Best way to dry out hydration bladders?

[Carlin59]

I have always taken the hose from the bladder and inserted into the opening. Usually push it in pretty far so it wraps around a bit inside the bladder. This props it open very nicely. Never takes more than a day to fully dry. Never have had any problems with taste or smell afterwards. No need to buy or make special hangers, and i don't get yelled at by the wife for filling up the freezer with water bladders!

 

[Tiger Rag]

Here is what I found and decided to craft up quickly this evening. Seems to work pretty good holding the bladder open. With the small mouth on this Camelbak, it makes it tough to maintain. Pretty happy with this.

View attachment 17470

 

[realunlucky]

Can't see your picture tiger

 

[Tiger Rag]

Can't see your picture tiger

Try it now. It was working for me by just clicking the link but I added it to my managed files. Should work now.

 

[realunlucky]

Thanks can see it now.

 

[Desert Island Gear]

Put in the freezer until the next trip has worked for years.

 

[azlinon]

Drying the bladders themselves is pretty easy. I typically wash, pour out what they can, then open them up and run a clean dish towel inside. I have one of the Camelbak hanging adapters, but it's really expensive for what it is (though it comes with a set of brushes, if you need one for the tube, etc.). The paper towel wicking trick absolutely works for water removal, though.

My problem is the tubes. It can take a week to dry one of them out, even hanging with the valve bodies removed. I've only seen a good solution for that once, and that was someone's personal project where they had a PC case fan re-purposed to give it some air flow. I tried, but could not find the link. If you could get a tiny bit of airflow down those tubes, even with an aquarium pump, it would make a world of difference.

I was drying a set of 5 for my whole family last time I went through all that, but I usually just put my own bladder into a labeled gallon freezer zip lock with the associated drink tube and storing it there.

 

[azlinon]

Here is what I found and decided to craft up quickly this evening. Seems to work pretty good holding the bladder open. With the small mouth on this Camelbak, it makes it tough to maintain. Pretty happy with this.

View attachment 17470

Even if you get the bladder dry like that, the hose is going to have water in it for at least a couple weeks. I recommend you just wash and freeze that one, bit if you can disconnect the hose and hang it vertical, you might be able to get a little convection action above a normal HVAC system's register. It won't take much movement to get that to clear out, but you need some airflow.

That said, is that a male quickLink on the bag itself? I'm assuming that is something cobbled together, as my Camelback bladders have female connectors on them.

 

[Sacrvrrat72]

Small aquarium air pump and tube

 

[Lwarner03]

I strap my trek pole to my pack and put bladder upside down on top of pole. That way I don’t leave without all 3.

 

[rogerdoger]

I just use the kitchen tongs put it in and expand and will be dry.