How to Clean a Wetsuit with Vinegar

Properly cleaning your wetsuit is crucial to getting rid of those unpleasant odors and increasing its lifespan. Sure, rinsing your suit after each use helps clean it a bit, but soon the rubber will start to smell.

That’s when household cleaners, like vinegar, come in handy. Now, if you’re wondering how to clean a wet suit with vinegar, keep reading this article to find out!

Check out my related articles:
Can You Put a Wetsuit in the Dryer?
Can I Wash My Wetsuit in the Washing Machine?

Can You Clean a Wetsuit with Vinegar?

The short answer is yes. However, you need to be careful, as the acidic nature of vinegar can damage the suit. You see, most wetsuits are made of neoprene, a type of synthetic rubber.

The idea behind that material is that it traps a thin water layer beneath it. Body heat then warms the trapped water. As a result, the wearer maintains a warm temperature throughout the swimming journey.

While that sounds great, harsh chemicals and detergents can damage neoprene. So, using a high concentration of acetic acid might weaken the wetsuit in the long run. Still, with the proper cleaning technique, vinegar can help remove unpleasant odors from your wetsuit.

Read my article about why your wetsuit smells?

How to Clean a Wetsuit with Vinegar

Cleaning your wetsuit with vinegar is straightforward. All you need to do is fill a tub with the water-vinegar combo and let it soak for a while before washing the wetsuit.

Here’s a detailed explanation of how to clean a wetsuit with vinegar:

Step 1: Prepare the Suit

Although it’s tempting to throw your wetsuit in the tub and let it soak, you need to do a couple of things first. Start by opening the zippers in your suit. The former step helps water reach all corners of the wetsuit, resulting in efficient cleaning.

Additionally, you’ll want to turn your suit inside out. Sure, water can penetrate the rubber. Still, the inside is where all the sweat, body oils, and grime accumulate.

The problem is that natural body bacteria feed on those fluids. They release an enzyme that converts odorless chemicals found in sweat into thioalcohol. The former are compounds that contain sulfur, which is the culprit behind that unpleasant smell.

That pungent odor can get even worse if you don’t rinse your suit after each surfing session—something many of us are guilty of doing. For that reason, flipping your wetsuit is vital to ensure the water washes away the accumulated dirt.

Step 2: Fill the Bathtub with Water and Vinegar

After preparing your wetsuit, fill the bathtub with water. Keep in mind that the water should be cool to lukewarm. Using hot water to clean the wetsuit can expand the rubber. As a result, the suit stretches and loses some flexibility, eventually wearing out.

Now, when it comes to vinegar, you should use a distilled product with an acetic acid percentage of 5% to 8%. Higher vinegar percentages might damage the wetsuit.

Still, some neoprene suits can tolerate 20% acetic acid. So, it’s best to check the manufacturer’s care guide to know which vinegar percentage is suitable for cleaning your wetsuit.

Once you fill the tub, add around half a cup of distilled vinegar. You can add more or less according to the amount of water used.

Step 3: Soak the Wetsuit

Generally, you can soak your wetsuit for around 20-30 minutes. The messier the suit is, the more you need to submerge it.

Meanwhile, you can try kneading the wetsuit to maximize the washing process while the acetic acid works its magic.

Vinegar helps dissolve dirt, grime, mineral deposits, and even grease, thanks to its acidic nature. The powerful cleaner can also kill bacteria since it has some antimicrobial activity.

If you want to go the extra mile, you can add essential oils to the water-vinegar combo. Yes, rinsing the suit removes most of the acetic acid smell. However, mixing in a few drops of lavender, tea tree, or cinnamon oil will give your wetsuit a fresh scent.

Step 4: Wash and Dry

After soaking, empty the vinegar-water mix from the bathtub and wash the wetsuit with cold water. Make sure to rinse well, leaving no vinegar traces behind.

Now comes the tricky part: drying your wetsuit. You shouldn’t leave your wetsuit to dry in the sun. That’s because long exposure to UV light, as well as ozone, accelerates wetsuit deterioration.

Additionally, don’t hang the suit using a hanger or a clothespin to avoid stretching the rubber.

One way to tackle the above issues is to lay the wetsuit flat on the floor and let it dry in front of a fan. Don’t forget to turn the rubber suit over and keep the zippers open for better air circulation.

Vinegar Alternatives to Clean a Wetsuit

Even if you don’t have vinegar on hand or aren’t a fan of the pungent odor, you can use other DIY cleaners, like baking soda and mild soap.

Here’s how to wash your wetsuit with each cleaner:

Backing Soda

Backing soda, or sodium bicarbonate, makes for an excellent cleaner because it provides good scrubbing activity, yet it’s not abrasive. Like acetic acid, baking soda has antibacterial properties.

Cleaning wetsuits with sodium bicarbonate is quite simple. You can soak the rubber suit in cold water with baking soda for 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can mix baking soda with water. Then, gently rub the neoprene using a brush, rinse with cold water, and dry your wetsuit.

Mild Soap

You can also use mild soap, like dishwashing liquid, to clean your wetsuit. Simply add a few drops of the washing liquid to a tub and mix it with water. Then, knead the wetsuit until you no longer see dirty water coming out of the rubber.

Once you feel the neoprene is as clean as it could get, drain the soapy water, rinse the suit, and air dry it. Make sure to wash thoroughly to remove excess soap from your wet suit.

Conclusion

As you can see, figuring out how to clean a wetsuit with vinegar is pretty simple. Just turn the suit inside out. Then, pour around half a cup of vinegar into a tub full of water and let the item soak for 30 minutes.

Once the wetsuit is clean, rinse thoroughly with water and let it air dry on a flat surface. Not only does proper cleaning restore the suit’s freshness, but it can also delay wear and tear. That way, you ensure your diving attire remains in tip-top shape for a long time!