Cleaning backpack.

My wife uses the bathtub w warm water and a little soap of some sort.

Make sure you really dry it afterwards.

Cheers

A SOAP.  Not a detergent.  Never use a detergent which can get between the nylon, etc and any coatings and delaminate them.

Warm water and soap in a bath tub works.  Some of my gear fits nicely in a tall kitchen or office trashcan.

Bigger stuff, like the blood-soaked framed pack that hauled bear meat went in a rinsed trash can outside, in part because my vega-aquarium (vegetarian + fish eating) wife wouldn’t allow it in the house.

Ivory soap.  Dreft.  Dishwashing soap (hand-washing soap like Joy, NOT detergent like Cascade).  Any of those work fine.

Sue uses a large rubbish bin (outdoors trash can) to hold the pack between rinse cycles in the bath and then to haul it outside to hang up. They do drip …

Cheers

And if soap doesn’t work – and it may not depending on how pitted out it is – use Myrazime, which contains enzymes that eat up odors.

Another trick, and one that I use for synthetic baselayers, which tend to hold odors even after washing, is to soak them in a vinegar/water solution prior to washing.  The baselayers come out of the washer smelling fresh and remain so for 2 – 3 days instead of 2 – 3 hours!  Caveat: don’t run your pack through the washer, that will cause it to delaminate.

Happy trails!

Alan,

My reply won’t help with your immediate problem but might plant a seed that will help in the future.

If you ever get around to making your own packs you might consider making it out of uncoated nylon.  I’ve been doing this for many years and it allows me to run the pack through the normal clothes washing cycle-no problem.

All soaps are detergents to some degree. They will ALL effect coated fabrics…some more than others.

I would recommend a light sports wash like Nikwax, but only use about half to a quarter as much as recommended. Plain water works pretty well, and will not seriously degrade coated fabrics, though you might need to wash it two or three times. Kind’a depends on your water. A drop or two of a mild soap based detergent will not usually hurt things. Water does most of the washing. The soap only acts to make oils & dirt mix with water easier.

Dish soap in a bathtub of water. A soft nylon brush helps — but you do not want to brush the coated side of any coated material. If you have an internal frame best to leave the frame in. It’s a good idea to wash to prevent rodents from chewing salt impregnated fabric.

+1 on MiraZyme for removing sweat stink from backpacks, sleeping bags, and other gear:

https://www.mcnett.com/gearaid/mirazyme

Spray it or dip it and let it dry. No trauma to coated fabrics, etc.

— Rex

Thanks for your suggestions, I gave the straps a wash in Woolite and am hoping that works if not I’ll be trying MiraZyme.

Thanks again for your help, I’ll be the sweet smelling one on the trail.