How To Clean A Camelbak Hydration Bladder

Yes, You Have to Clean Your CamelBak — Here's How to Do It

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Hiking season is here, which means you may recently have found yourself scrounging around your garage/basement/shed for your trusty CamelBak. And maybe you found it, gave it a good smell, and thought Well, that's a little funkier than I want it to be.

Just like your reusable water bottles, your CamelBak needs to be cleaned. In an ideal world, you'd rinse it out with a bit of soap and hot water and dry it completely every time you use it. According to CamelBak, storing it in your freezer can also help prevent mildew between uses.

At the very least, though, you should give your CamelBak a good clean if it's been sitting idle for the last few months. Here's how to do it.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn

First, choose your cleaning agent.

The basic process for cleaning your CamelBak is pretty much the same regardless of what you use to clean it with, but you have some choices. Personally, I like bleach, which will kill mold and safely sanitize your hydration flask. If you're anti-bleach, however, lemon juice or vinegar will de-germ your flask, remove stains, and eliminate any weird smells. CamelBak also suggests baking soda, which we recommend for only slightly funky flasks, as it won't kill germs, but it will neutralize odors.

Also, I can't recommend this brush kit enough! Sure, you probably already have some scrubby brushes, but these are made for the CamelBak — the drinking tube included. How else are you going to scrub the inside of that long straw?

Give yourself time.

You also want to make sure that you're not trying to clean your CamelBak right before you go for a hike. That might be fine if you were cleaning it on the regular, but a deep clean takes time — about an hour, and a few more for your CamelBak to air dry. On the other hand, once you've cleaned it properly, regular maintenance means you shouldn't have to repeat this process until next year.

Credit: Joe Lingeman/Kitchn

How To Clean Your CamelBak

What You'll Need:

Bleach
Scrub brush
Dish soap

Instructions

Take the reservoir out of the carrier: The bladder comes out and that'll make the whole process much easier.
Fill reservoir with water and bleach and shake to mix: Use cold water (hot water will deactivate bleach) and a ratio of 1:50 bleach to water. That's about a capful of bleach per gallon of water.
Lift the reservoir up and pinch the bite valve until water flows out of the tube: With the tube in the sink, lift the reservoir up and pinch the bite valve until water starts to flow out of the tube. Release the bite valve. The reservoir and tube should be filled with bleach solution.
Let reservoir and tube sit: Set the reservoir and tube aside and let the whole thing sit for about 30 minutes.
Drain the reservoir completely: Pinch the bite valve and drain the reservoir completely. When you're finished, remove the bite valve.
Clean the reservoir with dish soap and hot water: Using dish soap, hot water, and a scrub brush, clean the reservoir, then rinse it with hot water.
Clean the tube and bite valve: Put a bit of soap on the tube brush and then push it through. Don't forget to wash the bite valve, too.
Rinse all the pieces: Make sure there's no soapy residue left behind.
Let air-dry: Let the reservoir, tube, and bite valve air-dry completely before reassembling.

Notes

If you're using lemon juice, vinegar, or baking soda, use about a quarter cup per quart of water.

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