The right care for diving goggles & tips to prevent fogging

Good and regular care of diving goggles not only extends their service life, but also improves visibility under water. Every diver is certainly familiar with the problem of a fogged-up mask, which can make a dive nerve-wracking. In this blog post, you can find out how to take optimum care of your mask before and after a dive. The same also applies to snorkeling masks, of course.

First of all, it is interesting to know why a diving mask fogs up in the first place. This is not because you have bought a bad diving mask!

The main reason for this with new masks is that silicone residue is deposited on the lenses during manufacture. And it is precisely this that causes the mask to fog up under water. You should therefore remove this excess silicone after purchase.

The toothpaste method

A normal toothpaste is sufficient for this. Gently rub the inside of the mask with your finger, especially the lenses, of course. You can now leave your diving goggles like this for a few hours, or even overnight. The toothpaste will harden. The next morning, you can remove it with lukewarm water. This should remove any silicone residue from the manufacturing process. You can repeat this step from time to time.

Measures directly before the dive

Now that your mask is free of silicone residue, it can still fog up during the dive. The most common reason for this is that air is trapped when the mask is put on. This air is either already warm or is heated by your body temperature in the face. If you now dive into the cool water, the glass fogs up.

What can you do about it? Cool your face! You can simply dip your head in the water before putting on your diving goggles.

Furthermore, most divers swear by spitting into the mask! This might sound like a joke at first - especially for beginners. But it actually helps! Simply spit into the dry mask directly before the dive, rub the saliva briefly with your finger, then rinse once with water and put it on. I once heard another diver say while spitting: "The greener, the cleaner". In other words: "The greener, the cleaner". But of course that's up to you ;)

If you don't quite prefer this method, you can of course also use anti-fog spray or washing-up liquid. This is also more hygienic, especially for rental masks. You can find anti-fogging agents for diving and snorkeling goggles here.

Fogging during the dive

After all these methods, does your mask still fog up while diving? Check your breathing! Are you perhaps breathing out slightly through your nose? This would allow warm air to enter the mask with every breath and condense on the lenses.

If you don't want your dive to be spoiled by poor visibility, you can let some water into your mask while diving. Then look down and shake your head so that the water cleans the inside of the lenses. Then blow out the water as you have learned in your courses.

Cleaning after every dive

In order to be able to enjoy your diving goggles for a long time, care after the dive plays an important role. Like all your other diving equipment, you should rinse your mask in fresh water after diving! There is usually a separate basin in the diving centers for this purpose, in which only regulators and diving goggles are washed.

Remove salt and other dirt from your mask, rub it gently with a towel or T-shirt or simply leave it to air dry. Just make sure that it is not in direct sunlight. When storing it afterwards, make sure that there are no heavy or sharp objects on the mask that could scratch or even break it. It is best to store them in a storage box for diving goggles.

Regular cleaning

If you dive often, your diving goggles will need to be cleaned with more than just water from time to time. But how do you clean diving goggles? The best way is to use a toothbrush and washing-up liquid. A cotton bud could also be helpful for smaller corners. Use these items to clean the edges of your mask, where other deposits and dirt could collect after a few dives. This is usually easier to see, especially with light-colored silicone.

Final tip

Even if it has nothing to do with the care of diving goggles, I can only advise everyone to buy a mask strap to go with their diving or snorkeling mask. On the one hand, you can immediately recognize your own mask if someone else has the same one. Secondly, it makes it easier to put on and take off. This is worth its weight in gold, especially for ladies or men with longer hair! You can find mask straps in different colors and from different brands here.

If you don't have several hours before your first dive with a new mask, or if you want it to go faster, you can also burn out the silicone of the mask. To do this, use a lighter and hold the flame close to the inside of the lenses. However, there are a few points to bear in mind:

• Move the flame carefully over the glass and do not linger too long in one place
• Do not hold the flame too close to the silicone edge of the mask
• The glass will turn black and become hot
• Allow the glass to cool before removing the black residue with water and/or washing-up liquid
• Be careful not to turn the silicone black when cleaning the mask

ATTENTION: this method can damage the diving goggles. We therefore do not recommend it.