Life Vest Maintenance

[tracerrx]

Curious what, if anything, you guys do with life jackets?

At our lake house we have a bunch of Body Glove Phantom life vests that we keep for Skiing, wakeboarding etc. After each use, we spray them down with fresh water, dry out, and store them hanging in a closet. But after repeated use, they STINK!

I was wondering if anyone does anything other than spray them down with fresh water? My wife and I were thinking about spraying them down each time after use with one of those "Daily Shower" cleaners, which I believe is just a very dilute bleach solution.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Other than checking to see if the vests are not torn or missing parts, there isn't much to do with them. Auto deploying vests are another creature and need frequent inspections and new parts to keep them "functional"

Want to kill the smell? Fill up a large garbage can with water and add 1/2 gallon of bleach to 10gallons of water. Put the vests in there and let soak for 30-45 minutes. Pull them out, spill out the bleach water, refill with fresh water and dunk the vests again for 15 minutes to rinse them thoroughly.

 

[cane.mba]

Febreeze, or Lysol works well on ours. I usually hit them once a month with 303 cleaner/protectant as well.

 

[tracerrx]

Ill try the febreeze or lysol.... After doing a bit of research even dilute bleach or chlorine is really bad for neoprene!

Looks like there are a multitude of products out there designed for wetsuits as well, i might add washing the life jackets in one of them to the yearly list.

 

[Julian]

If the closet isn't well ventilated I'd say that is your problem. We hang ours on a towel drying stand on our porch. No smell issues at all.

 

[spaz1868]

We make sure they are fully dried in the sun even if we have to bring home from the boat prior to storing.

 

[tracerrx]

We fully dry them out, and store them in an a/c house on hangars in a walk in closet. However, after 1/2 summer of use in south florida sun they stink!

Just ordered some fabreeze sport from amazon, going to give it a shot!

 

[GTBRMC]

Hang them to dry...in the sun. UV helps kill the bacteria that cause the smell (or something like that).

 

[ScarabMike]

When I first got mine, I used OBEX surface guard on them. It will permanently bond to the surface, and prevent mildew and keep it from smelling "marine".

If you ave old ones that are in need of TLC, make a bleach water solution, and scrub till they look clean and new. Then spray some OBEX, and it will neutralize the bleach, and protect the new look of the fabric. Its incredible stuff.

http://www.thinkobex.com/#/obex-csg/

 

[Speedling]

Bleach can take the color out of some things. If this is the case, use vinigar or lemon juice if it's a very sensitive material.

 

[Glassman]

Fresh water and just enough sunlight to dry them usually do the trick. Don't let the vest sit in the sun too long, U.V. will degrade it rather fast.

But sometimes one of the kids will throw a wet vest in the locker and it can cause a "stink".

I don't like to use bleach on neoprene and rubber products either because it and strong soaps will break down the material.

That's when I use Bio Kleen Bac Out . Amazing stuff.

Contains no chlorine, ammonia, butyl, glycol ether, SLS or SLES, DEA or EPA priority pollutants. No materials listed by the ACGIH as hazardous.

There is another product made for cleaning wetsuits: PISS OFF by Ripcurl. Used to use it on our son's wetsuit - which used to stink so bad it kept the neighborhood cats away!

 

[tracerrx]

Fresh water and just enough sunlight to dry them usually do the trick. Don't let the vest sit in the sun too long, U.V. will degrade it rather fast.

But sometimes one of the kids will throw a wet vest in the locker and it can cause a "stink".

I don't like to use bleach on neoprene and rubber products either because it and strong soaps will break down the material.

That's when I use Bio Kleen Bac Out . Amazing stuff.

Contains no chlorine, ammonia, butyl, glycol ether, SLS or SLES, DEA or EPA priority pollutants. No materials listed by the ACGIH as hazardous.

There is another product made for cleaning wetsuits: PISS OFF by Ripcurl. Used to use it on our son's wetsuit - which used to stink so bad it kept the neighborhood cats away!

Thats the problem were having.. Ironically We just bought the "Piss off" at a local store and will try next weekend...

While we are drying & storing them correctly, I think problem is that the small kids (6-10) like to wear them ALL DAY LONG in the FL heat and 85-90 degree water while they do cannon balls off the dock into the lake --> leads to sweaty kids and stinky neoprene!

Going to try the Fabreeze Sport on 1 set of jackets, and the Piss Off on another and will report back.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

While I wouldn't suggest using diluted chlorine on your expensive wet suits, I have never had an issue with common life vests and pwc style jackets. The sun and sunscreen products damage them much more than the diluted chlorine soak. What you smell is usually a living organism and Fabreeze is just putting lipstick on the pig.

 

[tracerrx]

While I wouldn't suggest using diluted chlorine on your expensive wet suits, I have never had an issue with common life vests and pwc style jackets. The sun and sunscreen products damage them much more than the diluted chlorine soak. What you smell is usually a living organism and Fabreeze is just putting lipstick on the pig.

They are covered in sunscreen! I was originally thinking of using one of those "Daily Shower Cleaner" Sprays....