Wetsuit maintenance and repairs

Your wetsuit is your prized possession when training and racing in the open water. 

To ensure you get the desired speed advantages and longevity from your suit, here are some great tips from blueseventy:

GENERAL CARE
Rinse out in cold or warm fresh water after each use. Allow to dry inside out, away from direct sunlight, before turning back the right way once the internal material has dried. Avoid or limit chlorine pool use. Store on a wide suit-jacket type hanger to avoid creasing. Do not leave in direct sunlight or hot vehicles or trunks for any extended length of time.

TRAVELLING/PACKING
To fold your wetsuit for placement in a bag, pack your wetsuit away from sharp or hard objects to avoid creasing/damaging your wetsuit. 

USE OF LUBRICANT
If required in any area (such as wrists or ankles) a lubricant will aid getting the suit off quickly. A lubricant will also benefit any chaffing area. Do not use petroleum based products like vaseline. Ok to use are products such as: baby oil, body glide, vegetable oil, silicone gel.

HOW TO REPAIR A FINGERNAIL CUT
Fingernail cuts can occur on the smooth surfaces of a wetsuit. This is usually the result of pulling too hard when putting the suit on or by catching or pinching the surface of the wetsuit with your nails. While we make every effort to ensure that our products use the toughest materials available you should be aware that as a performance product wetsuits are not bulletproof and occasionally small tears do occur. Should a tear or fingernail cut occur, then repairing it yourself is a very simple 5 minute job.

Check out this video from The Swim Shop.

Note: the suit can be used in the water straight away. However, the maximum bond is achieved over a period of 4 to 6 hours. Therefore, you should avoid putting any immediate pressure on to the repaired surface.