Cleaning an Osprey Hydraulics bladder

[Bouwmeester]

Hi everyone,

Bought a Osprey Hydraulics bladder this weekend, and since I'll be using it regularly during my training hikes in the next months, I was wondering what's the best advice for cleaning it. I've already done a quick search on the internet: some people put it in their freezer after using it, while others use cleaning tablets on a regular basis or don't clean it at all.
Osprey sells a compact cleaning set of about 18 dollars, but I don't think that's really necessary (at least, not yet). I'll be using the bladder once a week from now on; my Camino starts in early July.
Any recommendations? Thanks in advance!

Tom

 

[Kanga]

Milton, used for cleaning babies bottles.

 

[NicoZ]

What is Milton?

Is it just plastic? A weak bleach solution. Then rinse it out before use.

Nobody is suggesting freezing for cleaning are they?

 

[Kitsambler]

I would steer clear of freezing plastics: makes them brittle => material failure causes small holes => leaks (not what one wants to see in a water container).

The usual cleaning works fine: soap and water, or a swish of peroxide, or a very dilute solution of bleach. The key to preventing issues is to let it dry thoroughly after washing.

And (very important) only water goes in the water bladder. No energy drinks, drink powders, juices etc. Use a smaller separate bottle if you want those.

 

[Bouwmeester]

I would steer clear of freezing plastics: makes them brittle => material failure causes small holes => leaks (not what one wants to see in a water container).

The usual cleaning works fine: soap and water, or a swish of peroxide, or a very dilute solution of bleach. The key to preventing issues is to let it dry thoroughly after washing.

And (very important) only water goes in the water bladder. No energy drinks, drink powders, juices etc. Use a smaller separate bottle if you want those.

Thanks for this. Already suspected that freezing would be rather bad for the material... And yes, I'll just be using it for water, other drinks go in bottles in the side pockets of my backpack

A couple more questions came to my mind: since I'll just use it once a week in the following months, is it wise to let the bladder dry properly in between my training hikes, to avoid bacteria and such? What would be the best way to do so? (And what would be a good interval for regularly cleaning the bladder?)

 

[HermanTheGerman]

Re: Re: Cleaning an Osprey Hydraulics bladder

I would steer clear of freezing plastics: makes them brittle => material failure causes small holes => leaks (not what one wants to see in a water container).

The usual cleaning works fine: soap and water, or a swish of peroxide, or a very dilute solution of bleach. The key to preventing issues is to let it dry thoroughly after washing.

My camelbak drink system undoubtedly still tastes like rubber after cleaning it with normal water and soap. I need something to remove the rubber taste. Was sort of ratios are we talking about when saying a "very diluted solution if bleach"?

Herman

 

[Seymoursmum]

I used Milton tablets to clean my water bladder on my 4 week Camino ( about every 3 days) they're not heavy to bring with you.

 

[NicoZ]

Re: Re: Cleaning an Osprey Hydraulics bladder

My camelbak drink system undoubtedly still tastes like rubber after cleaning it with normal water and soap. I need something to remove the rubber taste. Was sort of ratios are we talking about when saying a "very diluted solution if bleach"?

Herman

If you are going to rinse it out later then

1 ounce per gallon. Calculator tells me that's about 30ml to 4litres.

If you aren't going to rinse then even less .

Make sure it's just bleach. No fragrances. No cleaning additives. Nothing fancy.

NB the above is for normal household bleach. The stronger stuff used for pools etc is going to need even less bleach.

 

[Bouwmeester]

Milton, used for cleaning babies bottles.

I used Milton tablets to clean my water bladder on my 4 week Camino ( about every 3 days) they're not heavy to bring with you.

I just looked into Milton tablets - that should work. However, as I looked into availability of these kinds of tablets in the Netherlands, I discovered also 'regular' water sterilization/purification tablets, such as Puritab and Aquaclear. Does anyone has experience with these kinds of tablets?

 

[HermanTheGerman]

Thanks for the tips. I couldn't find any of these Miltons, bit managed to get some sodium tablets from the local outdoor shop. Had the solution in there for 30 minutes before rinsing it out. Doesn't taste like sucking on a tyre so much anymore, but the rubber taste is still there. I'll give it another go and see what happens before trying the bleach solution.

Buen Camino

 

[Seymoursmum]

Try the baby section in the supermarket for Milton tabs. They are used for sterilising baby's bottles.

 

[Tomboak]

Just got back after recurrent bronchitis cut our trip short. I would, in retrospect, recommend sterilizing the mouthpiece frequently especially if you are ill!