Caring for your wetsuit

Don't leave your wetsuit hanging on a standard coat hanger. After about 6 months the neoprene in the shoulder area will begin to crack and degrade. If have to hang it up use a padded coat hanger, or custom made wetsuit hanger available from dive shops. Best of all just lay it flat. Don’t leave it folded for extended periods as the neoprene will crease and weaken.

Avoid leaving your suit in the sun especially in the rear of your car as sunlight rapidly degrades neoprene.

After a race, rinse your wetsuit both inside and out with fresh water and leave it to dry inside out.

There are two sorts of triathletes - those who pee in their wetsuits and those who lie about it. To clean it either shampoo the suit with baby shampoo (that’s about what wetsuit shampoo is anyway) or rinse it out with diluted Savlon or Milton solution. If you don’t the suit is a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of bacteria, so expect to get a rash at some point. The same applies if you end up very sweaty in the suit.

Contrary to popular belief, wetsuits survive washing machines quite happily but do it on a low temperature and don’t tumble dry – they melt.

Seam separations and nicks can be repaired by applying wetsuit glue (available at caving & some dive shops as Black Witch) to each side of the separated seam, allowing it to go tacky for 5 minutes, then press both sides together (i.e. it’s a contact cement). Don’t use the suit for at least 12 hours for full strength but you can get away with after about 30 minutes in an emergency. The glue can be obtained cheaply at diving or caving shops.

Gouges and holes are best filled with Aquasure (Shoe Goo is the same stuff) or roof sealant (although it stinks for weeks). Fill up the hole until level and smooth off. Allow to dry for 24 hours. Aquasure is available from dive shops.

If it seems that your suit has shrunk it may not be the beer & pies over the winter. Neoprene loses some elasticity when dry and not used for a time. Soak the suit in warm water for 6 to 8 hours and hang to dry to get it back.

When you pack your race bag, put the suit in nylon side out to avoid snagging the smooth neoprene surface. Pack it loosely to avoid creases.

A light coating of beeswax or soap on the zipper will make it work smoothly. You can get beeswax blocks or zip lube from dive shops but the latter costs more.

If you want to use a lubricant with your suit use something like Bodyglide, baby oil or vegetable oil not Vaseline or petroleum jelly, the latter two won't rot your suit as some claim but are difficult to get off and make repairs very hard later.

Russell Carter

Written from experience gained from 30 years of using wetsuits caving, diving & in triathlons.