cleaning nasty camelpacks

[nosliw]

accidentally left my (3) 2L water bladders for my camel pack at a friends house for a few months, and they were half-full of water. needless to say there is some stuff growing in there. not a lot, but i want to do a thorough job and clean the **** out of it.

what i did was rinse them with hot water, then filled them with 1/3-1/4 bleach and filled them to the brim with hot water. bled some through the mouth hole then added 1/2 a cup or so more hot water.

tomorrow i'm going to empty them, and rinse them as best i can.

what else should i do? anyone deal with something like this?

thanks

[NacsMXer]

Camelpak makes these cleaning tablets that are exactly what you're talking about. Just drop them in and shake it up with warm water.

[nosliw]

i'll go out there tomorrow morning and rinse them out real good.

anything else i should do? maybe something less killer than the bleach to help clean it out?

what's the best way to store them? i plan on just filling them up and freezing them.

any more tips/hints on cleaning them would be great

[JOEX]

Do you think it would break if frozen? If you do decide to freeze it don't fill it all the way.

After use I just rinse it out and hang it upside down. They do make something, it looks like a flexible grid, that goes inside to keep this two sides seperated for drying.

[ak_stick]

The best way to store them is to wash them out with hot water, and whatever cleaning agent you use, I use camel bak cleaner, and then let it air dry for a day or so, then cap it and put it somewhere dry. You dont need to freeze it, but if you do, dont fill it all the way up or you can end up stressing the bladder and causing leaks when it thaws.

[Flynbryan19]

I clean mine with bleach, then hot soapy water. After that I rinse it out throughly get all the water out that I can, and hang it in the freezer.

[Rico]

Bleach and water works good. Let it sit for a day or two if it's that bad, or if it's really bad chit can it and buy a new bladder.

[wilkin250r]

I never clean mine out. Then again, I always fill it with straight Vodka, so it kinda disinfects itself...

[jesshamner]

Outdoors makes a cheaper kit with brushes to clean the bladders. They work very well. I have 2 packs and 2 bladders. I was using one and accidentally left water in the other for a few months. It was gross. The Outdoors kit was awesome! The best way I have found to store them is frozen or hang them up with the lid off so they stay dry. If you freeze them, the water will taste bad.

[nosliw]

well they are sitting in the freezer now. going to have to wait till next ride out to see if it cleaned it good enough.

what i always do is freeze them, then a couple days before i know i'm going to ride i let them thaw, dump the water out and let them dry. then fill them with gatorade/powerade/whatever.

thanks

[jesshamner]

Do whatever you want to do but that sounds like a lot of work. Why not just hang them up with the lid off and let them dry and leave them there.

[nosliw]

may have to. seems like i can't remember to freeze them all the time so they don't start growing algae :rolleyes:

:ermm:

[JOEX]

Originally posted by nosliw
well they are sitting in the freezer now. going to have to wait till next ride out to see if it cleaned it good enough.

what i always do is freeze them, then a couple days before i know i'm going to ride i let them thaw, dump the water out and let them dry. then fill them with gatorade/powerade/whatever.

thanks
If you're putting that kind of stuff in there it will deffinately need to be cleaned very well after each use. I only use water in mine:)

Freezing doesn't kill bacteria, it just slows the growth.

[nosliw]

i know. and i usually do. i just forgot this time, and luckily it was just water in there.

i might have to do the wilkin special every once in a while :cool:

[redrunner]

I use a nice clean painted coat hanger bent in a zig zag to keep the bladder open and walls seperated. Hang it upside down and opened.
Definetly go and get a cleaning kit, just about any outdoor store have them now days.

[JOEX]

Originally posted by redrunner
I use a nice clean painted coat hanger bent in a zig zag to keep the bladder open and walls seperated. Hang it upside down and opened.
Definetly go and get a cleaning kit, just about any outdoor store have them now days.
There's a good idea:cool:

If the ends of the coat hanger are cut i'd file them down so there's no sharp edges to poke through the bladder:)

[jesshamner]

If you get the cheaper "Outdoors" brand cleaning kit, it comes with the hanger. No need to make one. Although that is a good idea.

[redrunner]

Originally posted by JOEX
There's a good idea:cool:

If the ends of the coat hanger are cut i'd file them down so there's no sharp edges to poke through the bladder:)

Joex...I'm suprised you would think that I would use sharp ends...lol Naw just kiddin' guy, obviously you use it so no egdes hit. I would have to agree with jesshamner though.

[CaptainCody]

To clean mine, I use a mixture of baking soda, and water.