Mask Fogging
A foggy mask is is extremely frustrating. It can not only ruin your dive but also be dangerous. It’s very distracting and can prevent you from being able to clearly see what is happening around you. This can be quite worrying, especially if you are diving with sharks or around a wreck with a good amount of sharp snags to catch your equipment or cut your hands on. It’s something all divers have, or will, experience, and it is most prevalent with new masks. Having to let a little water into your mask during a dive, swill it around and blow it out is a nuisance. On occasions I have even had to take my mask off completely while underwater to give it a good rub. But this is only effective for a short time.
The problem lies with the residue left over by the manufacturing process. It coats the lens, and no matter how much you use antifog, the problem will remain.
There are two main ways of over coming this for brand new masks.
The first is to use toothpaste. Squirt a few drops onto the inside face of the lens and gently rub for a few minutes. Be careful not to over scrub or you will scratch the lens surface. Then wash out thoroughly and apply a de-fogging agent. Personally I rarely have much success with this but it seems to work for some people.
The second way is a little more drastic. With a lighter or candle, run the naked flame over the inside of the lens until the glass turns black. Wait a few moments for the glass to cool and then wipe away the soot with a soft cloth. Do this a few times until the glass remains clear and doesn’t turn black. Be extra careful not to burn the silicon skirt around the glass as this is very soft and will melt easily. Also don’t allow the glass to become too hot and make sure the lens is glass and not plastic.
Manufacturers hate you doing this, but sometimes it‘s the only thing I can make work.
With older used masks, anti fogging agents usually work very, well but still may have to be used for every dive. Spit is another option where you coat of the inside of the lens with saliva. Rub it around and rinse in water. I find this works quite well, especially if I spit in the mask a few minutes before getting in the water and letting the saliva dry, then rinsing it just before actually getting in.
Before writing this I did a quick web search for other people‘s experiences and tips. There were suggestions to use glycerin soaps, washing detergents and baby shampoo, but I don’t fancy any residue of that getting into my eyes. Another suggestion was to rub raw potato on the lens. I remember doing this many years ago on the outside of my camera dome port when I wanted to get shots half in/out of the water as the potato juice repels the water and buffs up well enough to see and film through.
I’m sure there are many other home remedies, but the question I have to ask manufacturers is why do we have to go through all this in the first place? When one of them comes up with a mask that truely doesn’t fog from the moment you take it out of its box, then that is the mask I will buy and use all the time. Perhaps there are already some on the market. Let me know if there are, please!
As a last note, I should mention ‘mask care’. Look after your mask, keep it clean and dry when putting away.
Good diving.
How do you solve your mask fogging issues? Let us know in the Scubaverse Forum.
