Here is something we see from time to time, not just at Blue Grotto but at every north-central Florida dive site.
- A buddy team completes what is apparently their first freshwater dive.
- After breaking down their gear, they rush to find the nearest faucet or hose with which to rinse their gear, even though it is free of sand or dirt.
- The irony, of course, is that the rinse water, if they find it, is exactly the same water they were just diving in.
Before you laugh, bear in mind these divers were probably doing exactly what they were taught.
- Many students learn to dive in saltwater from instructors who, themselves, have never dived in freshwater.
- These instructors may not envision that their students would ever dive in anything but saltwater.
- Thus, they teach their students that you always rinse your gear in fresh water after every single dive.
Within that narrow context, their advice is sound. It just doesn’t apply to everyone.
Salt is evil
Dive gear has no greater enemy than salt.
- Dried salt crystals can impede the performance of regulators and damage their internal parts.
- Salt crystals can clog the transducer ports on dive computers, impairing their accuracy.
- Dried salt crystals can puncture BC air cells, causing them to leak.
- Dried salt can lead to premature fading on wetsuits.
The only way to prevent this is to rinse your gear thoroughly in fresh water, removing any trace of salt before it has a chance to dry. The problem is, this isn’t always possible.
When freshwater isn’t fresh
Most dive boats and resorts will provide customers with some way of rinsing their gear. It may be a shower or hose or, more likely, a communal rinse bucket.
- A shower or hose is ideal; however, there will likely be several divers who are waiting impatiently to use it and want you to not take your time rinsing. Also, the local “fresh” water supply may not really be all that salt-free.
- Communal rinse buckets are far less desirable. If you are the first person to use one, great. However, with each successive use, the water will become progressively saltier.
The post-trip rinse
Because it is difficult to effectively rinse gear at your destination, most experts recommend you do the following as soon as you return home:
- Fill a trash can or tub with fresh water.
- Immerse all of your equipment in the water and let it soak for at least 30 minutes or more.
- Remove your gear from the water and allow it to dry thoroughly before storing.
This is good advice and, if you are lucky enough to have an outdoor patio or balcony with a nearby faucet, you can do this. However, many divers aren’t so fortunate.
- Some apartments and condos have a shower, but no tub.
- You may have a patio or balcony but, depending on the time of year, it may be too cold to do any sort of outside rinsing.
- You may have a bathtub but the people you live with may object to your tying up the bathroom for an extended period.
- Unless you can manage to hang up your gear entirely inside the tub, it’s going to drip when you remove it. This will result in water getting all over the floor.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was an alternative — one that could do an even better job of making your dive gear salt-free? There is.
The better alternative
If flying to and from your destination, your only option for a final gear rinse is to follow the steps just outlined. However, if you are driving to the Florida Keys or Gold Coast, there is a good chance you will be passing our way on the drive home.
- Key Largo is just six hours from the Grotto. Jupiter and Palm Beach are less than four hours away.
- If you leave south Florida first thing in the morning, you can arrive at the Grotto shortly after lunch. This is in time to make one or more dives of at least 30 minutes each.
The act of making this one final dive can actually do a better job of getting the last of the salt out of your gear than any soak in a tub.
Why it’s the ultimate rinse
Here is why a dive in the Grotto does a better job of making your equipment as salt-free as possible.
- To start, your gear will be totally immersed in freshwater. That’s not always possible in a tub or trashcan.
- The water in the Grotto is purer than many municipal water supplies.
- The fact you will be breathing from your regulator throughout the dive will cause its internal parts to move. This agitation does a better job of dissolving and removing residual salt.
- Changes in depth will cause water to move in and out of your dive computer’s transducer port, if so equipped, doing a better job of cleaning out what is inside.
Assuming you don’t roll around in the sand or dirt following your Grotto dive, most of your gear will need no further rinsing. The sole exception will be your BC, which may still have some saltwater trapped inside. Here is what you do with it:
- Empty out any water remaining in your BC following your dive. Adding a little air first will make this easier.
- Refill the BC partially with water and the rest of the way with air.
- Turn the BC over and over so that the freshwater has the opportunity to rinse all of the BC’s internal surfaces.
- Now drain the BC and leave it at least partially inflated.
Mission accomplished.
Include us in your plans.
If you will be making a road trip to south Florida to dive, be sure to include us in your plans. We are not that far from I-75. A detour to the Grotto will only add 20 miles to your trip.
Plus, you will get to make one last dive in clean, clear freshwater.