Whether you own a hydration pack for your love of exercising or for your love of nature and being in the wild, it is clear that you do understand the many benefits they bring. By now, you probably can’t imagine life without one.
Even though you’re just using your reservoir for water storage, at some point, there will come a time when you should probably think about giving your hydration pack and hose a good clean. Some reservoirs have larger openings that make them much easier to clean, but knowing how to clean Platypus hose, for example, isn’t as easy.
If you are using your hydration pack for energy drinks, then you should clean the reservoir and hose after every use. Hence, it’s worth finding out sooner rather than later how best to clean them. To make your life a bit easier, we did a bit of research to find out the most popular ways of getting your hose clean and ready for your next trip.
How To Clean Platypus Hose
Generally speaking, you can clean all hoses in the same way. However, learning how to clean Platypus hose requires that you first learn how to remove the mouthpiece so that you can have access all the way through the tube.
The best thing you can do to keep your hose clean is to clean it after every use. This will prevent any build-up or residue that is hard to remove once it’s established. Of course, this isn’t always possible if you’re in a rush, or if you’re out in the wild and don’t have access to the correct tools and solutions due to the necessity of having to pack light.
Depending on how dirty your hose is, you have a choice of options when it comes to the tools you use, as well as the cleaning solution you use to clean it out with.
Cleaning Tools
Option 1: Using The Official Cleaning Kit
You can buy cleaning kits relatively cheaply from several different brands, such as Platypus, Osprey, and Camelbak. The cleaning kit will contain two wire brushes that will help to keep your hose and reservoir clean.
The hose brush is made up of a long piece of wire with a brush at the end. It looks like a tiny bottle brush with an elongated wire handle. Simply push the brush through the whole tube, and then pull back and forth to give it a good scrub.
Option 2: Using A Piece Of Cord
Using a long piece of cord or material (at least a good few inches longer than your hose), thread through your hose and pull it back and forth while twisting the hose around. Make sure that it touches all of the inside edges.
If you have trouble threading the material through the hose, then you can try tying something heavy (and tiny, like a fishing weight), to one end of the material to use weight and gravity to help feed the material through to the other end. The more abrasive the material is, the better it will be at cleaning the interior.
Option 3: Using Wire And Cotton Balls
Find a long, medium-strength piece of wire and secure cotton balls to it all the way along its length. Use it the same way you would the wire brush and pull it back and forth while the cotton balls get to work cleaning the inside of your hose.
Cleaning Solutions
Depending on how dirty your hose is, you can try the different hydration pack cleaning solutions listed below.
- Hot, soapy water
- 10% bleach solution
- One part baking soda, one part lemon juice, three parts water
- Soak with a denture tablet
- Remember to always rinse thoroughly after washing so that you don’t taste the cleaning solution next time you drink through the hose.
Tricks Of The Trade
Hoses are notoriously hard to dry, which is why, at the very least, you should hang your hose up somewhere airy and cool where it can dry as fast as possible. You can also use tools, such as something similar to option two or three in the tools section above.
Drying
Some people have even reported drying theirs in their dehydrator set to the lowest setting. Others use hairdryers on a cool setting to ensure that every last drop of water is expelled.
Storage
If you live somewhere where you have a problem with dampness, then it may be difficult to keep your hose dry, which will cause a nasty build-up of black mildew. To combat this, store your hose in an airtight container to keep it hygienic while you are not using it.
How to Clean a Camelbak Tube
- Get your cleaning gear ready: You’ll need some warm water, a cleaning solution like Camelbak Cleaning Tabs (or mild soap), and a cleaning brush. Gather your supplies and let’s get started!
- Free the tube! Disconnect the tube from your hydration system. Now it’s time to give it some TLC.
- Scrub-a-dub-dub: Insert the cleaning brush into the tube and start scrubbing away. Don’t forget to get into all the nooks and crannies! If your tube is really dirty, you can even try filling it with the cleaning solution and let it soak for a few minutes.
- Rinse it off: Once you’ve given your tube a good scrubbing, rinse it off with some warm water. Get rid of any soap or cleaning solution that might be lingering around.
- Hang it up to dry: Finally, it’s time to let your tube dry completely. Hang it up in a well-ventilated area and make sure it’s not in direct sunlight or near a heat source.
And that’s it! With these easy steps, you’ll have a clean and fresh Camelbak tube ready for your next adventure. So go ahead and hydrate like a pro!
Conclusion
As you can see, cleaning a Platypus hose isn’t as daunting as it first looks. You just need to have the right tools in place and remember to clean it often, as much as after every use if possible.
You don’t necessarily need the official cleaning kits as you can substitute with much cheaper, household items. However, if your hose is very dirty, then the cleaning kit is probably the best choice as it’s the most abrasive, and certainly much cheaper than a whole new hose.