camelbak bladder and water bottle cleanliness?

[tywhy]

Some of my friends are not concerned at all with shit growing in the camelbak bladders and think that since it's just water, whatever grows in there is fine. One girl is doesn't wash her nalgenes because she's worried about soap residue, but says there's time when her naglenes smells pretty bad. I'm pretty paranoid when it comes to keeping my stuff clean, how about you guys????

[lph]

i use soap once a year, but a couple drops of bleach every few rides. that shit will kill anything.

[TeleAl]

Hot salt water.

Frequency = when shit is growing and visible. Hence, long overdue.
(I suggest more frequent cleanings.)

Never look inside your water bottle. Live in denial, or clean it.

[dipstik]

I can tell when it needs to be cleaned when I rub the inside wall of the bladder and it feels slick/slimy. So usually about once a month, depending how frequently I use it.

edit: they sell camelbak cleaning kits that include special cleaning tablets (that work great) and two brushes: one for the bladder, and a skinny long one for the tube.

[InspectorGadget]

Originally posted by dipstik
they sell camelbak cleaning kits that include special cleaning tablets (that work great) and two brushes: one for the bladder, and a skinny long one for the tube.

I checked the "hardly ever" option. Based on the black gunge that's growing in all of my Camelbaks, I need to be a little more diligent about my bladder hygene.

[watersnowdirt]

I'm too embarassed to even answer this. Let's just say, you don't want to know.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Originally posted by watersnowdirt
I'm too embarassed to even answer this. Let's just say, you don't want to know.

A vinegar based solution with an applicator tip perfect for the hole in a...camelbak?

[scoober]

if you spread your bladder out, hang it up, and allow it to dry, cleaning is less of an issue.

if you keep it in the dark and let it fester, well, then thats a problem.