|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
Keeping your hydration pack clean
A hydration pack is basically a backpack designed to carry a reservoir or bladder of liquid that can be worn on your back, allowing you to drink without using your hands. Involving a hose that runs from the bladder to you mouth and bite valve that allows you to operate it completely hands free, this ability to drink on the go can give you a competitive advantage if you are competing against other contestants or the clock. Not surprisingly, since you will probably use your hydration pack while conducting strenuous physical activity out in the sun, the bladder, hose, and valve can become quite mucky after a while. It is important to keep your hydration system clean as otherwise it is likely to begin growing mould or otherwise making the liquid you want to drink undrinkable. Generally you should keep your hydration pack empty and dry when not in use. In the early days, most people would only use water in their hydration pack because cleaning it was difficult and time consuming. However, the problem is that in extreme sports where you deplete a lot of your resources, water alone is not good enough to keep you going you going. You also have to replenish your slats and electrolytes, and this involves drinking something other than water. Today, most hydration packs are designed to make cleaning and care fairly easy. After use, you should always clean the entire hydration system thoroughly to prevent any unwelcome mould, bacteria, or spores from growing. Most hydration packs come with comprehensive instruction on how to keep your pack clean, but if you do not have these or do not want to purchase the additional cleaning kits, often sold as a separate accessory, that are specifically designed for your pack, you can clean it yourself easy enough. For the bladder, the first step is to empty it out and rinse it. Once it is rinsed out, add a mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda, or baking powder) and allow it to sit for a few minutes. After this use a baby bottle brush to scrub it out, taking special care to scrub down the seams and the hard to reach part with along the top of the bladder. This is where most back wash is likely to leave a mess. Rinse it out again with the mixture of sodium bicarbonate. Not only does the sodium bicarbonate kill many germs and growing things, but it also helps eliminate any other tastes, such as the plastic flavor that many bladders have. Once you have cleaned your bladder out well, the next step is very important – allow it to dry out completely. To do this you need some means of keeping the sides apart. Many bladders come with a special insert specifically designed to hold the bladder’s sides apart while allowing the flow of air into the bladder. However, if you do not have this insert – or just do not want to pay for it – you can use a wire clothes hanger. Unwind the hanger and fold it over so that there are two lines of wire and no sharp edges going into the bladder. Then bend it at such an angle that it will hold the two sides of the bottle apart and insert it. Be very careful to avoid putting either of the ends of the hanger into the bladder as they may puncture it, resulting in ruining your hydration system. Most modern bladders are made of exceptionally tough materials, but putting a sharp metal point into the bag itself is simply asking for trouble. Once the bladder is held open, just allow it to dry out thoroughly. If you live in a place with a lot of humidity, consider leaving in your refrigerator. This will not only help it dry in humid conditions, but will also retard the growth of mould and the like in your bladder just as it does for your food. An important aside: while storing it in your refrigerator is a good idea, do not put it into the freezer. Freezing the plastic may hurt the bladder and is likely to freeze any remaining liquid as opposed to allowing it to evaporate, meaning you will never completely dry it out. Today there are some hydration packs specifically designed for cold weather conditions – they are popular with cross country skiers and other endurance related winter sports – and these may be able to freeze without hurting the plastic itself but will not let the bladder dry out. As with the bladder, special tools are available for sale to clean the hose and the bite valve as well. But if you do not have these you can also clean them yourself. You can find tube-cleaning brushes for sale in most hardware or DIY shops – long pieces of steel cable with a brush on one end – and this is perfect for cleaning the hose. Using your same baby bottle brush from the bladder and the tube cleaning brush, you should be able to clean the rest of your system easy enough. Again use a mixture of water and sodium bicarbonate as the primary cleaning agent, though some people also like to use baby bottle sterilizing fluid as well. Once they are clean, allow the hose and vlave to dry out completely as well. Copyright Zarro Webmaster@liquidpacks.com
|
|
||||
