How Saltwater, UV & Storage Affect Lifejacket Performance

TeamO Blog header - image shows the back of a female sailor and a male sailor sitting on the side of a yacht, they're both wearing TeamO lifejackets. She's wearing a Micro, he's wearing an Offshore.

How Saltwater, UV & Storage Affect Lifejacket Performance

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It goes without saying that inflatable lifejackets are designed to resist harsh marine environment. But the things that dry out our skin – salt water, UV rays, and poor treatment – can impact our safety gear just as much.

Over time, these three things can quietly degrade materials and compromise firing mechanisms, compromising your safety if you go overboard. To ensure your lifejacket saves your life in an emergency, you need to know how these elements impact its performance, and how to keep it in the best possible shape.

How Saltwater Degradation Impacts Inflatable Lifejackets

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When you’re out on the water, you can’t escape salt. It’s part of the joy of sailing, particularly in the summer – the smell of the salt in the air, and the cooling splashes on your skin when the sun is beating down. And we’ve all experienced dry salt on our skin, and the gritty feel of it when we’ve rubbed at it when we’re back on the dock.

If it is left without being rinsed with fresh water, salt water behaves in exactly the same way on our lifejackets. That means every time you move, salt crystals behave like sandpaper against the parts of your lifejacket, including the bladder. Over time, constant friction can cause micro-abrasions and tiny leaks – even though lifejackets are designed and made with materials designed to resist the effects of salt water. And the worst part is, you won’t be aware that damage has been done until you need your lifejacket to perform in an emergency.

That rough, abrasive feeling is just one of the issues that can impact the performance of inflatable lifejackets – there’s also chemical corrosion to consider.

Whichever type of firing mechanism your lifejacket has, a steel CO2 cylinder is involved. And because salt water is highly conductive, the rusting process is dramatically accelerated. This can impact the threads of the cylinder, making it impossible to replace; and left long enough, can eat through the bottle.

Team of sailors wearing TeamO lifejackets in rough seas

The five second check: Unzip the lifejacket cover and look at the inflation mechanism. If there are white deposits or rust on the cylinder, replace it immediately.

The Hidden Threat of UV Damage to Lifesaving Gear

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You protect your skin from the impact of UV rays, but there's no sunscreen for your lifejacket! Over time, UV rays can degrade the material your lifejacket is made from, and it isn’t just the appearance that will be impacted. Prolonged exposure to UV light can eventually break down the molecular bonds of the fabric.

Colours fading is your first warning sign that UV degradation is compromising the strength of the material. Once this happens, the weaker fabric can split, leaving the bladder exposed.

Harness loops, buckles, and threads are also highly susceptible to the rays of the sun, and when stitching degrades, the structural integrity of the vest is compromised. This means your lifejacket may not be able to perform when you need it to.

Sailor standing on a yacht in Malta - he's wearing a TeamO lifejacket and sunglasses and is looking at the camera smiling

The five second check: Check the lifejacket all over. If fabric is feeling stiff, crispy, or any stitching looks frayed, it is time to replace.

Why Improper Storage Ruins Inflatable Lifejackets

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In most cases, the biggest damage happens to lifejackets off the boat – and many novices don’t realise that proper storage isn’t just about keeping things tidy. Leaving your lifejacket wet with salty water encourages mould and mildew, one of the fastest ways to compromise your safety.

Mould and mildew don’t just look and smell bad. Mould actively feeds on fibres and protective coatings, which can damage the cover, threads, and seals, and ultimately, cause the lifejacket to fail. Not only that, but spores from mould can also cause respiratory irritation.

Leaving your lifejacket damp can also impact the firing head – and you don’t want to go back to your locker and find that your lifejacket has inflated, especially if you don’t have a rearming kit to hand. Don't get stuck on land!

Finally, cramming your lifejacket in with other things or putting heavy gear on top can cause sharp, permanent creases in the bladder, damage the firing mechanism, or crack plastic parts.

The five second check: Let your lifejacket dry completely before storing, then hang it in a cool, dry, dark place. We’d advise using a plastic coat hanger – in the long term, metal hangers may rust and stain the fabric. Never pile stuff on top of it, and don’t be tempted to use it as a cushion or pillow.

