To make your trips more interesting you need to be hydrated and using the hydration pack can make your backpacking handier. Keep it clean for best utilization.
Hydration packs can keep you revived in all tricky terrains where the only backup you get for hydration is your reserved hydration gear. On the contrary, it can push your health into a threat if you don’t maintain it properly.
Bacteria, molds, and other waterborne germs can grow inside the hydration pack. Those not only spoil the taste of your drinks but also can cause serious health issues.
You can apply different cleaning methods to keep it mold-free. How often and how you can properly maintain it before or after mold grows has enclosed it.
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How Often Should You Clean A Hydration Pack?
As the hydration pack is a good backup for staying hydrated, you should keep it well maintained. Actually, how often you should clean your hydration pack depends on your activities or the type of drinks you poured on it for your hydration purpose.
Normally, if you pour fresh water into the hydration bladder, it is not necessary to clean it immediately after getting finished. So, you can wash them once or twice a month if you use them frequently while hanging out. But if you use saccharine drinks, saline, or medically prescribed drinks, it’s wise to clean the hydration bladder thoroughly after the drink finishes.
You will find different types of hydration packs for different purposes. If you like mountain climbing, racing, hiking, or other adventure activities you can use the dirt bike hydration packs. Mostly they are compact and have a wide diameter screw cap so you can add ice cubes or other mixtures.
The cleaning process of this hydration pack is not as critical as you think. You can follow some simple method to clean it accurately. On the other hand, Some sports hydration packs may require extra cleaning tools after constant use. And needs time to make them dry perfectly after washing.
It’s wise to clean your hydration pack every day after you finish your daily activities. If you use any sweetened drinks like juice, fruit essences, or soft drinks, it’s nice to clean the hydration pack immediately after the drink finishes.
You should remember that proper cleaning of your hydration packs helps to prevent the potential growth of mold and bacteria. just wash and dry the hydration packs properly and enjoy your adventurous activities.
Basic Cleaning Methods
The cleaning process is not as difficult as you may think at first glance a hydration bladder. Just follow some simple steps to go through the basic cleaning methods-
- Use soapy water, bleaching powder, or any other cleaning liquids you like and mix it with water then leave it for 15 to 30 minutes
- Rinse it thoroughly with fresh water and drain it through the bladder tube to make sure the tube also gets clean well
- Dry out the hydration pack
How Often Clean The Bladders While Having Antimicrobial Coatings
Most of the Hydration packs have Antimicrobial coatings so if your one also has these coatings, you won’t have to worry at all. You can clean them once a month because they are less prone to be attracted by harmful bacteria or molds. Some hikers clean them once within 2 or 3 months. But I suggest you clean it at least once a week otherwise you may have to do too much extra cleaning.
When Do You Need to Clean the Hydration Packs?
After Having Sugar Drinks
Some of you may like to use sugar drinks for keeping yourself hydrated. This is great but be careful that after you have finished the last drop, you rinse it thoroughly with vinegar or soapy water. After washing, hang it down to make it dry.
Powdered And Tablet Drink Mix
A powered and tablet drink mixture can keep you energetic when you are hiking or on adventures. But these drinks very fast allow bacterial growth in a dark closet. So, when you are using these drinks in your hydration pack make sure the weather is nice and cool. So, you can get your drinks in good taste, and are less prone to mold growth.
Easiest Way To Clean Your Hydration Bladder
Here, we are letting you know about the easiest way to clean your hydration bladder. You can buy specialized hydration bladder cleaning tablets from your nearby supermarkets. These tablets work well enough to clean your packs like ever before. So, after every single use just clean the pack, mix it with fresh water, and leave it for 30 minutes. Drain it properly through the tube and bite valve so that the pack gets cleaned completely.
Before Mold Growth
Mold growth can fall your health into serious threats. As the hydration packs very fast can get the habitat of molds, you should wash with soapy water or bleaching powder after a single-use.
After Mold Growth
If you get your hydration pack already it will become a habit to mold growth after a long break from your last tours. Don’t worry, just go through some extra cleaning with two spoons of bleaching powder mixed through lukewarm water. Plus, use the bottle scrubber for proper cleaning and wash it thoroughly. Thus, you can get rid of disappointing molds.
Storing Your Bladder To Prevent Mold
If you use hiking or adventure tours after 2 or 3 months, it’s necessary to store your bladder to keep it from mold. Before storing you have to make sure that its inside is dry enough to avoid mold attacks. It’s not wise to store the pack if there is leftover moisture or tiny drops of water. Before storing, do some essential tasks and then approach to store it.
Rinse It Out
After washing with cleaning liquids or bleaching powder, rinse it thoroughly with fresh water. Make sure your hydration pack does not contain any chemicals. Otherwise, you have to suffer from chemical reactions which may create health issues.
Dry It Out
After washing the hydration pack let it dry perfectly. If there remains moisturizer or water drops it will attract the mold to grow. So, use a kitchen towel to clean inside it and hang it in airy environments where you can get enough air supply to make it dry. I use a kitchen spoon or utensils at the front to hold it up so it can get enough airflow to dry completely. Also, make sure that the straw has dried properly after getting enough airflow.
Freeze It (If Needed)
Once you make it dry you should store it in a nice place until you bring it out for the next trip. If you store them in freeze there will be a 0% chance for any mold growth or odd smells.
Final Thought
How often do you need to clean your hydration bladder, you’ve already gotten the ideas. Depending on the type of your hydration pack, follow the methods for having the best cleaning. Though the packs you use may have antimicrobial coatings, you should wash them frequently. Because the anti-bacterial coating may get eroded after long use.
