Clean that Camelbak!

At some time or another, as a parent, we have found a sippy cup and went to do a deep cleaning on it only to find something not very pleasant growing in the deep recesses of the lid. I still find some scary things in various lunch containers from time to time. 

But something that is quite easy to overlook is the reservoir in the water feature backpacks which are pretty popular these days.

Just recently in getting ready for our recent backpacking trip, I went to fill up my daughters camelbak and noticed that the bite valve was looking a bit worn. I usually stock a few extra as these routinely need to be replaced (kids love to chew on these things). 

As I was replacing it, I noticed something pretty dark in the tube and pulled off the valve completely only to find something pretty dark and slimy in there. Yuck! I should note that I had missed cleaning this after our last trip and water had been sitting in here for a few weeks.

Personally, I'm probably not as on top of cleaning these things as I should be, but I do try and dry them out between uses, hanging them open over a kitchen cabinet door to drip dry. Most times when I come home after using it, it's all I can manage to do to dump the water out and let them dry. I see advice online saying you should do a deep cleaning every 3-5 uses, but that's a bit tough too, especially if you are tired. 

Wiki-how had a nice article about doing a deep cleaning you should take a look at, regardless of the reservoir system you have, or even if it's just a water bottle. 

You can purchase cleaning tabs and some bottle brushes that make this all pretty easy. Lets not make ourselves sick accidentally. Go clean your water resevoir today!