Proper wetsuit care is essential to avoid damage. It helps prolong its lifespan and ensures it maintains its flexibility, warmth, and comfort for many surf sessions to come. Learn how to care for a wetsuit in this guide.
The first step of learning how to care for a wetsuit is understanding how to properly clean it. You should clean it after every surf session, as soon as possible after you get out from the surf. Every now and then you should also give it a deep clean, using specific cleaning products like this one.
Cleaning it on a regular basis helps prolong its lifetime so that you can use it for longer. It also keeps it fresh and less stiff and smelly, making it more comfortable to use.
The second step in proper wetsuit care is ensuring it’s dried correctly. You should aim to dry it as soon as possible after cleaning it, because a soaked wetsuit causes bacteria to grow and damages the neoprene, causing tears, holes and lower elasticity and shrinking (= difficult to put it on). Drying it in the correct way is also important so that it’s not damaged during the drying process.
Lastly, you should learn how to store your wetsuit correctly. Incorrect storage can lead to damage, requiring costly replacements sooner than expected. Learning best practices on storing lets you spend your money on things that are more fun than wetsuit replacements!
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