my silicone earplugs disintegrated today

[Echidna]

...after about a year of use.
I can't say how many hours they have been in chlorine, but it was less than a competitive swimmer for sure.

I always rinsed them asap with fresh water and then let them dry.
Kept them in a cool, dark place in a box.

My favorite rubber fins broke a long time ago, but I thought they were old and rubber does that.
A noseplug broke right through the middle after a few weeks, but I thought the material is brittle and does that...

tailpaint fades after about 2-3 swims.
Whatever I take into chlorine- even with soaking before and after and swimspray-
seems to be extremely shortlived.

Didn't know that silicone could degrade like that though.
Maybe fresh water rinsing wasn't enough, and I should have soaked them in vinegar after every swim?

[Winged Mermaid]

Were they the soft moldable clear kind? Or something else?

The soft moldable disposable clear ones can weaken and crumble with age. I'm don't know if you use them, so this is just a general FYI for anyone who does.
When I was a kid my brother had inner ear problems and had to wear ear plugs in the water. One time he used some old ones (my mom didn't realize they were old ones, they must have gotten mixed up with new ones) and they started to crumble in his ear when he got in the water. My parents had to make an emergency visit to the ear nose and throat doctor so they could remove the plug pieces from his ear canal. Between the water that had gotten in and the crumbling plugs he was sobbing in pain, and screamed when the doc was taking them out it hurt so much.

So yeah, keep an eye out for them showing signs of aging. When in doubt, throw them out and buy new ones.

[Echidna]

ouch, yep.
I'm afraid of something like this.

But mine weren't the moldable kind, they are preformed:
http://www.amazon.de/Docs-ProPlugs-Paar-Klar-Vented/dp/B0027VIKNE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455980434&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=docs+pro+earplugs
(http://www.amazon.de/Docs-ProPlugs-Paar-Klar-Vented/dp/B0027VIKNE/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455980434&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=docs+pro+earplugs)
It's a scary thought that silicone can degrade this way.
Plugs are easy to replace, but what about tails?

[AniaR]

Chlorine can degrade them, yup

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