January 1st, 2020 | Kimo Kealoha | Discover the Deep

Real Secret to a Fog Free Mask

Aloha amigos! I've got some good news for you today—I'm fixing to solve one of divings greatest problems.

No matter how long you've been diving, you've undoubtedly had a mask fog up on you before, right? Everyone has. And you know what? It sucks.

For recreational diving, visibility is the key to enjoying your dive. And even if you have otherwise optimal conditions, like great weather, clear water, tons of sea life, and a great diving crew—if you can't see because your mask is fogged up—the dive is ruined!

Now, if you do a quick google search regarding unfogging/de-fogging a mask, you'll find a ton of answers. The most common ones, which never worked for me are:

1. Burning the Inside of Your Mask - the idea here is to burn off the residue on the glass leftover from the factory. You use a lighter to burn it off and then clean it.

2. Using Toothpaste to Clean the Mask - same idea as above—but you're just using toothpaste to clean it up.

3. Using Seaweed to Clean the Mask - some dive guides will swear by this one. They want you to take some seaweed in your hand, remove your mask underwater and scrub out the inside of the mask. Then put the mask back on and clear it. Tried it. Didn't work.

4. Using Defog/Baby Shampoo/Spit - this is basically a big "duh." I mean everybody knows to do this, right? But for many people like me, it doesn't work.

NOTE - none of these methods work for me on their own. However, people swear by them. The reason why is simple—these methods worked for them.

But you have to remember that every diver is different. Bodies are different, shapes are different, breathing patters are different, lung capacity is different—everything is different. So just because something works for one person doesn't mean it will work for everyone.

Now as I mentioned, the above methods did not work for me, and I tried them all with multiple masks. So it was not a mask issue either.

I came to grips with the fact that I have an unusually hot head. And the heat emanating from my head/face makes my mask more prone to fog up. But the good news is that I finally discovered the key! I found the solution and now I dive every time with a crystal clear mask. So here's the secret:

1. When you buy a new mask, burn off the residue as stated above.
2. Use toothpaste and an old toothbrush to scrub the inside of your mask thoroughly.
3. KEY - this is the secret right here…dry the inside of your mask so that it is bone dry with not a single drop of water. Literally bone dry. I recommend keeping a dry towel with you in your dive bag because you must do this before your first dive of the day. If it is not bone dry, it won't work.
4. Before you drop in the water, use spit, or baby shampoo, and apply it liberally to the inside of the mask. Then rinse it out quickly, put it on your head and drop in the water. The longer you have the mask on your face without dropping in the water—the greater the likelihood of fogging up.

So there you go. The combination of the above techniques does the trick for me. Give it a shot and see if it doesn't make all the difference for you. And remember, the real key here is to make sure your mask is BONE DRY before you apply defog (or spit). If you have a wet mask and spray defog on it—it will do nothing. You're gonna have a foggy mask.

Also, I recommend cleaning the inside of your mask every night before diving. If you're on a 5 day diving trip, then you're gonna clean the inside 5 times with toothpaste every night and dry it out completely before getting on the boat the next day.

Try it! And…you're welcome! Kimo out!