Phuket Thailand's best scuba diving (+66) 0806 961 461
How to Prepare a New Scuba Mask

How to Prepare a New Scuba Mask

How to Prepare a New Scuba Mask

Here are some Aussie Divers Phuket Tips on how to prepare and new scuba diving mask.

The Road to a Clearer Mask

There is a long going battle between scuba divers and foggy masks.

There are a number or reason why a scuba diving mask may fog and one of those reasons is that the mask was not correctly prepared at the time of purchase. All new scuba masks have a thing film on silicone on the lens that occurs during the manufacturing process. You will need to remove this silicone prior to wearing the mask and applying any defog products.

Some tips:

Tip #1:
One of the reasons a scuba mask fogs is through exhaled air through your nose. Your exhaled air come from your lung which will operate at body temperature. This will always be significantly warmer than the water you are diving in. Much the same as when your breath on a cold bathroom mirror or window of your care. One of the first steps to eliminate a foggy mask is less exhaling through your nose.

Tip #2:
It has been suggested on you can burn the silicone off with a cigarette lighter or similar. Please do not do this. We have been informed by a manufacture that the burnt silicone molecules/vapor will land or reform on the lenses making a harder more resilient version of silicone that was there previously. Further, the heat of teh lighter flame can heat the glass lens which in turn can deform the seal, making the mask leak.

Now onto preparing the mask. Please note that this method is for tempered glass masks, which virtually all scuba masks are. Please be aware that there are some plastic/polycarbonate lenses on the mask and using this method will most like scratch the lenses. Most tempered glass lenses will have a sticker on the front saying so. If you are not sure your scuba professional will be able to help you with this.

Step 1:

Find yourself some nice white toothpaste. You will need to use the gritty white toothpaste and not the gel style toothpaste. If you do not have toothpaste you can make a paste with water and bicarb soda.

Mask Preparation Aussie Divers Phuket

Mask Preparation Aussie Divers Phuket

Step 2:

With clean washed hand, remove any hand lotion or sunscreen you may have on (you should be getting good at this during COVID-19). Place a small dot in the inside of each mask about the size of a small coin. Make sure you do this on dry lenses. Using your fingers rub the toothpaste into the lens of the mask. Some suggest that you let the toothpaste dry for a while. You can do the front of the lenses as well although it is unlikely they will fog up.

Scuba Mask Preparation Aussie Divers Phuket

Scuba Mask Preparation Aussie Divers Phuket

Step 3:

Rinse the mask with fresh water. You will most likely see toothpaste accumulate in the sides and ditches of the mask. If this occurs get a wet soft cloth and wipe away the excess toothpaste.

Rinsing Mask Preparation Aussie Divers Phuket

Rinsing Mask Preparation Aussie Divers Phuket

Step 4:

Dry the mask with a soft cloth and place the mask into it its manufactures box. Always store masks dry and out of direct sunlight.

Scubapro Synergy 2 Trufit MaskScubapro Synergy 2 Trufit Mask

More Tips

Tip # 3:
You may need to do this process several times before the mask is good to go. Make sure the lenses are dry each time you start the process.

Tip # 4:
Training in chlorinated pools also tends to leave a buildup on your mask. You can use those process after pool sessions.

Tip #5:
To prevent mildew in your scuba mask, wash your mask with warm soapy water and dry before storing.

Contact Aussie Divers Phuket for all your Scuba Diving needs

By Darren Gaspari

Proud owner and active PADI Gold Course Director of Aussie Divers Phuket, a professional and awarded PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Scuba Diving Centre. Member of the PADI Advisory Board for the eLearning modules 2019 and 2020.

Posted in Helpful Diving Info on .

A Diving Community In Phuket

Here at Aussie Divers Phuket we don't just consider ourselves a PADI dive shop, we think of it as more, a big diving family of like minded individuals coming together to enjoy the marine environment through diving in Phuket & Thailand. We are always happy to chat with new divers or old, so please drop by anytime to see what is going on and if you have dived with us or want to dive with us than feel free to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our community Dive Blog and generally stay in touch & stay informed.

Free Pool Try Scuba Diver Aussie Divers Phuket Helpful Diving Info

Do I Need to Know How To Swim to Scuba Dive?

This is a question that I often get asked, and really it is not as simple as YES or NO. Here is some explanations and reasons why. If you want to become a certified scuba diver by doing the PADI Open Water Diver Course, the answer is yes. In the PADI Open Water Diver Course it is specified that you have to be able to swim continuously for 200 metres. This can be with any stroke however it does need to be continuous without stopping. There is alternate option and that is you do a 300 metre mask, fin and snorkel swim. Some do find this easier to the 200 swim. You also have to be able to tread water or float for at least 10 minut [...]

Read The Story
Aussie Divers Open Water Bat Fish Everything Else

Can Learning to Scuba Dive be Good for Your Brain

In a recent New York Times blog, author Gretchen Reynolds talks of the benefits of leaning a new activity during mid-life. Could learning to scuba dive be good for your brain. She states that learning a new sporting activity could change and strengthen the brain. Learning a new activity like scuba diving would be more beneficial than say crosswords or marathon training. In Krista Stryker’s book, The 12 Minute Athlete, she states that exercise can even help ward off some types of age-related cognitive decline. Such as reduced hand-eye coordination and memory loss. The uniqueness of scuba diving means that the PADI Open Wa [...]

Read The Story
Tom Open Water Student Racha Yai Our Dives

My First Dive – Aussie Divers Staff

The staff at Aussie Divers Phuket talk about their first dive. The first ever dive I did was on the Great Barrier Reef out of Cairns, Australia around 2004. I did a two dive PADI Discover Scuba Diving with a friend and it was her idea. The trip that we went on was a spit between snorkelers and scuba divers. Most were snorkelers. The experience was quite strange for me getting used to breathing underwater. I can recall not feeling too comfortable until the second dive. From what I remember the colors of the coral were vibrant and the was not that far below the surface. It was a nice dive with good visibility. Strangely en [...]

Read The Story