BCD Maintenance and Care: Rinsing, Storage, and Inspection
Series: Own Your Gear | Maintenance installment
After Every Dive: The Rinse
Fresh water, every time. Salt, chlorine, and sand are the primary causes of premature wear on every part of a BCD.
Exterior first. Rinse the outside thoroughly: straps, buckles, inflator mechanism, dump valve pulls, and weight pocket zippers. Run water over everything and work the buckles open and closed while rinsing to clear debris from the mechanisms.
Then the bladder interior. This step is skipped more than any other, and it is the most important. Add fresh water through the oral inflate mouthpiece, slosh it around the bladder, and drain completely through both the inflator button and the dump valves. Repeat once. Salt and debris that accumulate inside the bladder cause deterioration that is invisible until it becomes a leak.
While rinsing, press the inflator button repeatedly to flush the valve mechanism. Do this with the BCD off the tank so you can manipulate it freely.
Drying Before Storage
Never store a wet BCD. Mold and mildew in the bladder can require professional cleaning to resolve and sometimes cannot be fully reversed.
After rinsing, inflate the bladder partially and hang the BCD to dry. The partial inflation helps it dry from the inside and prevents the interior surfaces from sticking together during storage. Hang it in a cool, shaded location. Direct sunlight degrades neoprene padding, silicone, and plastic components over time.
Dry it completely before putting it away, even if that means leaving it out overnight.
Storage
Store the BCD hanging, not folded, compressed, or stacked under other gear. Repeated folding of the bladder at the same crease point weakens the material there.
Keep a small amount of air in the bladder during storage to maintain its shape. A few puffs from the oral inflater are enough.
For extended storage between seasons: full rinse, full dry, light inflation, cool dry location out of direct sunlight. That is the entire protocol.
Pre-Dive Inspection
Run through this before every dive, particularly after any period of storage or after travel.
Bladder integrity. Inflate fully and wait 60 seconds. Any noticeable deflation means the bladder or a valve is leaking. Do not dive on a leaking BCD.
Inflator button. Press and release several times. It should click freely and not stick in the depressed position. A stuck inflator can cause uncontrolled positive buoyancy and is a dive-ending problem.
Dump valves. Pull each dump valve and confirm it opens and returns to the sealed position. Valves that stick open will bleed air continuously; valves that stick closed cannot dump air on ascent.
Tank band. Load the tank, cinch the band, then try to slide the tank. It should not move. A loose tank band causes noise, shifts your trim, and stresses the band attachment points.
Weight pockets. If your BCD has integrated weight pockets, test the quick-release mechanism on both sides. It should release cleanly with one hand, immediately. This is a safety-critical check.
Straps and buckles. Look for fraying on the webbing, cracking on plastic buckle housings, and any buckle that does not click fully into position.
When to Bring It In for Service
● Every year if you dive 20 or more times annually
● Every two years for occasional divers
● Immediately if the inflator sticks, a dump valve does not seal properly, the bladder has a slow leak, or you notice cracking on straps or buckle housings
A full service covers bladder inspection, valve lubrication and testing, leak checks, and replacement of worn components. The internal valve mechanisms are precision parts. Do not attempt to service them without proper training and tooling.
International Scuba services BCDs at both our Carrollton and Frisco locations. Call ahead during peak season (spring and summer) to check current turnaround times.
International Scuba | 2540 Marsh Ln Ste 128, Carrollton, TX 75006 | 972-416-8400
Part of the Own Your Gear series at International Scuba. Read How to Choose the Right Scuba BCD for guidance on styles and lift capacity, or Own Your Gear: Why Certified Divers Should Know Their Equipment (/blog/own-your-scuba-gear) for the full case for gear ownership.