The sooner you get this done after your day out the happier you’ll be the next time around.

I didn’t always use a hydration bladder. Once upon a time I was too cool to carry water. moronically I realized the more I had with me the further I could go and the more I could see and do. My first hydration pack was just a 3L Platypus Bladder in my backpack. I learned after half a summer that just water in the bladder after a hike was not going to be enough. The first sign is a faint taste of watered down gatorade. If you’re lucky you never learned how to properly store your bladder and it doesn’t develop the mix of old juice and moldy water. I only decided to try a few remedies when I upgraded to a running vest and really began to push the mileage. With my Nathan Vapor Running Vest getting pulled out multiple times a week and for 5+ hour jaunts in the woods on the weekends, I had to fix the funk fast.

There are about 5 ways known on the web for cleaning your bladder. Regardless of the bladder’s brand, these procedures will all work with some level of success. I tried them all and will rate and rank them. I am a pretty lazy person when it comes to maintenance. I like the simplest approach. On this page I’ll be learning – the hard way – to maintain and upkeep equipment. I hope to share those adventures with you.

Cleaning Agents

Simple to find and simple to use:

1. Bleach: Well heres an option we all probably have around the house. This works well too but I am always afraid I used too much. In fact, one go around I added enough to make me rinse an extra 2 or three times. 1 drop goes a really long way. If I was in a hurry, or on a long trip I would go this route without much hesitation but if I can avoid, it I will.
2. Baking Soda: Now we arrive at the star of the show! We all have this and there doesn’t seem to be a wrong way to use baking soda to clean things. I really think our parents could’ve done a better job of making us realize how great baking soda is. I use the Arm and Hammer stuff and have had no issues. 1/4th cup of baking soda per liter of water in the reservoir/ bladder. Shake shake shake. Rinse and let dry.
3. Lemon Juice: Similar to Baking soda, lemon juice is a powerful cleaning agent. I personally didn’t have enough of this laying around the house and had to try this after doing groceries. It worked ok but I thought it replaced the sugary taste with a faint lemon taste. after one use that lemony smell did go away. 1/4 Cup per liter, just like the baking soda. Buy lemons and make cocktails for after your run.

Specialty Item – kinda strage

1. Dedicated Tablets: These tablets are marketed and sold as hydration bladder cleaning tablets. Boom! how much easier can it get than this, right? You cant really get it wrong, other than thinking adding more for extra stinky bladders. Apply one tablet at a time, I found that they were very good at cleaning. This is what led me to keep trying solutions. These Tablets cost a bit more than something you already have around the house and the ingredients are not all that common-sounding.
2. Denture Cleaning Tablets: This worked as well as the other tablet idea but I felt even weirder about this. Nothing wrong with dentures, but I wasn’t thrilled about this option. The tablets were the most expensive and hardest to find.

Tools:

1. Brush:a little soft brush is all you need. I used a bamboo bristle brush that I use for all my dishes. Dont think too hard about this, just use it to agitate the baking soda.
2. Paper Towel – not really neccesary but youll want something to catch the water and to help start the drying process.

How To:

1. Dismantle the hose from the bladder if possible. if your bladder/ resevoir has additonal openings and straps remove them. We want tot be able to reach the inside of the bladder and the hose as easily as possible.
2. Quickly rinse out your two-day-old drink mix from the bladder with a little water.
3. Blow out any drink mix from the hose. I personally forcefully blow it out but if you want one last taste of adventure suck it in. your call on this one.
4. Add cleaning agent (Baking Soda is my recommendation) to the bladder and agitate with your brush or fingers or simply by closing the bladder and having your kids shake the bag and get the floor all wet.
5. Let the bladder sit with the cleaning solution for 15-30 minutes. My kid likes to shake it when she walks by. this didnt seem to have any negative affects other than the wet floor being a problem all day.
6. Rinse with a little dish soap. Key word here is a little dish soap. if youre at a campsite Bronners is great too or even a little stream water.
7. Airdry.

Storing your Hydration Bladders

Cleaning is critical to having a funk-free experience with your hydration bladder but storage can reverse all of your hard work pretty easily. The best way to store your reservoir is to roll it up nice and tight after its been thoroughly dried and throw it into the freezer. Hose and all. The freezer keeps new things from growing in there.