Your wetsuit is an essential piece in your scuba diving equipment set, as it protects your body from many dangers, such as abrasions, heat loss, and wildlife injuries on your scuba dive. 

Without the proper care, the neoprene that your wetsuit is made from can be damaged easily even if you aren’t scuba diving regularly. Despite its toughness, there are several materials that can destroy it swiftly if you don’t take care of it properly. Let’s take a look at five things that can damage neoprene so you can ensure you’re taking good care of your suit.

5 Things That Can Damage Neoprene

To make your wetsuit last longer, it is important to protect it from the following things that can damage neoprene:

• Sunlight.
• Heat.
• Salt and Minerals.
• Improper Storage.
• Non-Approved Cleaners.

Sunlight

Direct sunlight is the last thing you want to leave your wetsuit hanging in to dry. If neoprene takes a beating from UV radiation, it will begin to break down quickly. Besides adding the factor of head, your brand new wetsuit can be completely destroyed in a matter of weeks.

Heat

Even when we exclude direct sunlight, heat is not a good thing for neoprene. You mustn’t ever put neoprene in the dryer or even leave itt in a hot car, as this can make its deterioration process begin. The right way to make your wetsuit dry after rinsing it in fresh water is to hang it in the open air, in the shade.

Salt and Minerals

If you’ve been practicing scuba diving in the ocean, you must rinse your wetsuit immediately with freshwater in order to eliminate any minerals, salt, and bacteria that are accumulated while diving and also get rid of any odors.

Even if your wetsuit has been exposed to any of the damaging elements, a stinky, bacteria-laden wetsuit can be damaged if you never rinse it. Choosing a product like Sink the Stink to rinse the wetsuit every couple of weeks or months is a great way to refresh your wetsuit. And the time between one wash to another depends on the number of time you dive with the suit.

Improper Storage

Besides suffering heat damage, if you leave your wetsuit wadded up in your scuba bag, trunk, or garage it will suffer from rapid deterioration, as it causes compromise of the structure of neoprene.

If you are looking for the right way to store your wetsuit, it is better to hang it on a proper wetsuit hanger, however if you have a limited space, try to store it folded in half in a dry container once it is completely dried.

Non-Approved Cleaners

Rinsing your wetsuit with fresh water after every time you go scuba diving will help to preserve it and keep it clean in most cases.

However, sometimes your wetsuit might have a funky odor. If this occurs, ensure always using a cleaner that is specially designed for wetsuits. If you choose the wrong type of cleaning product on a wetsuit, it can, unfortunately, be one of the worst things that can damage neoprene.