How to Clean a Hydration Pack
The key to getting the most life, use and value out of your outdoor gear is taking good care of it. Keeping the drinking reservoir inside your hydration pack is especially important to preventing contamination of your water supply. While cleaning the outside of the pack is not as critical to the integrity of your water supply, keeping the outer pack clean may help to reduce abrasion from dust, dirt and grit. This could let the pack part of your hydration pack last longer.
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Instructions
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1
Remove the flexible hydration reservoir from the cloth cover or pack, if it's in one.
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2
Unscrew the cap from the reservoir and drain the contents completely.
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3
Mix a solution of mild dish soap and water. Scrub the inside of the hydration reservoir with this solution, using a baby bottle brush to clean inside the reservoir.
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4
Run your mixing solution through the drinking tube. Scrub inside the tube using a long pipe cleaner.
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5
Remove odors, if necessary, by filling the reservoir with water, adding 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and letting it sit overnight.
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6
Rinse the reservoir several times with clear water, drain completely and, if the neck opening is wide enough, wipe the inside dry with a clean cloth.
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Wash the cloth pack itself in mild detergent and water. If your pack has a tag stating that it's okay to machine wash, go ahead and wash it on the gentle cycle. If there's no tag, you should wash it by hand just to be safe.
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Leave the reservoir to air-dry overnight, with the cap still unscrewed. The cloth pack can air dry at the same time.
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Check to make sure the reservoir and pack are both completely dry. If they're not dry, leave them be to continue drying. Once they are dry, replace the reservoir in the cloth pack.
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