I just bought a camelback and i was wondering how I should clean it so it has a neutral taste

If you have any ideas, leave a post please

When I got mine I just rinsed it out. I usually put a little lemon juice in it for flavor and its also a natural cleaner. Invest in the plastic hanger thingie made by camelbak. It helps a lot to get the bladder dry.

Baking soda and HOT HOT water, let it soak and then rinse it real good.

Fraid my answer is to use the camelback for water only. Any gatorade/drink mixes go in separate water bottles.

I have heard other owners talk of adding rice to the mix to act as an abrasive when draining out the tube. While mine does get drink mixes I have to clean it out after each ride so it only gets used as a drink holder for rides which will be long enough to need that much because I only carry one bottle. The mixes also serve to mask any flavor issues, although I can't say its been a problem.

I always hang the bag out upside down to drain with the bite valve out and something inside the main bag to keep it open. I use two clothes pegs clipped together but a bent coat hanger would work too.

As a side note, on longer organized rides I normally keep an empty bottle in the cage for the drink stations. They dont always have cups so this keeps me from having to take everything off unless I'm refilling.

Andy

to clean the bladder, (camelback's, not yours) fill it with water and drop a couple of your nanna's denture cleaning tablets in. leave it over night, drain and rinse. it even gives the tube a clean if you let it run out that way.

during summer, i leave a little bit of water in the bladder and lay it flat in the freezer. this keeps the bladder fresh, and when you fill it up, it keeps the water (and your back) cool during your ride.

Camalbacks have a really funky plastic chemical taste when they are new. I fill mine with water and change it daily until the taste goes away. It usually takes about a week.

Can you remove the tube on the bladder side? Mine seems quite firmly attached.

This does come off on Camel backs. Try running hot water over the tube near the fitting, then pull.

Unflavored denture tabs... you will never go back to using anything else.

WoW! thanks for all your help

-phil

dude, i thought the title of his thread was '******** Cleaning'

It really works! I've had my HydroPak for 3 years now and had never cleaned it. Gross! But I always dried it out after every few uses. I got some denture tabs and used 3 of them for a 3 liter bladder. It doesn't taste funny and it's clean! Thanks for the tip!

Fill it up, put in a couple drops of bleach and let it sit for a few minutes....shake and rinse out.

Camelback actually has two useful items for this - the cleaning tablets and drying hanger - both are must haves