quality is retained – preventing abrasion, corrosion, or wear and tear.
Unfortunately, one of the most sidelined and ignored pieces of diving equipment is the snorkel or scuba mask. Many divers don’t find the need to treat it properly because it seems almost inconsequential. However, it would be best to treat your dive mask before and after diving not to have difficulty breathing underwater.
Here, you will learn how to pre-treat and prepare your dive mask in the simplest ways possible. If you can achieve this, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to masks again.
How Snorkel or Scuba Masks Designed?
Snorkel or Scuba Masks are consequential because they are breathing accessories suitable for the underwater experience. Your choice of a mask is important, and also how you wear it. A properly fitted mask will prevent you from getting water into your lungs – if you understand this, you know how crucial it is to get the right mask.
Read how to fit a snorkel or scuba mask properly here.
In the production of masks, there is the tendency for the glass lens to undergo instantaneous fogging because of the presence of a thin film of silicone and mold agents. When these deposits are formed on the lens, the anti-fog effect is compromised; thus, you must remove the film from the lens before diving.
How to Clean Your New Scuba or Snorkel Mask?
Once the silicone film is out of the way, you should use some effective techniques to clean your mask properly. Below is a step-by-step guide on the easiest way to pre-treat your dive mask.
Step 1: Scrub the Lens
When carrying out this particular activity, you need to be careful on what you use. The exposed mask lens needs some work inside out so that it stays clean and clear. Surfactants are ideal because they are non-lethal and effective.
Some other cleaning agents to use are dishwashing liquid, hand soap, and baby shampoo. However, it would be best never to use toothpaste or any other abrasives because they can cause scratches or entirely damage the lens.
On applying soap solution to the lens and skirt, you should also make sure to scrub gently because too much pressure on the glass can cause damage.
Step 2: Use a Lens Cleanser
The next step to ensuring a clean scuba mask is using a lens cleanser to get rid of moisture to provide better visibility. Use your thumbs on the surface – consider the process, a deep tissue massage to keep the lens and skirt clean and nice.
If possible, you could use clean lukewarm water to rinse the lens until it is squeaky clean.
Step 3: Repeat Three Times
If you think rinsing the lens of your mask once will make it sparkling clean and clear, you’re mistaken. You may have to repeat a couple of times to get the satisfaction of cleanliness. Most dive shops will tell you to repeat the process three times, knowing the people might only do it twice or more.
Step 4: Clean the Storage Box
After cleaning your mask, it shouldn’t be lying around just anyhow – you need to store it somewhere until you are ready to use it. That is why a scuba mask comes with a storage box for safekeeping.
Before you proceed to keep the mask in the box, you should make sure it is clean. There is also a thin layer of film that needs to be removed so that it doesn’t cause fogging on the mask later.
How Do You Defog Your Dive Mask?
The issue with masks is that they fog up and may compromise visibility underwater. Many factors responsible for fogging, but breathing out of the nose and exposure to humid air are common.
Before any dive, you need to defog your mask so that your visibility underwater is perfect. There are several ways you can do that, and they include:
Saliva
Using saliva to clean something can be outrightly disgusting; however, it sure works in some scenarios. One of the many ways to clean your mask – defog, i.e., is to use saliva to clean the lens. It is a readily available surfactant to use with a piece of cloth or towel. Besides, you don’t necessarily need too much saliva.
Baby Shampoo
If you want to go commercial with defogging, baby shampoo is a good way to go about it. Most of the time, you would find professional divers with a bottle of baby shampoo; it has no use other than to clean the fog from a mask. After applying, you need to rinse with freshwater.
Interestingly, you will find baby shampoos to be hypo-allergenic, safe, and pleasant in smell.
Defog Agent/Products
A powerful way to prevent the fogging up of your scuba mask lens is to use a defog product. This method is an intensive one because it requires coating the lens with inhibitors. The good thing about this technique is that: you may never have to worry about fogging again.
Conclusion
The pre-dive care for your scuba mask has a long way to go on your diving experience. If you want a clear vision for a good experience underwater, then you know that treating your mask the proper way beforehand is a must-do. Finally, it is not limited to masks; other pieces of equipment can also undergo pre-dive treatment for maintenance and safety.
