Clean out your bladder
A friend recently asked me how to clean out his Platypus hydration bladder. He filtered some water on a recent trip and now he said it smells, let’s say, “organic.”
Thankfully the folks at Platypus have an FAQ on how to clean out and disinfect a bladder. Basically you can wash it, boil it or use household bleach to disinfect the bladder. The same techniques can be used to clean out MSR Dromedary bags too.
Here are some easy steps to making your bladder squeaky clean:
Basic cleaning
-Use hot, soapy water and rinse thoroughly with hot water.
-For a more extensive cleaning, add ¼ cup of baking soda to ¾ cup of water and shake for 30 seconds. Then add ¼ cup of lemon juice, shake for 30 seconds and loosen the cap so the bag will air dry. Repeat this three times, then rinse three times with hot water.
(Be aware that adding lemon juice to baking soda causes pressure to build in a capped Platypus)
-Lay your Platypus in a pot so most of the bag is submerged in water.
-Make sure the bladder isn’t touching the bottom or the sides of the pot.
-Caution: Do not cover the pot when boiling and always watch your Platypus for pressure building up inside.
-Never microwave your bladder.
-Add one ounce of unscented household bleach (Clorox Regular, Clorox Ultra) to one liter of clean water.
-Mix for 10 seconds.
-Fill bag and tube with the solution and leave overnight.
-Rince thoroughly and air dry in the morning.
For more tips on maintaining your Platypus, go to the official FAQ here.
Categories: | Time: 11:11 am (UTC+8)
