Trisuit care and maintenance

Trisuit Owners should know about looking after suits. To avoid the sort of damage we often see done to suits that come into our repair facility. This list of recommendations has been prepared by Martin Owen, owner of Australia’s biggest Wetsuit and Dry Suit repair facility for over twenty years. 

Trisuit care and maintenance

How to prolong the life of your expensive suit: 

After every swim:

wash with fresh water, preferably warm. Use only “Wetsuit wash”. Wash in a “tub” or “wash bag” and allow to soak, then hang to dry in the shade. Always be gentle as the “better” the Tri suit is the more likely it is to be fragile. 

Whilst donning your suit:

Ease the suit over your more significant parts, try not to put too much stress on the seams. Try using plastic bags as you slide it over your feet or hands to minimise drag. 

Special Gloves.

Gripper gloves are recommended for pulling on the suit as they have round ended fingers and are covered in a sticky type “Grippy” surface. This makes pulling on the rubber of your suit far safer for the suit. 

Zipping up:

If at all possible have someone else zip up your zip. Explain to them how to correctly “tuck in the flap” and secure the “Velcro neck”. Push your shoulders back to lessen the strain on your zip as they do this. 

Don’t lubricate the suit or your Body:

Almost every type of Oil or grease available will ruin your suit but do use talcum powder. To stop abrasion try a rash vest for as many swims and training sessions as is possible. If your Trisuit is “rubbing you”… Let’s fix the problem with the suit first before you get sore! (Oil will make it almost impossible to repair.) 

Storage:

Don’t store it in a bag even if they gave you one.

Keep away from heat like a shed or garage roof and avoid proximity to skylights. Do not fold the suit up as it will wrinkle and you will lose buoyancy. Keep folds to a minimum in transport and don’t place any weight on top of suits at any time. Each time you put the suit away for an extended period. “UV Tech” the rubber for long life and the zip to reduce drag on it by the slider. 

Repairs with “Seal Cement” only:

These won’t include repairs like blobs of “Aqua Seal” or patches stuck over problems not even sticky tape pasted on leaking bits. These antics may ruin chances of a real repair ever being successful. Remember “a stitch in time’ does save your money. 

Enemies of Wetsuit materials:

Petro-chemicals like Vaseline, Baby oil, sun crèmes and strong detergents. Constant heat, UV light and Ozone. You need to be careful of the Velcro on the neck the hook side is like a sand-paper, Wetsuits don’t react well to being folded up in a bag for longer than 12 hours as they develop wrinkles. Last but not least, being borrowed by a good mate is a sure way to break it. ENJOY

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