Camelbak - drying?

[Catrin]

I have yet to use my Camelbak, but the other night I put water/baking soda in it and let it soak all night - rinsed it out the next morning. I then set it upside to dry all day, with something holding the mouth open that wouldn't pierce the plastic to allow air to get into the pack.

3 days later it still isn't dry, and I am a little concerned about mold. Or should I be? What is the best way to make sure that it dries out? Of course I did not try to take the liner out...

[OakLeaf]

For a branded Camelbak, their complete cleaning kit comes with a gadget that holds it open for drying. It works really well.

No matter what brand your bladder is, I recommend the cleaning kit just for the drink tube brush. There are other ways to clean the drink tube, but they're a huge PITA. If your bladder is a brand other than Camelbak, you can buy the cleaning kit without the drying frame (which doesn't fit other brands).

Whatever brand you use, the key to drying is to hold the bladder completely open, so the sides don't touch each other anywhere. That's actually the only thing I don't like about my Nathan pack - the mouth is so small - but a couple of things that will go into it, and are light enough to stay put while the bladder dries, are a slim spatula/scraper (turned sideways) or a slim wooden spoon.

Once you've got it held open, you can just pin it by the corners to your indoor clothesline. I don't know how UV-resistant the plastic is, but I'd guess not very, so I wouldn't recommend an outdoor clothesline.

[Zen]

I stuff mine (loosely) full of paper towels

[BikeDutchess]

I often do that too. And then there was that one ride where at the end I thought "what is that in my Camelback?" and found that I had not quite removed all the paper towels before I filled it up... I must have been half asleep that morning!

[ny biker]

I bought the Camelbak cleaning kit years ago. That blue plastic thing does work well to hold the bladder open while it's drying.

I know someone who uses a bent coat hanger, although you need to be careful with the sharp part.

[southjerseygirl]

After dumping it out, I hold the bladder over the sink and blow as hard as I can through the bite valve to remove any remaining liquid. I dry the inside of the bladder with a paper towel and then use the yellow camelbak hanger/dryer to let it air dry the rest of the way. It seems to dry out pretty quickly, and no mold yet.

[TriMom217]

the other thing you can do is partially fill it with water, and lay it on its side in the freezer. Now you don't need to worry about anything growing in it and when you top it off you have icy water the entire time.

[Catrin]

the other thing you can do is partially fill it with water, and lay it on its side in the freezer. Now you don't need to worry about anything growing in it and when you top it off you have icy water the entire time.

This doesn't cause problems with the tubing? This is probably a silly question since it has been working for you

[TriMom217]

I've never had a problem with it on the tube and to tell the truth, I don't even know if it's ever frozen in there. I'd imagine it would thaw out pretty fast since the tube is thin.

We have 3 different bladders that get rotated in and out of the freezer. We only have one drying insert so that's what led us to putting them in the freezer.

[withm]

Once it gets hot, I keep my Camelbak bladder about 2/3 full in the freezer all the time. Fill with water, blow air into it to keep the top of the bladder from sticking to the ice. When ready to ride, top it off water, throw it into the harness and off you go. Since you put water in you will not have to wait for it to thaw. Might be frozen in the tube when you first take it from the freezer but it will thaw in a couple minutes so that is not an issue.

When you take a drink from the tube, be sure to blow air back into the tube - which pushes the water in the tube back into the bladder. This keeps you from getting the dreaded mouthful of warm water when you go to take your next drink.

Since I started using this "system" I am still able to have COLD water 3 hours into a ride in the hot summer. About the only thing I really can't stand is drinking lukewarm water. Ever. Ugh!

[Catrin]

Thanks for all of the wonderful tips! It looks like my Camelbak has be my "hydration system" for at least my flat-bar road bike, and probably for my LHT. Now I just have to figure out how to get the bladder out of the pack

I like the idea of the ice being able to do double-duty as a back cooler