Cleaning/drying your Platy

I dry mine with an aquarium air pump-dries it really fast and prevents mold.

To clean, I just put a drop of dishsoap, fill with hot water and shake. So far, this has worked for me.

I was reading a thread about something non-related and the discussion came up about how troublesome it can be to clean Platy's. One of mine has a small black spot (no idea what it is) in a bottom corner that won't go away. I continued to drink out of it anyway and it didn't cause me any problems yet.

Anyway, many people in that discussion agreed that it is easiest to just toss your Platy in the freezer when you return from a trip and store it in there until you're ready to use it again. Made sense to me, and I've been doing exactly that with my new Platy ever since I read that thread.

Bleach cleaning was also suggested as an alternative if you're like me and have trouble making room in your freezer.

Washing Platy's:

I rarely if ever have anything clinging to the insides of my platy's. Prompt cleaning after a trip is key. But to get rid of them, just fill with soapy water (as Jason wrote above) — but fill up only to a quarter or so. Push out the air and close the cap — then press/rub the sides against each other to remove gunk or molds.

After you're done, reconnect the platy and hose and let the soapy water flow through the hose. Make sure to wash the bite valve thoroughly.

Drying Platy's:

Fast — cut a piece of sturdy wire — tape pieces of cotton gauze onto it and then bend the end like a "J". Now insert and swab dry. The "J" allows you to access corners easily. As for tubing, same idea — tape cotton gauze onto a long thin piece of wire and push through the tubing. Dry in a few minutes.

Regular — Aquarium pump. Incorporate your hydration tubing so that both tubing and platy can be dried simultaneously. Dry overnight.

Slow — hang to dry — away from sunlight (which does bad things to plastics). Dry in 2-4 days.

BTW, how was your trip to Canyonlands and Wind River?

I know a few people that use the denture cleaner tabs to clean platy's.

I actually use ozonated water from a lotus sanitizer http://www.tersano.com/Products/LSS.php

Its just water and more powerful than bleach. I actually wash clothes and things with water produced from it. I can take really nasty rank poly workout shirts and soak them in ozonated water and then come out smelling clean. No soap.

You can get one of these lotus things from Costco if it makes sense for you. You can also get machines that go under your sink and just dispense ozonated water.

I dry my platy with an air compressor. You could get crafty with a strip of microfiber cloth and a chopstick too.

Hanging it to dry will slow down dry times because the water vapor becomes trapped inside. I've been told by a good friend to lay it horizontally for drying.

I've dried Platy's three different ways:

– Prop up in the window above my sink to dry. This can take 1-3 days depending on the RH and amount of sunlight.
– Use my son's air pump for his asthma. This still taaes a while, and seems a little silly to make so much noise and use the electricity to dry it out.
– Leave it in the car while at work. Even in the winter (when there is lower RH), the interior gets pretty warm and dries things out quickly. The car windows block many of the harmful UV rays that can accelerate aging of the plastic.

Tom

This sounds strange, but it works the best for me.

I use hot soapy water immediately after finishing my drip to wash out and clean my platy.

If I think the Platy is really bad, I will run hot water with a cap full of bleach and then rinse out a few times.

After shaking out my platy to get out as much water as I can, I simply put it in my car on a sunny day and the hot car drys out my Platy really quick.

-Tony

I rinse everything in a mild bleach solution

All my water containers go outside in the bright sunshine with the opening up

The Colorado sunshine dries them out quickly

A can or bottle of cola works great to clean out the inside of a platypus. The higher acidity in the beverage takes care of anything that has built up inside. Put the cola inside, leave overnight, rinse out the next day.

I have never washed or dried mine. When I get back from a walk I couldn't be bothered. I just empty the water out (sometimes) and leave the cap screwed on tightly.

When I go for my next walk I give them a quick rinse out and refill them.

I have been doing it for years and have never had any mould or bad taste or any other nasties.