Camelbaks.........painful to dry

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shootin_stars4u

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Jul 19, 2004
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I live in Taiwan, a humid island on the coast of China. Recently, i bought a camelbak to carry around with me on trips into the bush, it's real convenient, but drying it out after i use it has become a number one headache for me. It takes forever to dry, and i'm kidda worried that it'll become an incubator for germs. Anyone have any ideas on quick drying a camelbak? Thanks!! :cool:
 
grnamin said:
I stick some paper towels inside my Camelbak to hasten the drying process. There's also a bladder drying contraption you can get, but I don't have any personal experience with it.
Click to expand...

The paper towels work great!

You can make your own drying contraption using a wire clothes hanger. I use one that is plastic coated and draw it out by hanging on to the hooked end and pulling the center of the traingular base. Once drawn out, I procede to straighten out the sides and then make accordian folds. The hanger then can be asily be inserted into the mouth of the bladder. The accordian folds keep the sides of the bladder apart and help drying. I also roll up a paper towel and insert it alond the bottom of the bladder to wick away any liquid that tries to pool in the low spots.

Been doing this for years with no problems. The only areas I question are the tube and the mouth piece. I periodically remove the mouthpiece and let the feed tube air dry. Every now and then, I run a weak bleach (sodium hypochlorite) solution through the whole shebang for an antibacterial purge and follow with a water flush. No problems! Good luck whatever you chose!
 
Don't they have Platypus bags in Taiwan yet? You could replace your CamelBak bladder with one.
Less plastic taste. Sterilize the bag every once in a while by boiling it (yes, it's safe--you can freeze them too and have really cold water the next day).
 
As long as you bleach the bladder and tube periodically (see the Camelback site for more specific instructions) I don't think bacteria will be a big problem.
 
I believe they sell a plastic-rod expander that you stick in the neck to let air in. I made one as the guy says, out of a coat hanger.
 
If I am not going to use it for a while I let it dry out.

If I am going to continue to use it in the near future I just shake out all the water I can and throw it in the freezer. However, the plastic will absorb odors if you have an odiferous freezer.

Also, if you only put H2O in your camelback, there is much less chance for growth.
 
I mountain bike at least twice a week and never dry out my Camelback bladder. It always has some water in it.
The problem comes when you open it and introduce air into it
Never have a problem with mold.
When it starts tasting plasticy, I just rinse it out with a weak bleach solution and let it flow out the tube.
People make too much of a big deal on drying and cleaning thest things out.
Lenny
 
I stuff some paper towels in the Omega reservoir of my M.U.L.E. and then hang it upside down. Works great for me.
 
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