Fogged up mask on a 60 foot dive taught me a lesson

I was working a salvage job off the coast near Tampa last month, about 60 feet down on a wrecked barge. My mask started fogging up real bad, like I could barely see my hand in front of me. I'd been using the same anti-fog spray I always do, but I guess the humidity or the depth just made it fail. I tried spitting in it and rubbing it around, which is an old trick a dive buddy showed me, and it actually cleared up way better than the spray ever did. The whole rest of the dive was crystal clear, no issues. Now I'm thinking I should just ditch the spray entirely and stick with spit, but I'm worried about hygiene or if it stops working at deeper depths. Anyone else switch to spit over the store bought stuff and notice a difference?

2 comments

2 Comments

leobrown20d ago

Actually, spit works because of enzymes in your saliva, not the germs, so hygiene isn't really an issue at depth.

anna_carter5320d ago

Spit works because of enzymes" that's what they say, but I had a buddy who swore by just rubbing a raw potato slice on his lens before a dive. He claimed it was some old Navy trick. We were on a night dive off Key Largo once and his mask fogged up anyway, so he popped a breath mint in his mouth and rubbed the spit on the glass. Smelled like peppermint all night but it worked fine. Point is, people get real creative when they're 50 feet down and can't see a thing.