Introducing our NEW COLUMN , in which National Diving Officer Sophie Rennie and Head of Diving Sophie Heptonstall answer your questions
TWOSOPHIES
Fight the fog !
Introducing our NEW COLUMN , in which National Diving Officer Sophie Rennie and Head of Diving Sophie Heptonstall answer your questions
THE QUESTION :
“ Whenever we hold try dive sessions , a few of the try divers ’ masks fog up quite badly . This evidently stresses them out and obviously affects the enjoyment of their first underwater experience . What steps can be taken to mitigate maskfogging at try dives ?”
Mask-fogging makes for an uncomfortable try dive
The two Sophies , Sophie Rennie on the left , Sophie Heptonstall on the right
Sophie Rennie answers
Two things spring to mind when I read this question . First , most of our clubs have a set of kit for try dives with some masks , fins and snorkels sitting in a box somewhere . All too often , they are unloved and not looked after , because they don ’ t actually belong to anyone in particular ; they probably haven ’ t been checked or cleaned for ages .
New masks present a particular problem . Normally , they have been treated with a silicate film , which we need to carefully scrub away before we start using them . This is best done using the traditional ‘ toothpaste treatment ’, in which we rub raw toothpaste across the glass . You have to be thorough about this – get into every corner of the glass and give it a proper treatment before carefully rinsing the residue away . If you don ’ t keep doing this , the mask will just continue fogging .
The second reason happens especially during colder weather , when the kit may have been stored in an unheated environment . Perhaps it ’ s been in the back of a car , then moves straight to a warm swimming pool room . For those of us who wear glasses , it ’ s just like walking from the cold into a nice heated building . You fog up immediately .
There are a few other reasons that can contribute to a foggy mask , such as not spitting into mask before getting it wet , but I would have thought every diver and snorkeller knows how to do that !
Sophie Heptonstall expands
For those new to diving , try dives can be greeted with both excitement and trepidation as it ’ s a brand new experience for the person . Both of these can be contributing factors in fogging up a mask and be influencing how someone is breathing , or can have an impact on the defogging process .
As an instructor taking a new person in for the first time , think about when and where you are fitting the mask , and how the person is breathing . Breathing in and out continually through your mouth is an unnatural process at first , even more so without the regulator or snorkel in . It may be that a person new to the sport is exhaling through their nose and this is making the mask fog .
While at the surface , take the time to ensure the mask is free of hair around the seals , fitted properly and be observant to see if this is happening . Once underwater , it can be the temperature difference between the air exhaled through the nose and the water that causes fogging . Spending some extra time practising breathing in and out on the surface could help prevent this issue and get the diver or snorkeller into a more relaxed breathing pattern .
Traditionally , divers and snorkellers spit in masks to clear them ; but in a post-Covid world people are more hygiene conscious and some may not feel comfortable spitting into a mask to defog it . If the try diver is slightly nervous , they can also find it difficult to get enough spit into the mask . Consider having a spray bottle of mask defog on the side for use , as this could help . Baby shampoo and water
( at a ratio of 1:10 ) in a spray bottle is a cost-effective solution !
It ’ s important the masks are rinsed but still have a film on the lens to stop them steaming up , so make sure the diver / snorkeller is not overly rinsing out after defogging . �
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