How to Wash a Wetsuit

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Last Updated on October 5, 2026 by Umar Farooq

Rinse it in cold fresh water after every session, inside and out, and that is most of the job. Every few outings, soak it inside out in cool water with a wetsuit shampoo, rinse again, then hang it folded at the waist over a thick hanger in the shade. How to wash a wetsuit has three absolutes: never hot water, never a dryer, never direct sun. And never a washing machine.

Neoprene is foam with gas trapped in it. Stretch is the product, and everything on that banned list works by removing it.

Rinse discipline is the whole maintenance plan

The deep clean matters far less than the first ten minutes after you get out. Zone3: “As soon as you’re out of the water, give your wetsuit a thorough rinse with COLD freshwater. This is the most important step of them all because saltwater, chlorine, and even lake water can damage the neoprene over time” (Zone3 — wetsuit care). Both faces. One step comes first, skipped in every car park: “give your wetsuit a good shake to remove sand and debris. This prevents tiny particles from abrading the neoprene.” Sand in a wetsuit is sandpaper with a lift home. Aboard a boat none of that ever stops, which is the problem a marine washing machine is designed around: salt on everything that comes out of the water, and a fresh water tank that has to last the passage.

How to wash a wetsuit properly, in five steps

  1. Shake the sand out. Grit first, water second.
  2. Open every zip and turn it inside out. REI: “Turn your suit inside out because the interior is where most of the sweat and grime accumulates” (REI — how to clean a wetsuit).
  3. Soak in cool water with a wetsuit cleaner. Zone3 warn that “normal hair shampoo may contain ingredients that can damage neoprene”.
  4. Knead it, never scrub or wring. Pressure, not twisting — as in hand washing.
  5. Rinse clear, then hang. REI: “hang your wetsuit to dry using the thickest hanger you can find”, zips open, turning it right side out part way through.
What attacks neoprene, and what each one does to it Neoprene is a closed-cell foam: its warmth comes from gas bubbles trapped inside the rubber, and its usefulness comes from stretching and springing back. Four things shorten its life, and they work in different ways. Salt crystallises inside the material as it dries and leaves the suit stiff. Chlorine chemically breaks down the rubber, making it brittle and pale, and it does so faster than saltwater does. Heat — hot water, a tumble dryer, an iron, a closed car boot in summer — softens and distorts the cell structure so the foam permanently loses its spring. Ultraviolet light from direct sunlight degrades and fades the surface. Sand is different again, purely mechanical, abrading the inner lining and the seam tape every time the suit is moved. Each has one answer: salt and chlorine come out with an immediate cold freshwater rinse, heat is simply never applied, sunlight is avoided by drying in shade, and sand is shaken out before any water touches the suit. Four enemies, four fixes Salt crystallises inside goes stiff cold rinse, now Chlorine breaks the rubber brittle and pale rinse sooner still Heat distorts the cells loses its spring never apply any Sand + UV abrades, fades lining first shake out, dry shaded

Heat and sunlight reach the same ending

Hot water, a dryer, an iron and a closed car boot in August are one input as far as the foam is concerned. Zone3: “Hot water can make neoprene less flexible and prone to damage so keep it cool.” Billabong: “heat damages neoprene, causing it to stretch and wear down quickly” (Billabong — how to wash a wetsuit). Sunlight is a different mechanism, same ending. Dry it shaded, in moving air, completely — damp storage is where the smell starts (mildew smell).

The washing machine is wrong twice over

Every source says no, and Zone3 loudest: “do not put your wetsuit in the washing machine. It will tear, it will become weak and damaged and ruin your wetsuit completely.” Agitation and spin stretch panels that are glued and blind-stitched, and the seams fail before the neoprene does.

Here is the half the gear sites leave out, because they write about the suit and not the appliance. A wetsuit arrives in the drum carrying sand, which settles, passes through the drum holes into the sump and pump filter, and packs into a layer water struggles to shift. Weeks later the machine drains slowly or stalls at drain-to-spin, and nobody connects it to the wetsuit — see washing machine won’t drain.

FAQ

What can you use to wash a wetsuit?

A dedicated wetsuit shampoo in cool water. Detergent, hair shampoo, bleach and fabric softener are all excluded.

How often should you wash a wetsuit?

Rinse after every use; deep clean every few sessions, or sooner after a chlorinated pool. The rinsing extends the life.

How do you get the smell out of a wetsuit?

It is bacteria in the lining. It needs an inside-out soak with wetsuit shampoo, then complete drying on both faces.

How long should a wetsuit last?

Billabong put it at “one to two years for frequent (multiple times a week) surfers and longer – four to five years – for those who hit the waves less regularly”.

The suit that lasts is the one that gets rinsed

A bucket of cold fresh water in the car park, used every time, does more than any amount of careful washing later.

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