Heed in Camelbak?

[Veronica]

Nothing goes in my Camelbak except water. I don't trust that I can actually clean all of its nooks and crannies.

Veronica

[Catrin]

I should have said that it lives in my freezer when actually not in use... your point is well taken though.

[OakLeaf]

Heed is notorious for leaving traces of flavor. But if you don't mind the flavor of Heed, there's no reason to mind the traces of it.

I'm with V. I'm confident that I could clean my equipment - I have one of the long brushes that's really invaluable for cleaning the drink tube; bite valves can be cleaned with denture tablets; the inside of the bladder gets cleaned with a damp dishrag and some baking soda, closed up and shaken vigorously. I'm confident that I can clean it. How soon after a run I do clean it is another question.

I will put Endurolytes, Emergen-C or Nuun in my packs (you have to be careful with Nuun though, because of the effervescence, and make sure you don't seal the closure until it's finished fizzing) - but nothing that could serve as a medium for mold or bacteria growth.

[Veronica]

I'm not very good at cleaning things. Thom, bless his heart, cleans my bottle that gets my recovery drink in it after every use. It's made with milk and could get quite nasty.

I am an awesome cook, good at doing the mundane stuff... laundry, loading the dishwasher, the kitty box, emptying the garbage... but serious cleaning... that's his responsibility. I think it's 'cause he was a Marine.

I also keep the reservoir in the freezer.


Veronica

[pumpkinpony]

I put stuff in mine. NUNN lately. Sometimes gatorade mix. If I have anything besides plain water in it, it gets a denture tablet when I get home and a good rinse. I used the same bladder for 5 years doing that without a problem or funky odors. It finally sprung a leak, but I doubt that was related to putting flavored drinks in it. I figure 5 years with the same plastic bladder is long enough...

[lattae]

I put Heed in my camelbak about 2 years ago and ended up replacing the bladder because of mold growth. I never ever put anything in the camelbak but plain water. I put Heed in my polar bottles and take along a ziploc bag of extra heed to add to the bottle as needed. I can't remember if I didn't clean out the bladder till the next day or what but had mold growth pretty quick.

[tulip]

Mold in Camelbak is not a good thing. Not sure that freezing would prevent mold. Personally, I stick with water in the Camelbak and other stuff (NUUN for me these days) in my water bottles. With NUUN, you can simply bring the tablets with you and refill your water bottle from the Camelbak.