Wetsuit Maintenance and Care

Washing Your Wetsuit

We highly recommend a anti-microbial wash and a conditioner for your wetsuit. Body Glove, O'neill, McNett and Rip Curl have great washes that help eliminate the bacteria that makes your wetsuit smell as well as a conditioner to help your wetsuit last longer. Hot water is not good for a wetsuit, nor is leaving it out to dry in direct sunlight. Heat will cause your wetsuit to lose flexibility.

Drying Your Wetsuit

Save 70% drying time with a Hang Air wetsuit dryer. If you do not have one we suggest drying it inside out and fold your wetsuit at the waist. Let it hang on a towel rack or over a large curved surface area. Do not damage your wetsuit by prolonged use of a hanger or on sharp objects. Dry your wetsuit in the shade. Do not put your wetsuit in a washer or dryer. Do not leave your wetsuit in water for prolonged periods of time.

Wetsuit Zipper Care

We recommend keeping your wetsuit zipper free of salt and sand. A great product we have found to be useful for zipper maintenance. McNett makes a product called Max Wax Zipper Lubricant for Wetsuits and Drysuits. It is a silicone based stick formula for lubricating plastic and metal zippers on wet suits, dry suits, boat covers, tents and more. Max Wax maintains, protects and prolongs zipper life.

Wetsuit Repair

If you damage your wetsuit, get it fixed right away. If you have a tear in the neoprene you can purchase wetsuit cement and fix minor tears. If your seams are coming apart and your wetsuit is not still covered under the manufacturer's warranty you can take the suit to a repair shop who can mend the seams. This is typically very cost effective. We recommend taking care of any damage as soon as you find it.

Step 1: Apply Seal Cement on both edges of the repair area. Allow to dry for 5 minutes.

Step 2: Apply a second coat to both edges and let it dry for 10 more minutes.

Step 3: Press and hold edges together until dry (approximately 5 minutes).

Folding Your Wetsuit & Storing

We recommend storing your wetsuit flat if at all possible. If you chose to use a wetsuit hanger, we recommend folding the wetsuit at the waist. If you are traveling and need to fold the wetsuit, we recommend that you first fold the arms back behind the wetsuit, then fold the wetsuit at the waist, finally fold the legs back at the knees. Keep the chest plate free of wrinkles. If you have a hooded wetsuit, fold the hood forward toward the chest plate.