I am suprised to hear about the stinky neo. After every river trip I throw all of our neo and watershoes into the washer with just a tiny bit of detergent. I then remove it and let it air dry. Has not affected the integrity of the neo at all. 
How long have you been doing this?
The seams in wetsuits, booties and water shoes are made with adhesives that are not meant to tolerate heat, the detergents will also have an effect . The mechanical agitation will also be hard on seams. A wetsuit won’t last long doing that if you wash it in a machine every time you use it. Unless of course you only use it a few times a year.
Gentle…
I put it in the gentle cycle with a very small amount of detergent - Cold water. Been doing this a couple years - twice already this year. They are still like new.
I just wear underarmor
and occasionally rinse with the garden hose. my wetsuit has not smelled bad yet. Also let it dry inside out if I sweat in it.
Hey I don’t think mine smells either
– Last Updated: May-14-05 12:33 AM EST –
it's my wife that banished it to the Garage.
I wash mine out in the shower after every use and use anti-bacterial shampoo. About once a month I wash it well in a bucket using Neoprene soap formula from NRS. The surf booties are awful, I wash them with acti-bacterial soap every time and dry them in the sun, but they still smell.
A lot depends on how often you use the gear. Someone above posted that they had used neoprene twice already this year. I usually wear a wet suit three times a week from about October to end of May.
I’m with you…
My hydroskin does not have a bad smell so far. After almost every usage (3-4 x month) I put it in my front-loader (not as harsh as agitation) and rinse with only cold water, no detergent, air dry. Works great. Same for neoprene booties.
Neither does mine
but my polypro !
P-U!!!
Better to hand-wash neoprene
Neoprene tends to float on top of the water, it does not absorb water so it does not get thoroughly swished like other clothing in a washer.
I just throw mine in the tub with a bit of shampoo and swish by hand or with my canoe paddle. Sometimes I close my eyes and pretend I’m still paddling.
How funny…
you are truly passionate about the sport!
Obviously you have air conditioning
Here in the Ohio valley, it is impossible to “air dry” anything for much of the summer because the air is saturated with humidity. That’s when my neo really stinks–it doesn’t dry between outings. Fortunately, not much neo is usually necessary in the summer–it’s mostly just stinky wetboots. Constantly damp PFDs can get a little funky too.
Hydroskin is better
Mine does not seem to smell, at least my wife allows to hang in our bedroom closet. It’s the heavy duty wetsuits and Oneil surf booties that seem to smell like dead sea creatures marinated in hydrogen sulfide.
i find this funny
sort of like saying my farts don’t stink!..
cmon, your neo must stink a little, i think you’re just used to the smell.
My wife has called car talk about the neo smell in my van! She almost made it to the show.
They don’t stink either
As Fatbasturd said in AUSTIN POWERS
– Last Updated: May-15-05 9:21 PM EST –
"Everybody likes therrrr own brrrand"