Love my new Omer Alien mask...but how do I turn off the auto-fog feature?

[iceaxe]

I've tried tooth paste+ tooth brush, degreasers (simple green, windex etc.) and the thing still fogs despite the use of sea-gold.

That aside, this is really a great mask; I'm going to try it for Scuba.

[Pastor]

It may need more than one dose of the toothpaste to get it fog free. Try an advanced search on toothpaste by user spaghetti for a full description on the procedure involving both toothpaste and a flame

[BatRay]

You could also try this way: clean the lenses with toothpaste and toothbrush. Then, spit on the lenses and rub that around the whole area of the lens. I give mine a really quick dip in the water, then get rid of the water and it's ready to go! It sounds gross but it works better than any commercial defogger

I have an Omer Alien too, and they're very nice masks.

[Robbert]

Hi Iceaxe,

Hang in there, with a little more elbow grease it will get better. A couple of points:

When using toothpaste, you need to use the abrasive type stuff (typically white) as opposed to the gel type stuff. soft scrub is a very good alternative.

You can check to see if you have removed the silicone film which causes the problem by rubbing the glass with your finger (wet) If it squeaks - it's "squeaky" clean ;-). If you can't get it to squeak, you need to scrub it some more.

Another option is to torch it! Take a lighter and burn off the film - again until it's squeaky clean.

Not to overstate the obvious but even after all this you will still have to spit in your mask to keep it from fogging - but now spit will actually work!

- Robbert
www.SpearTrips.com

[iceaxe]

Thanks for the tips; I've used tooth past several times even with a Sonicare tooth brush. Has anyone tried an abrasive like ajax or comet (the stuff with bleach) I wondering if it will damage the lens/rubber.

[Robbert]

Iceaxe,

The lens being glass is pretty tough to damage - even with Ajax. However, Soft Scrub is a reasonable in between - much more abrasive than toothpast but quite as abrasive as Ajax.

[EdHornby]

apologies for the gross nature of the post...

do you spit then wrinse, or wrinse then spit? I've found that wrinsing first (and a good long dip, not just a splash) means that the mask gets cold, so there isn't a temperature difference between it and the water, and a layer of spit will stop it from getting condensation building up

However if you dive in cold water there will be fogging to a certain extent, it just means a mid-dive wrinse then fresh spit.

hope this helps....

[sanso]

Originally Posted by EdHornby

... spit then wrinse, or wrinse then spit?...

Spit, rub, rinse, dive.
Cooling the mask down might well help in cold water, good idea!

[island_sands]

Originally Posted by iceaxe

I've tried tooth paste+ tooth brush, degreasers (simple green, windex etc.) and the thing still fogs despite the use of sea-gold.

That aside, this is really a great mask; I'm going to try it for Scuba.

have you tried soft scrub/Jif? works for me

[Magpie]

Erm, could be wrong but I thought the mist condenses on the lens beacause it is cold? The condensation forms on the coldest surface available, which is the glass.

I find dunking my face in the water to cool THAT down helps stop any sweating so less moisture in the mask to condense on the lens.

Don't shoot me if I'm wrong though!

PS. No help but the toothpaste sorted my Alien out a treat, got to rub it on quite hard though.

[sanso]

Originally Posted by Magpie

Erm, could be wrong but I thought the mist condenses on the lens beacause it is cold? ...

Uuh. Yep. You're right.



Ah, feels better.

Okay. so cooling it down won't help, but can't be helped either. Well. how about trying to breathe out through the nose as little as possible? That should work in our direction at least.

[Magpie]

Just a shame I couldn't spell the one word I emphasised eh!

[ILDiver]

I used toothpaste on mine once and it did ok, spit did not work as an anti-fog for me. I had issues here and there. I took 500psi anti-fog and smeared it in and let it dry, then buffed it off. I did that three times. The next time I went diving, I spit in the mask, quikie rinse and fog free for hours

[Erik]

I wouldn't use any kind of commercial cleanser (Comet/Ajax etc). The stuff will get into the seams around the lenses and will stay there for a long time, and you will get that crap in your eyes and nose... unpleasant! Toothpaste taste and smell is not irritating.
Once the mask is truly cleaned, then monitor to see if you're breathing into and out of the mask a lot- if you are, that will fog the mask no matter how much spit you put in there.
Cheers,
Erik

[Hugh.]

I have the Alien mask and it took 5 or 6 cleanings with tooth paste and a soak in Coca Cola to get the fog to go away. I don't know if the coke thing REALLY works, but some one suggested it to me, I tried it, no more fog.