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Looking after your wetsuit between sessions

You don't need to be a soul surfer from Torquay to know that a decent wetsuit in Australia can set you back the best part of a grand. A solid 4/3mm fullsuit from one of the big local labels — Rip Curl, Quiksilver, or Xcel — handles the sting of a Bells Beach winter or the chill of a Tasmanian dawn patrol, and it should give you a few solid seasons if you treat it right. The trick is what you do in the hour after you climb out of the water, not the day you finally chuck it in the bin because it stinks and the seams are peeling apart.

Salt, sand, sweat, sunscreen, and the relentless Aussie UV all conspire against neoprene. Leave them on the suit and the material goes stiff, the liner starts to smell like a damp towel left in a Gold Coast car park, and small nicks turn into proper tears. A quick post-surf routine takes ten minutes and saves you from buying a new suit every twelve months.

The good news is you don't need a garage full of gear or a degree in textile care. A bucket of fresh water, a mild soap, a shady spot, and a little bit of attention between sessions will keep your rubber feeling stretchy, smelling fresh, and ready for the next swell.

Why between-session care matters

Neoprene is a foam, made up of tiny bubbles trapped in rubber. Salt crystals, body oils, and chlorine from the local saltwater pool all clog those bubbles and break down the structure over time. A suit that isn't rinsed after each surf will lose its insulation faster than a four-wheel-drive loses tread on a sandy track inland of Noosa.

The smell factor is real too. Bacteria love the warm, dark interior of a wetsuit, and a damp suit tossed in the back of the wagon after a dawny at Bondi or a session at Margaret River becomes a petri dish within hours. Regular rinsing knocks that bacterial build-up back and stops the dreaded locker-room whiff from setting in.

There's also the cost angle. A decent Aussie-made fullsuit is a serious investment, and getting another winter out of yours is the cheapest way to keep surfing without dropping another pay packet at the surf shop.

The right way to rinse after a dip

The number-one rule: never skip the freshwater rinse. Most surf clubs and beach carparks around the country — Manly, Burleigh Heads, Lorne, even the small ones down at Crescent Head — have an outdoor shower or hose. Use it. A quick hose-down while you're still in the suit washes off most of the salt and sand before they have a chance to dry onto the neoprene.

Turn the suit inside out for the rinse. The inside is where the sweat and grime sit, and giving the liner a proper blast removes the stuff that causes the worst smells. Some surfers go so far as to do the rinse in two passes: once right side out to clear the outer salt, then flipped inside out for the inside.

Don't be tempted to chuck it in the washing machine. Even on a gentle cycle, the spin and the detergents are too aggressive for neoprene and will delaminate the seams. Hand washing only, always.

Drying without ruining the neoprene

Drying is where most surfers stuff up. Hanging a wetsuit over the back of a chair in the sun might feel like the Aussie thing to do, but UV is the enemy of neoprene. The same harsh sun that gives us sunburn at a backyard barbie will crack and bleach a wetsuit within a couple of summers if you leave it out to bake.

Find a shady spot with airflow instead. A covered verandah, a laundry line under the carport, or a shaded patio off the back deck works a treat. Turn the suit inside out for the first half of drying, then flip it back the right way to finish. This gets the inside properly aired without exposing the outer jersey to direct sun.

Skip the radiator, the heater, and the tumble dryer. Heat warps neoprene, shrinks the seams, and turns a stretchy suit into a stiff sausage. Patience pays here. A suit left to dry in a gentle breeze should be ready to pack away by the next morning.

Dealing with the stink

Even with regular rinsing, suits develop a smell eventually — particularly the thicker ones you wear through a Tassie winter when you're sweating under a hooded fullsuit every weekend. A periodic deeper clean sorts this out without damaging the rubber.

A bucket of lukewarm water with a small amount of mild soap is the simplest approach. Baby shampoo, a gentle dishwashing liquid, or a purpose-made wetsuit wash all work. Soak the suit for ten to fifteen minutes, gently work the solution into the inside of the neoprene with your hands, then rinse thoroughly.

White vinegar is the old-school Aussie trick passed down by old blokes at the local surf club. Mix about a cup of white vinegar into a bucket of water for a soak — it neutralises the bacteria that cause the smell without harming the neoprene. Don't use it every wash, just when the smell kicks back in despite regular rinsing.

Cleaning method Best for Cost Care level
Plain fresh water Daily post-surf rinse Free Gentle
Mild dish soap or baby shampoo Weekly wash Low Gentle
Specialist wetsuit shampoo (Rip Curl, McNett) Monthly deep clean Medium Very gentle
White vinegar solution Odour reset Low Gentle
Baking soda paste Spot treatment for stubborn grime Low Moderate

Rinse twice after any soapy or vinegar wash to make sure no residue is left in the foam. Residue breaks down the neoprene faster than salt does.

Storage between surfs and seasons

Where you put the suit when it's not on your back matters. A wet wetsuit folded into a ball and shoved in the boot of the car is the fastest way to breed mould and wreck the shoulders. If you're heading home straight after a session, drape it over a coathanger inside out and let it drip in the laundry until it's dry.

For longer-term storage between seasons, hang the suit over a thick plastic hanger — not a wire one, which can stretch the shoulders out — and store it somewhere cool, dry, and out of direct sunlight. A spare wardrobe, the garage shelf out of the sun, or a dedicated wetsuit hanger on the back of the door all work.

Avoid folding the suit tightly for long periods. Neoprene creases become permanent over time, particularly in the thicker 5/4mm winter suits worn down at Marrawah or along the Bellarine Peninsula. If you have to fold it for travel, roll it loosely instead and unroll it as soon as you arrive.

Small repairs you can sort yourself

You don't have to drive down to the surf shop every time you get a small nick. Most wetsuit damage — a fingernail tear, a small hole from a fin, a peeling seam — can be patched up at home with a neoprene repair kit, which you can grab from any decent tackle or surf shop around the coast.

Neoprene glue, sometimes called wetsuit cement, goes on the inside of the suit where the damage is. Clean the area, apply a thin layer, let it go tacky, then press a piece of neoprene patch over the top. Hold it down with weight for twenty-four hours and it's good to go.

For bigger splits or seam blow-outs, a stitch with a curved needle and some waxed polyester thread will hold things together until you can get the suit to a proper repairer. Plenty of surf shops in Torquay, Byron, and Noosa offer a same-day repair service while you wait for a coffee.

Caring for wetsuits on the road

Aussie road trips are built around surf. Whether you're towing the tinny up to the Sunshine Coast, doing a lap of the Great Ocean Road, or pointing the ute south for a winter mission down to Shipstern Bluff, the wetsuit travels with you. A bit of planning keeps the rubber in good nick over the long haul.

Carry a proper wetsuit travel bag — a ventilated mesh bag is ideal because it lets the suit air out instead of stewing in its own moisture. If you're doing a long haul from Sydney to Cairns or Perth to Margaret River, hang the suit up to dry at every overnight stop instead of leaving it balled up in the bag.

If your wetsuit ends up stored wet in the back of the car while you grab a parma at the pub in some country town, rinse it again as soon as you can and dry it properly at the next stop. A few minutes at a servo tap is enough to get the salt off and stop the smell from setting in before you reach the next break.

Kit worth keeping in the car boot

A wetsuit that gets rinsed after every surf, dried in the shade, and stored on a thick hanger will outlast three or four of the suits that get stuffed in a heap at the bottom of the laundry. The ten minutes you spend on it after each session are the cheapest insurance you can buy on a piece of gear that takes a beating every time you paddle out. Treat it well and your wetsuit will keep you warm through another winter at your local break, whatever the temp drops to.