Clean Your Camelbak!

[SacramentoMike]

OK, surely SOME of you know to do this, and do do it, but for the rest of you: I'll be taking off for a few days next week and was checking over my gear. The Camelbak-wannabe I use has been sitting quite a while, so I put some fresh water in it and tried it to see if it was working or whatever. The water tasted pretty foul. So I got an idea and Googled "cleaning a Camelbak" and came up with this page. It wasn't hard to do, and the guy's right--I almost hurled when I ran a little piece of rag through the tube part.

It's a bicyclists' site, so he suggested a derailleur cable for that job; I just used a length of safety wire I had--.032" I think: a good strong flexible wire. I just left it on the spool too, and didn't have to cut if off and waste it after I was done. After I ran the wire through the tube, I bent it back over a small square of cotton rag and pulled it back out. Eeeew. By the third pull with clean scraps, I was again willing to drink through it. I'll be doing this at least every spring from now on, after seeing the KACK that builds up in there!

 

[lnewlf]

oopps-never mind-my bad-misread that as cameltoe..

 

[MEM]

If you put only water in it - no sugary drinks - it won't get yucky

Just sayin' .....

Have a good trip

 

[Warpdrv]

You mean to say your putting water in those things....

Hmmm never thought of that - I thought they were for alchohol - which doesn't need as much effort for cleaning...

 

[Auburn]

If you put only water in it - no sugary drinks - it won't get yucky
Just sayin' .....

Have a good trip

water (even with chlorine) will allow bacteria to grow. Need to run some bleach through periodically and always empty and allow it to dry after use.

 

[Crash Cash]

If you put only water in it - no sugary drinks - it won't get yucky

Ohhhhh YEAH it will! It'll still get pretty damned nasty. Heck, I put distilled water in mine, and stuff still grew in there.

When I hang mine, I make sure to use the Camelbak hanger that expands inside and lets it air out as much as possible. The tube still gets pretty nasty, as described.

 

[FJRay]

When you aren't using it store it in the freezer. Stuff doesn't grow when frozen. I have done it for years and never had anything grow. I clean the tube each season with gun cleaning patches.

Someday I will get off my ass and mount the Skyway system I bought.

 

[fljab]

If you put only water in it - no sugary drinks - it won't get yucky
Just sayin' .....

Have a good trip

water (even with chlorine) will allow bacteria to grow. Need to run some bleach through periodically and always empty and allow it to dry after use.

I haven't had mine all that long (~3 months), but I usually refill it with water and put the entire assembly in my garage refrigerator; that way it's ready for the next time. I have a 1 gal insulated jug I use for LD; the CB is just for local rides.

That was good info on the cleaning; more elaborate than I thought was needed. I do need to at least store it with a capful of bleach I guess; good advice!

 

[SacramentoMike]

If you like the taste of bleach. . .

The link said about a teaspoon of bleach, and just if you really wanted to disinfect it, not to soak it, and even then it smelled bleach-y.

 

[tmc]

+1 freeze the mo-fo after use.

 

[scubatech]

I get all the water that I can out of mine and blow out the hose. After it is pretty dry I inflate it like a balloon and it stays nice and clean.

 

[rushes]

I use lemon juice to rinse out before and after use and make sure it's totally dry before storing. My daughters hair dryer fits the filler opening perfect...

 

[FJRMGM]

If you put only water in it - no sugary drinks - it won't get yucky
Just sayin' .....

Have a good trip

+1 - that is the key. Otherwise you risk finding out about strange new life forms in a couple of days..

 

[canyonman]

I dump it out. Rinse it and the tube out with peroxide. Rinse that out and throw it in the freezer. Never a problem.

 

[HotRodZilla]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww...What a frigging dummy I am.

I have been using CamelBaks for about 15 years. My friends and I started using them before they had locking bite valves, large mouth bladders, and cool back pack type units.

I currently have three that I use on a regular basis for different activities. My wife has one, and two of my three daughters have thier own. I use my CamelBaks so much that the 1.5 year old knows what it is and how to get water out of it. She thinks its fun.

Unlike some of you, when I started using them, a lot of bikers mixed 1/2 orange juice and 1/2 water for thirst and an energy boost at the same time, and I have never gotten out of that habit. I love using Propel, but will use Gatoraid G2/water or sugarfree Poweraid. Because of that, mine are prone to getting gunky, but never, not once has any of mine gotten gross...Until now.

Usually, I clean my CamelBaks within a day or two of using them. I rinse them with soap and water, drain the tube, run the hot soapy water through there, and then rinse the whole thing. I hang the bladder on a rack in my garage and use a pasta spoon (the ones with the spoon with the holes in it and the claws all around) to keep the bag open so it can dry. Works every time.

Well, a couple weeks ago (read a month and a half ago), I took my CamelBak on a motorcycle ride and put it on the counter meaning to clean it. It kept getting moved to the side and eventually it sat there in plain view, but out of sight-out of mind...Until I saw this thread.

So, I went into the kitchen and holy crap...What an idiot!! I have some wire I could use, but didn't really want to, so I ended up using some coated rifle cleaning rods I have with a .22 caliber jag and a cleaning patch. Worked great, and now it's all clean and hanging in its space in the garage. That was gross. Dummy...

In 15 years, I have only put off cleaning that stupid thing one time...I will never do that again!

 

[old Pilot]

That green slimy stuff won't hurt ya. Don't worry about it.

 

[blkredlinedrvr]

I don't put anything but water in mine. We had a guy fall out on the flight line one day (literally just fall on the ground). We thought he was a heat casualty. Turns out the camelbak he was using was full of green slime ugh. He was running gatorade and the like in it and not cleaning it. The military issue knock off camelbaks don't have the anti-microbal bladders and tubes and what not I guess. He was back to work in about 2 days.

 

[Harald]

Another vote for storing in the freezer! I have a few bladders for various purposes and have not experienced any nastiness in many years of use and proper storage.

 

[MEM]

I bought it from a guy who runs marathons, does long distance riding (bicycle) and hikes. I just repeated what HE told me.

Everybody does his/her own thing <shrug>