Washing a pack

[SkunkCabbage]

Spray with hydrogen peroxide. If it foams there’s blood on it.

Rinse with cold water/soak. Agitate the product to try and soak and break up as much as the blood as possible.

Keep changing the water when it gets mirky.
Rinse again.

Go back to step one and keep repeating until spraying doesn’t nothing

 

[WCB]

So when packing meat a couple weeks ago after my first elk I lined my main bag with a garbage bag, but later when I packed the skull/antlers between the bag and my seek talon I did get some bloody spots on the outside of the bag.

And tbh, I kinda dig the stains. Am I crazy for thinking about just leaving it? I can’t smell it already. Just a few 3” or so spots. Not a Kifaru so not worried about resale, just a “cheap” Kuiu I’ll ride into the ground.

I've packed 6 deer, a Tahr in New Zealand, an antelope, and a Beaver while trapping with my Stone Glacier. I've only used cheap game bags so it gets a bit bloody and never had the need to clean it. It doesn't smell really at all. I do spray it off at the end of a trip where I used it to pack out.

 

[ChrisAU]

I've packed 6 deer, a Tahr in New Zealand, an antelope, and a Beaver while trapping with my Stone Glacier. I've only used cheap game bags so it gets a bit bloody and never had the need to clean it. It doesn't smell really at all. I do spray it off at the end of a trip where I used it to pack out.

Yeah I'll probably rinse it off soon to get the dust off. Which its going to rain here all day today and tomorrow, may just hang it up outside.

 

[BrushyHillGuide]

The best thing for getting blood out of fabric, that I’ve found, is oxyclean. As a ranch manager and head guide for a large S Texas hunting ranch, I get LOTS of blood on clothes and packs and boots and I get it ALL out with Oxyclean spray. Peroxide helps but is too harsh, imo, because I’ve had it bleach out some fabrics. My wife buys OxyClean spray bottles by the case full. Spray it on bloody fabric as soon as you can but it even works on well dried blood. Only thing it may not work with is blood that’s been dried in by a clothes dryer - I’ve had some stains that I missed and went through the wash and dryer and the oxy didn’t do anything to eliminate the baked-in stain.

Once you’ve applied it you’ll see it foam up and go to work where it comes in contact with the proteins in the blood. If it’s heavy blood, I’ll scrub it after 15-30 minutes and then re-spray. Let it sit overnight. Then throw it in the wash on medium temp or spray down with warm water. Even a car wash rinse spray would prolly work but I’ve never needed it. Once your pack is clean and dry, you can go about replacing the DWR with something like NikWax.

Now, if you have fat ground in to the fabric, you may need a 2nd wash using Dawn, which breaks up grease. You can even use Purple Power which is a heavy duty degreaser from the automotive store. I usually deal with the blood first and THEN use the Dawn if it’s still needed.

Once it’s clean and dry, apply some NikWax, ReviveX or Grangers DWR and you’ll get less stains next time. Anyway, that’s what works for me with blood.


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[rodney482]

Bathtub and oxyclean... then air dry

 

[Figuringitout]

Does anyone remove the lumbar support or leave it on while washing their packs?

 

[trophyhill]

I wouldn't be throwing my frame in the washing machine. Dawn and the garden hose for me. I'd consider soaking it in the tub in some Dawn water over night if that didn't work.

 

[boarder1995]

After hauling out an elk I had a good amount of blood on the outside (meatshelf) and againsst the frame. Later on the trip while hiking back to camp at night I definitely could smell my bag since it reeked of elk blood and that got me thinking about bears tracking me more returning to camp at night. And when walking in the dark I do a LOT of thinking. Mind games! So I decided I'd wash once I returned home.

I did the OxyClean (no scent) and a couple washes in the top-loader machine. Seems to have removed the scent and stains well. but I'm still worried I've now added some brighteners or other scent even though Oxy is supposed to be "natural". Any reason to wash again with scent free game wash?

 

[Mawgie]

I spilled some diesel fuel on my SG Avail, and got it all out. Dawn dish soap, scrub brushed into the stain, then let it soak, rinse. Repeat, a couple of times. Looks new now, no fabric fading or anything like that.

 

[annapolis76eb]

I pull the bag, scrub the frame Dawn, and wash the bag with Granger's (used to use Nikwax but now strongly prefer grangers). I usually do this when the wife is out of the house so we don't even have to have that conversation.