Yup, it’s true, surfers pee in their wetsuits… ALL THE TIME!
But why do they do it, and why is it for some reason totally acceptable for and adult to pee all over themselves and get away with it?
Weird right.
Everything revealed below 👇
WHY SURFERS PEE IN THEIR WETSUITS
Alright, we’ve already established that surfers are guilty of peeing in their wetsuits, but why do they do it?
Let’s take a closer look…
LAZINESS
Above all, surfers pee in their wetsuits out of laziness.
The idea of getting out the water mid-surf, de-robing, all just to have a quick pee is just too much.
Too much effort, and too much time.
Way easier to just pee in your wetsuit and keep surfing.
WARMTH
If you surf in cold water, you’ll know all too well that it sucks.
Any opportunity for warmth is taken with open hands, and peeing in your wetsuit does just that.
A warm, stinky bath of your own urine.
Sounds disgusting writing it down, but holy hell does it feel good when you do it.
LETS LOOK AT THE PROS AND CONS OF PEEING VS NOT PEEING IN YOUR WETSUIT
PROS
- Keeps you warm.
- Convenient.
- Doesn’t require any effort.
- Keeps you in the water uninterupted.
- Feels weirdly nice.
CONS
- Makes your wetsuit smell.
- Can reduce lifespan of your wetsuit.
DOES PEEING IN YOUR WETSUIT RUIN YOUR WETSUIT
Peeing in your wetsuit doesn’t ruin your wetsuit necessarily, but it does speed up the degradation process, and will shorten the lifespan of your wetsuit.
Why, urine can cause the onset of premature degradation of wetsuit neoprene, and can affect the adhesion of the glues used in wetsuit seams too.
Now I’m not sure of any tests done comparing the lifespan of a wetsuit with and without a surfer peeing in it to give you a guide as to how much a wetsuits lifespan is reduced, so I’ll let you weigh that one up for yourself as to whether it’s worth it.
HOW TO CLEAN A WETSUIT AFTER PEEING IN IT
Quite simply, if you surf, you’re going to pee in your wetsuit at some point.
It’s going to happen whether you like it or not.
As such, you’re going to need to know how to get the smell of pee out of a wetsuit.
Here’s how:
- Fill a big bucket or tub with fresh water.
- Add a mild detergent (don’t use anything too harsh as it will damage the neoprene material) or a wetsuit cleaning solution to the water.
- Soak your wetsuit in the bucket for thirty minutes or so, or longer if your wetsuit really honks.
- Remove the wetsuit and rinse to remove all detergent.
- Hang up to dry in a shaded area.
If you’ve really gone to town and your wetsuit still stinks like a urinal, repeat the process above until the smell of pee is finally out of your wetsuit.
CAN WETSUITS GO IN THE WASHING MACHINE?
Technically yes, you could just chuck your pissy wetsuit in the washing machine and job done.
But, rather unfortunately, the agitation of a washing machine will cause damage to the neoprene material and the wetsuit seams.
This kinda sucks as this would be a great, easy solution.
Instead it’s better to follow the steps above and wash your wetsuit by hand to extend its lifespan.
CONCLUSION
Well now you know why grown adults choose to urinate over themselves (usually laziness) and pee in their wetsuits, without coercion, and strangely without any loss of dignity whatsoever.
Go figure.
Yew!Rowan 🤙
ROWAN CLIFFORD
Rowan is the technical nerd behind the scenes. A lover of everything entrepreneurial, and living a minimal, simple life. Surf, Travel, Create.