Step-by-Step Maintenance Guide to Extend Lifejacket Lifespan

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Looking after your lifejacket shouldn’t take up much time, but keeping up with routine maintenance will help ensure it performs as it should when it matters. Here’s our recommended steps:

Rinse away the salt

Unless you have chosen a manual inflation lifejacket, your it is designed to inflate in water – so don’t throw it into a bucket or spray it with a high-pressure hose!

Wipe down the cover, particularly around zippers, buckles, and safety harness loops.

If you need to remove soiling or salt build-up around the firing head, use a damp, not wet cloth. Keep the firing head itself dry.

Air dry in the shade

Hang your lifejacket in a shaded, well-ventilated area.

Keep it away from heat sources like radiators, heaters, or engine boxes to avoid compromising the bladder.

Don’t store the lifejacket until it is completely dry.

Two sailors wearing foul weather gear and TeamO lifejackets - one is checking the fit of the other's.

Conduct a quick inspection before storage

Check the cylinder for signs of corrosion, rust or other damage.

Ensure the safety indicators are green

If there is damage, or the safety indicator is red, get a new rearming kit ordered as soon as you can, and don’t use it on the water until you’ve replaced the cylinder.

Store it properly

As we’ve already said – make sure your lifejacket is completely dry before storage (we can’t repeat this enough!)

Hang your lifejacket, ideally on a plastic hanger. If you have to store it horizontally, make sure it is at the top of a pile, or in a box so that it won’t get crushed.

Ensure the webbing is packed cleanly, and so that it won’t get tangled with other items.

Stow your lifejacket in a wardrobe, cupboard, or locker that has low humidity.

Why Regular Lifejacket Inspections Save Lives

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Carrying out your own checks will keep your lifejacket is a sensible plan, but don’t neglect the need for proper servicing. Different manufacturers may recommend differently, but we suggest you have official servicing once a year, either at the end of the season, or before your first sail in the spring. Bear in mind, many sailors leave their lifejacket servicing until the last minute and then find they can’t get in, so it is worth booking ahead.

When It Is Time to Replace Your Lifejacket

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Even with the best care, no lifejacket lasts forever. Over time, materials degrade, and there’s a point that servicing and re-arming isn’t safe. We’re always clear with TeamO lifejacket owners when we’re carrying out servicing when their lifejacket has got to that point – typically around the 10-year mark, depending on how often it has been used.

Other than when your lifejacket manufacturer or servicing centre advises, look out for these tell-tale signs of when it is time to replace your lifejacket:

It fails the 24-hour inflation test. Inflate your lifejacket, then leave it in a room with a stable temperature for 24 hours. If you find it soft or sagging in any way, it has a leak. This may indicate the bladder is compromised – and you should never attempt to patch a lifejacket bladder. Contact the original manufacturer, or replace it immediately.

The fabric feels crispy or brittle. If the outer cover of your lifejacket doesn’t feel soft and pliable, then the fibres may have lost their tensile strength. This means the next time the bladder inflates, the cover could split violently rather than smoothly along the burst zip or Velcro seam.

Seams are delaminating. Open the cover and check the bladder. If there is any peeling, bubbling, or lifting over the seams, the structural integrity of the bladder is gone.

There's corrosion on the inflation manifold. It is simple to put in a new re-arming kit, but if the threads inside the inflation manifold (where the cylinder screws in) are stripped, cracked, or clogged with permanent corrosion, the lifejacket is unsafe to use.

You bought it more than 10 years ago. As we’ve already mentioned, the general rule for inflatable lifejackets is that they are good for 10 years – even if they haven’t been used a lot. Polyurethane coatings, glues, and synthetic threads naturally break down over a decade, so if your lifejacket is pushing double digits, it is time to upgrade. You can usually find the date of manufacture stamped on the bladder or on a service label inside the cover. If you can’t find a date, or remember when you bought it, it is best to replace it.

protect your gear so it can protect you

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An inflatable lifejacket is an essential part of your sailing kit, but how well it performs is dependent on how you treat it. Salt, sun, and mistreatment will lead to it being compromised. A simple wash, dry, and inspection as part of your post-sail routine will help to ensure your most critical piece of safety kit is always ready to perform in an emergency.

If your current lifejacket is showing any type of damage that we’ve mentioned here, or has passed the 10-year limit, don’t wait to upgrade. Invest in a lifejacket with BackTow technology; your life could depend on it.