How do I clean my hydration reservoir?

The simplest option is to rinse and dry your entire hydration system (bladder, drink tube, and bite valve). This typically is an okay option if you’re only using clean water in your hydration system, and this should suffice for routine cleaning. Our Cleaning Kit can also greatly assist in scrubbing the bladder and tubes! If you’ve used spirits or a flavored, sugary mix in your bladder, or simply would like to wash out your system because you detect a “lingering taste”, we suggest the following method:

Step 1: Baking Soda & Water
Fill your bladder with a solution of water and baking soda (Roughly ¼ cup of baking soda per ¾ cup of water). Make sure to seal the Slidelock™ closure and invert to test. Shake the bladder vigorously for 20-30 seconds. Make sure the solution also runs through your drink tube and bite valve.

Step 2: Add Lemon Juice
Now add ¼ cup of lemon juice to the solution, seal the Slidelock™ closure, and shake the entire bladder for another 10 seconds. You may now open the bladder, but make sure to point it away from you! The lemon juice and baking soda may cause pressure to build in the bladder, and you don’t want to take that solution to the face. Make sure to include the drink tube and bite valve in the cleaning process.

Step 3: Shake & Vent
You’re going to want to do this process of shaking, venting, and running the solution through your drink tube and bite valve three times. After that is done, try to expel as much air as possible, and leave the entire system to soak for 20 minutes.

Step 4: Empty & Rinse
You can now empty the bladder, and flush the entire system with warm water three times. It’s important to make sure to clean and rinse the tube and bite valves as well. Often times, people will just clean their bladder, but that ignores the part that actually touches your mouth! Point your bite valve down towards the sink and pinch the mouthpiece to allow the mixture to flow through the drink tube and out of the bite valve for a thorough cleaning.