Cleaning your Platypus

“My one platypus bag got unfiltered water in it on the Montana trip and I want to sanitize it so it's ready for the next trip.

Will a bleach water solution do the trick or do any of you have other ideas to clean the bags?

Please advise - Thanks, Tex”

“i uasally soak in hot water with soap in it!! it works great , havnt gotten sick yet!”

“Bleach water ought to do it quite well I'd think.

I've dropped my nalgene in ponds (Hidden Pond in Ocala) before and just washed it with the dishes and was fine. I know for a fact that Hidden Pond is swimming with Giardia.”

“Sure, now you tell me about hidden pond! Is that why you were trying to get us to take water from there earlier this year??

What a Pal!!”

“a perfect reason to go to the gear store”

“that's how i clean mine. just don't end up drinking bleach. (rinse well)”

“Hey now, I did tell you! I'm sure of it!

I thought I did anyway.

My mind slipping already? Not good.”

“Bad mule, bad!”

“It's only going to get worse once the kiddos keep coming. Man, HPM, you are DOOMED!! LOL

Looking forward to hiking with you again sometime in Florida or where ever. Ocala sure was a blast! And those spring fed ponds...ahhh....

Tex”

“That's what they tell me 8|

Well Florida ECT2 will be happening. Stay tuned.

I'm thinking start south around Alexander Springs and go north to Juniper.”

“i heard summers eve works for cleaning that area”

“Ask a silly question...”

“sigh... I never have been able to catch mine. Durn thang moves too fast.Whats so great about them when ya cant get them to carry a quart of water for ya.”

“Just ALWAYS make sure you drain and dry the thang after evry trip...then it won't necessarily need a good decon all the time.”

“That's 2 teaspoons (tsp) bleach.”

“Based on the way we are sterilizing baby bottles here I would think you could also boil it.

HPM - that sounds like a great trip (from Alexander to Juniper) - I'm all over that.”

“I'd soak it in an iodine solution. If it'll make unfiltered water drinkable, it'll make a container that's had unfiltered water in it usable again. Just my $0.02.”

“And the award for brilliant common sense goes to skullcap.

I think the bleach would work too.”

“I've used iodine tablets in my camelback on the trail and it got stained. Not that it matters but it looks nasty.

I use my camelbaks almost daily. I clean them with bleach or mouthwash, sometimes both - mouthwash after bleach - then a final rinse of baking soda. I make sure I squirt some out the hose as well. I also read that a little "regular cook" rice added to the water will scrub the inside pretty good without hurting it.”

“I was told by my local outfitter to never boil it- it'll soften the seals and cause leaks. The outfitter said a little bleach solution, rinse well, and a final rinse with baking soda solution.”

“The instructions that come with the plat are just as treebait gave them.”

“and deffinetly don't leave it stand with the bleach solution in it...or else you might find yourself making an emergency stop in Estes Park and walking out of an outfitters $34.73 later.

and that's my $.02!!! and its worth $34.73 in advice.

Send ya the bill in the morning”

“I clean my platypus, by holding it by the beak or sometimes the rear leg...and dagle it in the toilet while flushing it (Swirley). When I'm done, he usually waddles back into the yard by his pond.”

“at chip...FUNNY!!!!!!!!!

I say go F___ck a duck...hahaha...I crak me up.”

“I have a nalgene water bag and two nalgene 1 quart water bottles. After a hike, I put one sheet of the Clorox bleach sheets in each and fill 3/4 of the way and shake. Let stand for a good part of the day and when passing it, I give it another shake. Empty out and rinse. Seems to do the trick for cleaning, even with smelly liquids like Gatoraide or liquor.”

“really stikmon? I leave my camelbak sitting with the bleach/water solution in it all the time. Although maybe it's not a very strong solution - I never measure it. Guess I better go back and read the "care and feeding" section that came with the instructions.”

“laqtis- I've never seen bleach sheets at the store. Never heard of them either.”

“I've never cleaned my platypus as chip has, but I gave my cat a bath once.

The cat liked it, I enjoyed it.

Of course the fur would stick to my tongue, but besides that....

(A little Steve Martin plagiarism here)”

“Tex,

Send it to your congressman in DC then have him mail it back to you. The postal service will nuc it and kill anything living in it.

Moz”

“Thought this was a thread about the croc hunter.

"Crikey, lookit the beak on 'at one myte; e's a big'n 'e is. Gor! 'E wants t' bite me! Didja see 'at myte?"”

“All of the advice here has been most amusing, but occassionally informative. Thanks for your input!

Now Chili, you can't actually expect me to SAVE the instructions that came with it, can you??? ;-)

Tex”

“I keep my hydration system (love how high-tech that sounds for a bag with a hose on it) in the freezer between uses. No cleaning, no drying, no growing organisms. Now unfiltered water would make me clean it but other wise I just rinse and freeze.”

“LOL Mozark!

Bleach or iodine should be fine (for iodine, be sure to let it soak long enough)... just make sure to sterilize the cap and tubing.”

“The tube can be a pain and fortunately this was just the extra bag. I don't have to worry about cleaning the tube, but now I know how!

;-)”

“What I wanna know is...how do ya git the ornery little suckers ta hold still long enough ta clean 'em? I tried ta brush my cat's teeth once and she nearly took muh arm off.”

“Roflmbo @ Father Goose!!

Have you tried a sedative?? LOL

(oh, no, not THAT again!)”

“Hey, Tex.
For me or the cat?”

“Tex,

When I return from a trip I wash out my tube and bladder then hang until completely dry. Before my next use I rinse it out with chlorinated water. Just 4-5 drops of bleach per gallon.

Then sometimes I let my buddy Jim take it to Nuclear One...oops just kidding...

Moz”

“Father Goose -

How about one for each of you? Then you'll really have a good time! *grin*”

“Best way to clean a cat: the same way you clean a rabbit, or any other similar-sized game.


Oh. You mean wash it. That's different.


Never mind.”

“When I return from a trip I wash out my tube and bladder then hang until completely dry.

This is BEGGING for trouble! :-)”

“Yeah,stumprider and the bleach really burns!”

“I was told to use hydrogen peroxide to sanitize. You can use it full strengh or a solution, and it will leave no after taste. It has worked well so far.”

“After cleaning and rinsing out my 1L Platy, it's taking forever to dry. Its been sittin' on my counter for 3 effin days, and it's still wet. What does everyone else do?
last edited: 3/24/05 6:10:07 PM”

“Do you have it propped open and standing up? I also shake it out before standing it up and putting it under the ceiling fan in the dining room to get circulated air in it.”

“hang it w/ a coat hanger

bend a metal one to fit

hole should be up so h20 can evaporate
last edited: 3/24/05 6:14:49 PM”

“I hang it upside-down on my clothesline for a few hours in the sun. If you use that drinking hose with it, the hose will take a lot longer to dry.”

“Yea, all of the above, 'cept the ceiling fan. LOL, the damm thing doesn't want to dry. I thought about using a blow dryer. Oh, and no acsess to a cloths line, I will try the coathanger tip, open end up for evaporation...huh, who'ed a thunk it. Thanks!
last edited: 3/24/05 6:18:50 PM”

“My platypus is the big zip. Just unzip and stuff a paper towel inside. Pull out the towel and it's dry.

Make sure you use stainless steel or plastc if you use the coat hanger method. Normal coat hangers will rust and leave a spot on your platy. Stainless steel wire is easy and cheap to find.”

“step 1. Catch platy if you can find it....



I just keep em in the freezer....freeze dried?”