Getting a new piece of scuba diving equipment is one of the best feelings as a diver. A new mask is one of the most exciting pieces of equipment to get since it’s part of your eyes underwater and can be a great way to let your personality shine through your scuba gear with unique colors and shapes. When you first get a new mask, you might be eager to get in the water with it right away, but that might give you some problems. That’s why you need to pre-treat a scuba mask.
Why do you need to pre-treat a scuba mask?
You may have seen this happen to someone else before. They jump into the water for the first dive with a new mask and it’s so foggy that you can’t even see their eyes and no amount of defog solution will help.
What’s happening in this case is that this new mask still has silicone film on it. This film accumulates on the lens during manufacturing. Despite all the different styles, shapes, and colors of masks available today, one thing remains constant and that is that all scuba masks are constructed using a silicone skirt. Silicone is used to make scuba masks comfortable to weak while remaining leak-proof.
However, during the manufacturing process, it’s common for the silicone to leave a buildup of film on the mask’s lenses which is not removed.
You may not be able to see this film with the naked eye, but if you don’t remove it you’ll have problems with your mask fogging every single time, no matter how good your defogging solution is.
How to properly pre-treat a scuba mask for diving
The best way to remove the silicone film is by using toothpaste. You’ll want to use a dime-sized amount of traditional, white toothpaste and gently scrub the lenses with it. Be very careful when scrubbing the lenses as some scuba mask lenses can scratch quite easily. You can even use a soft, wet washcloth to rub in the toothpaste to avoid accidentally scratching the lenses.
After you’ve rubbed toothpaste over the entire surface of the lens, rinse the mask with cold water while rubbing away the toothpaste. Be mindful that toothpaste might accumulate in the edges. Be sure to scrub the mask well to avoid ending up with toothpaste in your eyes on your first dive!
After you’ve removed all the toothpaste from your mask, dry the lenses well with a clean washcloth. Repeat the process three more times, drying your mask in between each application.
After you’ve finished treating your mask, be sure to store it in a cool, dry place. Preferably, you should store your mask in the case it comes in to keep it safe. Read more about how to take care of your gear post-dive here.
Other ways to treat masks for diving
You might hear some people recommend burning the silicone film off with a lighter or scrubbing the lenses with bleach. Neither are recommended methods as they can be dangerous and cause damage to your mask. Try the method outlined above first and if you’re still having issues, take your mask to your local dive shop.
As long as you’re careful when treating your mask, you should have no issues and you’ll be ready to dive with your new mask in no time! And remember: pre-treating the mask does not prevent it from fogging on every dive. You will still need to defog your mask properly before each and every dive.
Written by: Emily De Sousa
