Game Bags not getting clean?

[LostWapiti]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I guess I’m not that worried about what they look like as much as I was concerned they still smell a little.. not like anything rotten or anything, but they just kinda smell like meat.

And I wasn’t sure if bleach would damage them or not..

Definitely make sure they have been scrubbed, then soak in a bleach solution 50/50 water/bleach. Then rinse again and you should be good.

 

[waspocrew]

As long as they don’t smell, I wouldn’t be bothered at all. That’s how my bags end up looking as well.

 

[DRP]

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I use All free and clear brand soap and wash, then hang to dry. Sometimes takes 2-3 cycles. They never go back to being pure white.

 

[saskhunter]

I soak mine in bleach/water and do a regular wash after. All my bags look like that.

 

[Beendare]

try oxi clean in cold water, soak for 8-12 hours. wash on gentle and hang dry

Thats what i do.

 

[Jgill19]

Mine also don’t look perfect but I just make sure to follow my process and I trust they are good to go.

1. Pull out chunks and rinse
2. Scrub
4. Rinse again making sure to ring them out
3. Rinse one more time for good measure
4. Wash on hot with detergent
5. Soak in bleach solution for 8-24 hours
6. Rinse
7. Quick wash on rinse cycle
8. Air dry
9. Fold and Roll, put away no matter what they look like
10. Crack beer

Need to put #10 as #1, then after each couple steps add, drink beer. #10 Crack another beer if you haven't already. This is the way, also how you pack for hunting and unpack from hunting.

 

[hikenhunt]

Not all stains are cosmetic, as crazy as that sounds. Developing TAG Bags my early tests on spoilage bacteria on cotton game bags revealed active colonies of bacteria on samples taken from post-washed and dried game bags. Back then everyone used cotton game bags...i think that trend has tipped to synthetic bags. But bacteria are resilient and found everywhere. Just sayin.

Curious, were you just using laundry detergent in your test? Or did you use a disinfectant like bleach or peroxide?

 

[Poser]

I've always just thrown them in the washing machine with some bleach and never paid any attention to them after that. They look well used, but have no odor, so. whatever.

 

[Larry Bartlett]

oxi clean works best for some reason. soak 'em overnight before the wash in cold water, hang dry. done!
lb

 

[Larry Bartlett]

bleach in small doses is or can be corrosive to nylon. I'd avoid

 

[Ross]

That is how they look after being used and cleaned. Consider them battle scars. Some bleach and water soak for several hours and rinse. Good to go.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

Spray the blood stains with peroxide and it foams right out, then I just toss mine in the wash with straight bleach. I haven't had any issues and some of my cheap Allen bags are 15+ years old.

 

[Dark timber]

Use them in a burn and see what they look like lol. Mine look like hell

 

[freezerfull]

Use them in a burn and see what they look like lol. Mine look like hell

No kidding same here, I mean stained black, green or reddish yellow depending on whatever been through . I also skip the chemicals and I’m still alive and haven’t noticed any meat issues. Cold soak with baking soda and vinegar for a day or two with a few agitations and scrubs for good measure, thorough garden hose rinse, washing machine on hot with more baking soda and vinegar, then run again on cold with nothing, air dry thoroughly and done! I’ve thrown a few away here and there from tears and what not. Usually the result of pitching them up or down the mountain ahead of me in terrain that is too dicey to load everything on my pack.

 

[taskswap]

1. Dryers set stains. If you've dried them it may be too late.
2. Live with it, it's no big deal.
3. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0040I7YH0

 

[Eastonsgrandpa]

That’s called patina

 

[Fireflyfishing]

I turn my bags inside out to make sure everything comes off them in my front loader. I just use tide on the sanitize mode and they come out clean.

 

[Thegman]

While I don't personally worry about stains like that, this will help avoid them in the future, IME:

Soak in a bucket of hot tap water with cheap dishwasher detergent until all the blood is out of the material and any meat bits are basically digested. Dishwasher detergent has enzymes that break down proteins and does a great job at completely breaking down the blood and removing it from the material.

Usually mine are clean enough after this I just hang them to dry after rinsing. If not clean enough for you at that point, run them through the wash. Don't use the dryer, as stated previously, that will set any stains.