Wetsuit gloves are designed to keep your hands warm and dry, even when submerged beneath very deep water. But getting them dry after you emerge from the water can be tricky, especially if it’s rainy weather or you’re trying to dry them overnight. How can you dry your wetsuit gloves quickly?
Here are fast and effective ways to dry wetsuit gloves:
- Hang your wetsuit gloves on a dive hanger to air dry.
- Turn them inside out and use a hairdryer.
- Place your wetsuit gloves near a dehumidifier.
- Slide your wetsuit gloves onto boot dryers.
- Dry your wetsuit gloves manually with towels.
- Toss your wetsuit gloves into a clothes dryer.
This guide will explore the fastest and most effective solutions to consistently soaked wetsuit gloves, ensuring that your gloves remain in optimal shape.
1. Hang Your Wetsuit Gloves on a Dive Hanger To Air Dry
Dive hangers are designed explicitly for wetsuits, making them one of the safest drying solutions. And while hanging your wetsuit gloves on a dive hanger and letting them air dry might not be the fastest possible option, it can be one of the most effective remedies for dripping-wet wetsuit gloves.
Still, you’ll need a dive hanger that features raised prongs on the side.
Heavy Duty Dive Hangers (available on Amazon) are a prime example, as they have an elongated body and a variety of prongs capable of supporting both wetsuits and wetsuit gloves.
Slide your wetsuit gloves onto the top of the hanger or the sides, then place the hanger on a shower rod or outdoor hook. If possible, hang your gloves in a warm or sunny area to reduce their drying time, or place in an area with good ventilation.
See the latest price of dive hangers at Amazon
2. Turn Them Inside Out and Use a Hair Dryer or Fan
If you want to dry your wetsuit gloves more quickly, you can also choose to turn them inside out and dry them with a hair dryer or place them in front of a fan.
A fan is something you can passively leave them in front of and they will dry overnight whereas a hair dryer is something you’ll need to actively do but it’ll dry the gloves a lot faster.
Naturally, you’ll want to use a no-heat or low-heat setting on your hair dryer to avoid unintentional damage to the gloves. You don’t want to melt them.
To get started:
- Bring your soaked wetsuit gloves into the bathroom and place them in a clean, dry sink.
- Dry your hands and plug your hair dryer into the nearest bathroom outlet. If your bathroom doesn’t have an electrical outlet, you can also choose to try this fix in a garage or kitchen.
- When your hairdryer is blowing cool or low-heat air, pick up one of your gloves and sweep the hairdryer blower across the body of the glove.
- Use quick back-and-forth motions to push any remaining moisture out of the glove, making sure to hold the glove over a sink or absorbent towel.
- Once your first glove is dry, repeat the process with the second glove.
Alternatively if you put your hair dryer on a no-heat setting it can be possible to place the glove over the end of the hair dryer and then turn the hair dryer on filling up the glove. This only works well with fingerless gloves as the air can escape out of the fingers taking the moisture with it.
3. Place Your Wetsuit Gloves Near a Dehumidifier
Dehumidifiers remove moisture from the surrounding atmosphere, storing the collected water in an internal tank. These devices can slowly and gently dry your wetsuit gloves, keeping them mold and mildew-free.
Smaller is almost always better when using a dehumidifier to dry your wetsuit gloves. While larger dehumidifiers are a fantastic option for large rooms or homes, they don’t provide targeted moisture removal.
Smaller models have tiny tanks, but they can absorb every drop of water clinging to your gloves.
If you don’t already own a portable dehumidifier, consider investing in the Pohl Schmitt Compact Dehumidifier (available on Amazon.com). It’s affordable and features a continuous operation mode for prolonged drying. Place your wetsuit gloves next to this device, or drape them over the intake vent.
However, it may take several hours for the dehumidifier to get them completely dry.
4. Slide Your Wetsuit Gloves Onto Boot Dryers
Boot dryers are also helpful for drying wetsuit gloves because they feature slim posts that push out hot air. You can slip your wetsuit gloves onto these posts, switch on the boot dryer, and wait for them to dry.
However, boot dryers with high-heat settings aren’t the best choice.
Wetsuit gloves are designed for use in cold waters. Consequently, the materials used to make them, including some seam adhesives, aren’t made to withstand high-heat environments.
If possible, choose a boot dryer with a no-heat setting. The DryGuy DX Forced Air Boot and Garment Dryer on Amazon is an excellent example of a glove-safe boot dryer, as it’s equipped with plenty of heating posts and features a no-heat setting.
In addition, because it’s made for various garments, including gloves, the air posts won’t end up stretching out your wetsuit gloves.
See the latest price of the DryGuy DX Forced Air Boot and Garment Dryer at Amazon
5. Dry Your Wetsuit Gloves Manually With Towels
Chances are, you’ve got an absorbent bath towel or roll of paper towels somewhere in your home. Both of these towel types can remove lingering moisture from your wetsuit gloves, though you may need to put in a little work to get the job done.
To dry your wetsuit gloves manually with towels:
- Lay a layer of paper towels or an absorbent bath towel on a flat surface. Kitchen countertops, desks, and water-resistant floors are all excellent options.
- Lay your wetsuit gloves on top of this initial layer of towels, ensuring they’re completely flat.
- Cover the gloves with either an additional wad of paper towels or another bath towel.
- Apply pressure with your hands or sit atop the uppermost towel layer. Continue applying pressure until the gloves are dry.
This can be a great technique to use initially to remove most of the water from your gloves. Then use one of the other drying methods to finish drying them.
This will drastically reduce the amount of time the gloves take to dry.
6. Toss Your Wetsuit Gloves Into a Clothes Dryer
You can use a clothes dryer to dry wetsuit gloves, but they should only be used as a last resort.
That’s because clothes dryers reach temperatures of 135°F (57°C) or higher. While this isn’t hot enough to melt neoprene wetsuit gloves, it can weaken the material and cause structural warping.
For this reason, you’ll want to set your dryer’s heat settings to their lowest level before tossing your gloves into the drum. You’ll also want to choose a gentle tumble setting that’s less likely to knock your gloves around at high speeds.
If possible, try to stay nearby while drying your wetsuit gloves in a dryer and check them often. Otherwise, you could end up with a ruined pair of gloves that are dry but entirely unusable.
Final Thoughts
You can dry wetsuit gloves in a variety of ways. For example, you can hang them on a dive hanger or turn them outside to let them air dry. You could also place your saturated wetsuit gloves near a dehumidifier or slide them onto low-heat boot dryers.
We’ve also go a variety of tips on how to dry wetsuit boots if you’re looking to dry them along with your gloves.
Other potential solutions include drying them manually with towels or tossing them into your clothes dryer on a no-heat or low-heat setting.
