Pack washing

“and just general use make me want to wash my backpacks. This may sound obvious but have any of you put your packs in the washer? Any tips. Of course I've thrown away all care labels and tags”

“What about in the laundry tub or bath tub with some suds? Seems like the washer would bend things out of place...”

“I agree with you if there was a frame, but these are frameless ultralight packs. Go-lite Trek, Soloman Raid Race and Camelback.”

“Definitly not the washer. I've only washed one pack in my life cause o a dog releving himself upon it, and it was done in a tub filled with luke warm water and a bit of mild detergent. After that lots of rinsing.”

“Hand washing in the bathtub would be less harmfull to the packs, but a front loading washing machine might be OK.

After washing an older pack of mine, I found much of the inside waterproofing layer flaking off. Be careful.”

“The only washing machines that you could put a pack in are those big front loaders but even thats kinda risky and not neccessary. In top loaders the pack fabric can get caught in the aggitator and rip!! I just put my packs in the bath tub and use a mild detergent and soft bristle scrub brush to clean any stains then hang it up to dry.”

“Or-What SS said! LOL”

“Thanks all! Nother thing on my to-do list.”

“Gak, ... wash a pack? Why?”

“One word, GU”

“WTH is GU?”

“prolly don't wanna know.

sounds yucky”

“If you don't know, I may as well let your imaginations run wild.”

“Who would have thought that dhutch is that kinky?”

“Thanks, DHutch...you know that is not safe for me to do.”

“Come home from fishing ,toss pack in the closet, Remember 3 days later that you forgot to take the formerly live bait out of the pack .See if you dont want to wash that pack then!!LOL”

“Hell, do that and you've probably violated some environmental statutes.”

“Well then dont tell the Eco-warriors where I live!!LOL Still Im not as bad as my brother !!Weve found things in his pack that we thought were lost almost a year before!!”

“GU is that energy gel I think.
can't let those people go too long with an wild imaginagine.”

“talking about finding things where they didn't belong.

One year, I put on my down jacket and found a "petrified" banana in the pocket. It was very bizarre.

Apparently, the conditions in my closet were just right-- the banana hadn't gotten moldy or mushy-- it just shriveled up and dried up from the year before...”

“Yeah, old food needs to be washed out for sure. Bear bait!”

“I've washed my Dana a few times. Started doing it after a friend was on a trip with me and had the back of his pack eaten by a deer because of all the salt accumulated on it.

I get a bucket with warm water, detergent and scrub brush. Take it all outside with my pack to the hose. Shake out the pack well. Hose down the pack, scrub it down, rinse it off with the hose and hang it in the sun to dry. It will smell and look a lot better.”

“better to use a sock, less messy.

washing packs should be done by hand and use a VERY mild soap, let it soak and then use a soft bristle brush, like a mushroom brush. NEVER put it in a machine...too much churning.”

“With something like gu, I think rinsing the inside out with warm soapy water might do the trick. I did this with a peanut butter leak and that was all I needed.”

“Speaking of peanut butter ,if you get sap on your pack/tent/clothes rub peanut butter into it ,let stand for awhile and scrub away with a soft bristle brush and mild soap. Its works with chewing /bubble gum too,its the oil in the peanut butter that breaks up the sapp.”

“I have gu smeg in my camelbacks all of the time (5 days a week they get used) along with salt crusts, dirt from crashes, poison oak oils and whatnot. Even if I use Hammergel flasks I still get it on the outside.

I've washed my Camelbacks many times in the washer with no ill affects.

My Gregory, because of the internal frame, I hand scrub with soapy water and a bristle brush.”

“Thanks ww! I'm going to give it a try. gu smeg lol”

“You better get that pack washed or we are going to have to isolate you!

(Only kidding.)”

“First, find a Nalgene you can stuff it in...”

“I've washed my external frame pack a couple of times - take it off the frame first, or couse! Like SS said above, the waterproof coating flakes off. However, I like to line my pack with trash bags, so the flaky stuff doesn't matter.

Have also washed my internal frame pack a few times, but that just rinsing it out with a hose to get rid of a lot of dirt and sand. Actually made it look a lot cleaner! Just remember to take the metal 'stays' out first.

And I let both packs air dry - no commercial dryer.”

“EWWW! Did someone say "smegma???" (where oh where is Dunadan's thread??)

I don't know about a washing machine. Don't internal packs -- at least those that aren't ultralight -- use a couple pieces of metal for stays in the back??? They might well get bent, at least in a top loading machine.”

“I'm the one that brought "smegma" back to life. Dunadan just capitalized on it...sheesh...give the right person credit for things.”

“I just take mine into the shower occasionally and rinse it off, scrub in necessary but it seldom is. I like my gear to be a little "salty."”

“HPM, since your email at work is still down, I'll post it here.

Your pack still smells like cat whiz; I chuffed it back in the tub with more gear wash solution. Usually this works quickly, but since the pack sat for several days before getting cleaned, it's gonna take a while. Now the rest of the house no longer smells like pee.”

“Did the cat whiz on his pack again?”

“good thing about the house though.”

“Yes a cat whizzed on his pack again. This cat is somewhat forgiven though; he's still getting over a kidney/bladder infection, and when he has to go he has to go NOW.”

“I have a camelbak pack--was wondering if anyone ever attempted to wash one in the dishwasher? or would it melt down?”

“I's be more concerned about the DW detergent damaging it then the heat, although I've read about valved developing leaks after being steam or hot-sterilized (boiled.)”

“I'm actually thinking of the pack vs. the actual water pouch...

or would it be better just to hand wash? Would you recommend washing in a washing machine?”

“I have washed my packs in the bath tub with woolight.”

“handwash or washing machine”

“Handwashing is better. Wally-world carries a really good gear detergent in the hunting section, that removes all traces of scent. It's also a good stain-remover for getting grass, mud, moss etc. stains out of gear.”

“Dishwasher? No way.

Spot clean unless it is REALLY dirty. Otherwise...

Bathtub + warm water + soap + warm water rinse + air dry

That WalMart soap sounds good but in the past I just used a small amount of laundry soap.”

“Thanks for the advice! :-)
:-) Into the tub it will go!! :-)”

“Simple green is a good detergent for packs.”

“oh yeah... i bet it is! that stuff is awesome. i use it to wash my boat.”

““If you don't know, I may as well let your imaginations run wild.”
dhutch1
12:50:25 PM
8/16/04

I've got the mental picture of Dhutch1 and pack covered in a multiday layer of dried sweat, mud, blood, GU and energy bar crumbs. Dhutch1 may need further cleaning than the pack!”

“I thought this was about Green Bay ignoring the unretirement entreaties of Brett Favre.”

“I've seen Dhutch covered in swamp muck, sweat and maybe even a tad of blood. She was hot.”