10 Tips for maintaining your Scuba BCD

Posted By admin on March 13, 2009

I recently wrote about how much I love my new Aqualung Pearl! What I didn’t mention is the fact that buying any new piece of scuba equipment is a big investment and keeping your equipment clean and maintained will not only keep you safe…but keep you out of the poor house! Whether it be your BCD, regulator, wetsuit, mask and snorkel, fins etc. all scuba equipment requires regular maintenance and cleaning! My good friend and owner of the K2 dive shop on-line and in North Hollywood, Tevis Verrett gave us a great top 10 list for keeping that BCD clean and in great working order!

Have a professional SCUBA technician maintain your BCD regularly, at least as often as the manufacturer guidelines suggests.
Make sure it fits properly and you are properly trained in using the equipment.
Disconnect all hoses from BCD after diving and inspect all connections for proper functioning.
Remove and inspect weight pockets. If they are Velcro weight pockets, inspect and clean Velcro with a toothbrush. Do not leave dirt on the Velcro. If they are locking weight pockets, make sure they snap in with a nice loud snap. A weak snap is a sign of a loose connection. In either case, make sure pockets release easily — but not too easily!
Remove all knives and attachments and empty pocket…clean all separately.
Soak outside of BCD in fresh water after every dive. The longer the better…go don’t go crazy!
Fill BCD with water and air, rinse the inside thoroughly, shake vigorously with air and water…repeat twice.
Make sure your run fresh water through the inflator valve (inflate BCD with water and air and then empty through inflator valve by holding the hose low and deflating. Use a toothbrush to clean around the inflator and deflator buttons.
Fill BCD with air and water and use dump valves to empty bladder. Remove and inspect dump valves looking for rust on springs…replace if rusty!
Hang your BCD to dry…do not dry it on the concrete. Once dry, inspect your BCD. If you find salt stains or dirt…spot clean or repeat cleaning process again.