How to keep the stink out of wetsuits?

[Rolf]

My wife's wetsuit was hanging on the porch railing drying and our cat pissed all over it.  Now she's got the stinkiest wetsuit I've ever smelled.  She's tried all sorts of cleaners and soaks....still the smell.

Maybe time for a new suit???

Have you tried JOY dish liquid soap " Fisherman's best friend"
it will get rid of stinks that a lot of other soaps wont, I use it to rinse booties and suite
when the stink builds up but be sure to rinse good with fresh water.

[chipmonk]

I thought that you weren't supposed to use soaps like "Joy" because they are petroleum based, and that this would be bad for the neoprene. I have successfully cleaned my suits with all manner of soaps though...laundry soap, Dr. Bronner's, the wetsuit soap from the store, anything I have handy.

[Rolf]

Like I said you want to rinse really well with fresh water, I have used Joy
soap on my last pair of booties on regular basis and they are holding up fine
after 18 months,
I only use it on my suite once in great while, and when I do use it I don't leave it
soaking for more than couple of minutes.

[gladwell4]

Aloha,
We keep our wetsuits forever (rather spend $ for Maui)  I have been using McNett Wetsuit shampoo for years and that worked okay (really helps preserve the neoprene) I recently picked up a bottle of their Mirazyme odor eliminator and have been really impressed with the results. We had some serious funk going on with older suits and it has them back to a neoprene smell. I would even venture that it will get rid of the cat piss.
That's my 2 cents (no pun intended)

[andygere]

O'Neill wetsuit shampoo for every third use or so.  I dry outside, in the shade.  Boots are the worst stinkers since they take so long to dry.  The boot dryer is a good idea to help with that.  Also, if you give the suit a rinse soon after surfing it seems to develop a lot less stank.

[stonecoldsteveaustin]

Does anyone else find that Xcels stink WAAY worse than other wetsuits?  They fit me the best but even if I wanted to bring it in the house I couldn't.  It has to live in the garage and make the whole garage smell rancid.

I find that rinsing after every session, never driving to/from the beach in it (if possible, I know your plight East Coasters) and hanging to dry helps the stink.

A Simple Green bath in a 5 gallon bucket is safe for wetsuits and is a much cheaper alternative than expensive wetsuit shampoos.  It can make a horrible suit or booties tolerable for a time.  I used 1 part Simple Green to 5 parts water

[robcasey]

I also have an excel suit, love it, but ya, it stinks. haven't pee'd in it.  i tried the wetsuit shampoo and other mcnett products - no luck.  will try a few of the above to see what works, great ideas. 

thanks all!

[bigdom]

i use a non-bleach anti-bac kitchen spray - warm rinse first then clean
and soak then warm rinse again

dettol grapefruit scented is my favourite

[Ake G]

Must be my body chemistry because I pee plenty (isn't that part of the fun?)  and all my xcel wetsuits are just fine. I do give them a real thorough all-over and inside-out fresh water rinse after every time out. It's not my lack of smell.

Maybe my sweet Maine ocean water is just cleaner than yours 

My boots, however can get a smell going . And they stay wet longer than the suit. Better for bacteria growth.

[pelican]

Vinegar. Does the trick.

[hbsteve]

For drying boots, I found a little strange idea that seems to work.  At Costo (& elsewhere) in the auto section, you can buy a bundle of those yellow quick drying towels.
After I've rinsed by boots, I then stuff a towel in each boot, all the way to the toe.  I make sure the the other end extends out the top of the boot.  I repeat the process with another dry set.  This really seems to wick the moisture out, much faster than air drying.