One key to keeping black moldy stuff and bacteria from growing inside your Camelbak water bladder and tubing is to dry it out between uses. First empty the bladder as completely as possible. Suck and blow all the fluid out that you can through the bite valve. Then I use an air pump that is meant for blowing up air mattresses. You just shove the pump tube into the bladder and let it run for about 15 minutes.
Next, bend a wire clothes hanger into the configuration shown, and add an elastic band. Shove the hanger into the bladder to hold it open and attach the elastic band to something. Now you can hang the Camelbak up for a day or so. This will allow any moisture the air pump missed to evaporate.
Finally, store your Camelbak in the refrigerator to make it inhospitable to any invading microorganisms. And remember to enjoy a beer after your run!
PS - written on May 31, 2011. Since posting this, I have actually been in close contact with the
Skweet people. They sent my running club samples. I have been using
Skweet, and it is really a great product for keeping the Camelbak fresh!
4 comments:
Good tips and I've found the freezer's a great between uses storage method as well.
We make an all-natural, biodegradable wash for sport bottles and hydration packs. Add Skweet to your process and you'll avoid the slime buildup that even plain water can cause inside the bladder. Check us out when you get a chance: www.skweetclean.com
Cheers,
Tim
I accepted this comment despite its spammyness. Sounds like a good product, founder Jennifer has a good story, and it isn't expensive - therefore fits with the "(Cheap)" title on this post. Commenter "Tim" must have a Google alert out for "Camelbak".... Good luck with the product!
Hey Thinnmann, thanks for accepting the comment. I definitely am sensitive to being spammy but we're a husband/wife company at this point and merely trying to spread the word to people who love to exercise and have a legitimate use for Skweet. I found your tweet about Camelbak because I do use Tweetdeck to search for mentions of Camelbak, Sigg, etc... If someone appears to have questions about cleaning and maintaining, I suggest our product.
Our marketing budget is strictly maintaining a Facebook page and Twitter account until we can generate enough sales. Jen's the founder and inventor of Skweet. I'm her geeky, web-designing husband who's maintaining Skweet's online presence. Enjoy your barefoot running!
Cheers,
Tim
Or, instead of buying someone's product to clean your bottles/Camelbak, you can use one of the many cheap methods such as baking soda and lemon juice for cleaning and grapefruit seed extract in the water to prevent bacteria from growing in the first place.
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