Cleaning a hydration bladder

[retired jerry]

Lemon juice and baking soda

That can't be good

At least it's not Drano and ... what do they put in those???

[jdemott]

Someone makes a tube and bite valve that screws onto a hard nalgene bottle

Camelbak sells a nalgene type bottle with a bite valve.

Thanks to everyone for all the replies so far.

[mayhem]

After many years of using nalgene bottles for drinking water, I'm trying out a hydration bladder (an Osprey). After using it the first time, I found that it is pretty difficult to get it completely dry after rinsing it out, which seems like an invitation to growth of bacteria, etc. I see that Osprey sells a hydration cleaning system with two tools and a custom drying rack, plus special cleaning tablets for soaking the bladder. Compared to the ease of washing nalgene bottles in the dishwasher, that whole cleaning system looks like a big pain (plus another expense).

How do you clean and dry your hydration bladder? The manufacturer's system? A DIY alternative? Rinse and hope? What...you're supposed to clean them??

Have any of you tried hydration bladders and later abandoned them as being too fussy?

There are bladders that you can turn inside out & clean in the dishwasher . I'm posting what I have in the gear forum. Geigerrig.com

[Dustin DuBois]

I rinse my bladder with hot water (not boiling/scalding) a few times, hang it up and tuck a wadded paper towel in it to open it up and sop up some moisture. I swap out the paper towel after a bit. Mine also collects at one end or the other and doesn't drain easily, so I improvised a little. Mine is still new but so far no mold.

[Lumpy]

I put a good splash of bleach in about a quart of warm water and let that get all over the inside of the bladder. Then, I let some of the solution out through the bite valve, and let it all sit for at least 30 minutes. To dry, I use paper towels in the bladder and hang the tubing up to dry.

If the bleach doesn't kill it, it can have me.

[PdxSpur]

I know this thread hasn't been going for awhile, but thought I would add my two cents. I try to get as much water out as possible, mostly by drawing it out through the mouth piece. I then put it in the freezer til needed again. When I need it again, I pull it out a few minutes before I'm ready fill it. Water tastes fine, every time!!

[Eric Peterson]

Freezer works great on my Platypus bladder, froze the hose to get the mold all crunchy and it just
flaked up and came right out.

I also have a Geiger Rig bladder, I pump the water bag up with air to help hasten evaporation, haven't had to turn it inside out once yet by doing this after each hike...

[forester]

This post has been deleted.