[Closed] Alternatives to Camelbak cleaning kit ?

Soak the pipe in a water/bicarbonate of soda mix; tie a piece of cloth the some string; feed string through pipe; pull cloth on other end through. Repeat until pipe is clean.

I always stick mine in the fridge and have never had gunk build up.

Then wash in milton fluid

I used to put mine in the freezer but it made it leak after a while

Fishing line with a bit of plastic scouring pad tied in the middle. Feed the line in, then pull through the tube. then pull back through in the opposite direction. Repeat as necessary.

Steradent is good for cleaning Bladders and tubes too.

Total cost about £2

EDIT. must type faster.

Ah, bi-carb, forgot about that *runs off to check kitchen cupboard*

gear/brake cable and cloth.

"My tube has gone a bit gunky from not being used for a while. I tried to get the wife to blow down the end of it, but it failed to shift the blockage, and swinging it around in the garden in a vigourous manner has elicited some strange looks from the neighbours"

2/10

Does it not still say in the instructions you get with Camelbaks that the best way to clean them is a table spoon of bleach and fill with water for 24hrs, rinse out and then tablespoon of bi carbonate of soda to take the taste away.

Works every time.

Try the stuff they sell for cleaning home brew equipment - Boots will do an own brand.

Decathlon used to sell a 'bladder cleaning kit' for much cheapness.

like stumpy says - ive got one and its spot-on. cost about £8 and there's loads of different little brushes in it

Good call, I have a look at Decathalon.

not looking to score points FunkyDunc.

"not looking to score points FunkyDunc."

Sorry I thought you were trying to tell us all about your sex life with the Mrs and neighbours 🙂

"My tube has gone a bit gunky"
" tried to get the wife to blow down the end of it, but it failed to shift the blockage"
"swinging it around in the garden in a vigourous manner has elicited some strange looks from the neighbours"

*Sigh*, just trying to lighten the mood, it's all gone a bit serious round here lately. Never mind eh !

Anway, the suns out, I'm off to clean out my Camelbak with some bi-carb and then go for an evening ride.

Have a good weekend.

I use a straightened metal coat hanger, several small bits of kitchen roll and boiling hot water for the pipe. Water again and a more kitchen roll for the bladder. Put the kitchen roll in the bladder and 1/4 fill with water. Screw on the lid, block the pipe exit and shake for a bit.

leave it mucky and try and ignore it ? Worked for me for years. This approach is aided by one of those covers that goes over the drinking tube

The string thing works better than the decathlon kit, the brush isn't man enough for hardcore gunge. A bit of coat hanger or something else is needed to get the string down the tube is handy.

@nosedive - I did what you did and it resulted in me getting the worst case of angry guts I've ever had. And I've been to India.

Tesco baby bottle sterilising fluid for me, < £1 a bottle. No obvious aftertaste, considering it's just dilute bleach!

as woody asda/tesco own brand of milton give it a soak for abit let it dry and jobs a goodun

I had this problem due to using energy drink. Regular use of sterilising tablets did not shift nor did washing after each use. However, I managed to wrestle the tube off from the bladder end and got the Camelbak brush in there. Spotless now!

Definitely didn't get tablets when I bought my brushes, can you not buy them on their own? I had looked in hardware shops but the brushes were not long enough.

Edit: brushes only are £10.99 at Wiggle.

I have a twice used cleaning kit -(without the tablets), like this if you want :

[url] http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=24170 [/url] - £8 posted ?

The big brush hasn't actually been used at all

second nostoc: brewing cleaner/steriliser.

I home brew anyway, but you can buy the cleaner (or sodium metabisulphite if you're a purist and don't want the added grit)in kilo bags at a good homebrew shop

CG - £11 for 2 brushes !!! Must be getting tight in my old age. I thought that someone out there must make similar long, thin brushes for use in other commercial situations, like cleaning out the beer lines in pubs, but without the Camelbak logo on, and therefore an extra £5 on top. The only place I've found so far is for cleaning put traceostomy tubes.

iainc - Just about to go out for the weekend, but I'll mail you on Monday morning if that's ok.

I have tried using the soaking in baby sterilising fluid method before, and I clean it out after every go, but still the mold persists. I'll have a look for some homebrew cleaner fluid.

Thanks for the replies.

trailofdestruction - someone else asked for them about half an hour ago, so need to wait and see if payment comes though, sorry

for brushes pop to local aquatics shop they seem to be pretty cheap

no worries, I'll let them go to someone else. Thanks for the reply.