Mountain Biking - Camelbak Bladder Storage in Freezer Without Air-Drying

I have been storing my Camelbak bladder, which is exclusively used for water, in the freezer. I have not had any problem with this, but I do want to confirm from people in the know, that it is okay to do this. I started storing in the freezer after having a problem with mold growth in the sipping tube, while leaving bladder in the backpack. I cleaned it out and I am under the impression that mold can not grow in the freezer. Am I right?

Also, will the constant freeze and thaw cycles that freezer storage entails lead to premature wear? By the way, I just empty the remaining water post-ride and throw the bladder in the freezer without air-drying. Is this okay?

Finally, will the adding of a teaspoonful or so of lemon juice to a bladderful of water, so as to mask and eventually rid the bladder of the bleach-aftertaste left over from cleaning with a little bleach be detrimental in anyway to the bladder?

Thanks for your response.

Regards,

I cannot really comment on whether it's OK to store without airdrying but I'm nearly sure that just a spoonful of lemon juice should not do any harm to it.

If you air dry, there shouldn't be any bleach aftertaste as the chlorine should theoretically completely dissipate in a few hours (though the tube takes a while to dry out). I've never bleached my camelbak though, so I can't comment on long term detrimental effects. Alternatively you can occasionally give the bladder a thorough cleaning using denture cleaning tablets or the Camelbak or Nalgene cleaning tabs (much more expensive). I've never detected an aftertaste with any of these methods.

As for freezing, I recall reading somewhere in the Camelbak literature that the reservoir is freezable, so it should be okay.

I leave mine about 1/4 full when I throw it in the freezer. The bonus is that you have cold water for quite a while during the ride. If you leave it mostly empty, you could get the sides of the bladder sticking together with the small amount of water left in there. Every couple of months I clean it out with warm water and two denture tablets then refill 1/4 full and put back in the freezer. I've had one bladder for about 6 years with no problems other than changing out the bite valves. Small amounts of bleach won't hurt the bladder but if you get too much or leave in too long, it will leave a taste for a while.

I do the about the same as Klondike. I usually rinse it after each use and fill it 1/4 to 1/3 of the way and stick in the freezer.

If I forget to remove it and clean it and it sits for a day or two in my Camelback, I drop in a denture cleaning tablet or two and let it sit for a couple hours, rinse with fresh water and then refreeze.

The only problems I've had with this method is crashing with a partially frozen Camelback. The first problem was I was landing on an ice cube. It was partially padded from the pack itself and didn't bruise, but I did feel it. The second less obvious, yet beneficially problem was that the crash caused two pinholes in the bladder. As I continued my ride and the water leaked, I had cool water running down my back to keep me cool. I don't recommend this.

Freezing will eventually cause the bladder to fail way faster than if you don't freeze it. If you put about 1 TBSP of bleach in the bladder and let it sit, full, for 1/2 hour, and then bleed it out through the tube, it will kill anything that might even be thinking of growing, though. After running the bleach through, re-fill with water, bleed it out, and air dry. Unless there's something funky in your water, it shouldn't grow mold. If you're on city water, and mold is growing, you ought to call your water dept. & find out exactly what the hell they are doing! If it's growing in a clean, dry bladder, imagine what's going on in you household pipes!

If you have well water, you might pour a gallon of bleach into your well (at least 3 times a year), then run your water until you smell the bleach. As soon as you can smell it, turn off the water, and let everything sit for a few hours. Them, turn ALL your water faucets on and run the water until you don't smell bleach anymore.
PS - if your refridgerator dispenses water/ice, turn the icemaker off, and remove the filer, or the chlorine will kill the sucker......