Never use bleach in a Platypus

[AK Granola]

There are probably a dozen threads on BPL about how to clean a Platypus reservoir. Many advise using a few drops of bleach. I just want to say – don’t do that! I have been using my 3L Platy as a dirty water bag, for longer trips when I need to gather water and camp dry, filter later. Last summer before I rinsed, dried and stored it, I thought I’d add a couple of drops of bleach to sanitize it. Then I rinsed and dried as usual, and stored with lid open for the winter in my drawer of bag-things. A week or so ago, on my Grand Canyon trip, I collected water in it for camp, and used it for my evening meal – yuk!!! I couldn’t eat it. Had to dump the whole meal (in the trash at a CG). I then cleaned it out thoroughly with some Dawn, and many many rinses. Thoroughly rinsed, I tried again and collected water. The next morning I used the water to make coffee. Yuk again! Bleach tasting coffee. I have since cleaned and cleaned it, hot water, many rinses, and anything that gets stored in it tasted like a swimming pool. I think its days are done.

I will never ever use bleach in those things again. Until I did, I had used it many times, perhaps more than 100, had it for years. So reliable, sturdy and fits with the BeFree filter. I’m sure it’s safe, whatever residual bleach is in there can’t be much. But the bleach – just a few drops!! – completely wrecked it. Maybe I’m just super sensitive to the taste of bleach. In case you are also, here’s my warning. Lesson learned.

[Jerry Adams]

You could try something acidic, like vinegar, to clean it out.  Maybe baking soda.

That’s not your point :)  Yeah, I don’t like to use bleach on anything.  Disgusting stuff.  I do use it for toilet and shower.  Turn fan on.

[Ray J]

Might be the plastic in the bag.

I just followed the cleaning instructions on our indoor 5 gallon water cooler.   2 TBSP bleach in 2 gallons water in one of the 5 gallon jugs.   Run both Hot and Cold sides with no water connected to drain out all the water.  Then put on the jug with bleach.   Let it all fill.  I then ran about 1.5 gallons thru the machine, both hot and cold side.   Then I emptied everything.  Filled the jug with 3 gallons and ran about 2 of those through the machine.  I did let it sit with the bleach in the machine for their 10 minutes before running the water out.  Then again to flush it with tap water.  It took about 30 minutes with the 2 10 minutes of wait time.  And that was almost 3 gallons of tap water on the flush cycle.  But zero smell or taste of the bleach afterwards.

I’m guessing the gallons of tap water on the rinse side of the process cleared it out.  The water does taste better after I cleaned it.

[Miner]

I’ve been using diluted bleach in water for more than a decade to soak the inside of everything for a few hours before rinsing out several times, including the tube.  Then dry it out.  I also use Aqua Mira chemicals to treat my water which is basically the same thing.  Never experienced the problem you had.  Don’t have enough info to even speculate what the difference may be.  Could be a change in or a defective batch of plastic that reacted with it.  As Jerry suggested, vinegar may work, but you definitely need to rinse it out well to get rid of the taste of that.

[Haakon R]

I use a splash of vinegar to sanitize my water bladders and filters (or at least to convince myself they’re somewhat less hospitable to bacteria). Even if there is some vinegar residue left, the taste doesn’t bother me one bit. To what extent it helps with anything I can’t really say, but at least it solves the taste issue that comes with using bleach.

[Jerry Adams]

consumer reports said to make sure plastic bottles dry out to prevent stuff from growing in them

tap water has a small amount of chlorine in it.  Rinse out bottle with it will help prevent stuff from growing

[Terran Terran]

No need to be germaphobic over a water bag. Try baking soda.

[Drew Smith]

Narrow-mouthed Platy reservoirs are just about impossible to dry out. I’ve routinely used diluted bleach to prevent mold and mildew growth (not so worried about bacteria). Some of my bottles have lasted a decade or more under this regime with no problems. And my usual method of treatment on the trail is Aqua Mira, which is also a form of bleach, as Miner pointed out.

Not sure what accounts for the discrepancy in our experiences, but I can’t agree with your headline recommendation to never use bleach in a Platy bottle.

[AK Granola]

So Drew, you don’t mind the bleach taste in your coffee for example? Maybe it’s that I’m not used to chlorinated water in general, since I’m not in a big city, so when I detect that taste, it’s offensive to me.

[Dan]

I use bleach at the end of season and have had no problems with it despite doing it for at least 20 years. However, being a chemist by training and trade, I rinse it extremely thoroughly, perhaps excessively, to the point that there is absolutely no discernible remaining bleach before allowing it to dry.

Obviously, if you fill and empty the bag 10 times, even if you are only able to remove 90% of the water each time, you reduce the amount of bleach to the point where it cannot possibly have any effect in the future, after rehydration.

For example the bleach concentration of 2 drops in 1 liter is approximately 0.0001 by volume (100 ppb), which is obviously quite noticeable. Each rinse cycle, removing only 90% of the volume, reduces the concentration by another factor of 10. Therefore, 10 rinse cycles reduces the bleach concentration to 0.00000000000000001 volume fraction. Which cannot possibly have any effect on your health or tastebuds. 10 rinse cycles might be excessive, but I think you get the point. You can easily reduce the amount of remaining bleach to whatever level you choose. But it’s tedious, and why I do it only once a year.

[David D]

Drew, a USB computer fan dries my narrow mouth platys in under half a day.  They cost as little as $5 and plug into any standard phone charger or PC usb port.   It dries my Quickdraw filter bone dry in a day or two.

Here’s one at random

[Brad W]

As others said, tap water has enough to kill most growth in bottles, vessels. For TPU bottles that are new-BeFree, Vecto, I use 2 generic denture tabs left in the container, full of tap water overnight. It takes all the plastic chemical tastes away. No aftertaste at all.

 

[Dan]

Denture cleaning tablets should also work well. Most have alternative bleaching agents rather than sodium hypochlorite. I would rinse thoroughly after using them.

[H W]

I pulled out my Platypus 2.0 litre GravityWorks recently that I’ve not used in 3 years and was going to follow the recommendation from Platypus on cleaning with bleach (link below, example is for Quickdraw but prob same). I back-flushed unit with river water and it works fine. Platypus recommends 1/4 tsp bleach per 1 litre of tap water. Not done it yet and now after AKs experience not sure I should. Just leave it as is?

[Zero Flight]

That’s one option but bleach can leave a funny aftertaste that’s hard to get rid of.  As an alternate, Platypus also recommends 1/4 C. baking soda to 3/4 C. water, for every liter capacity.

The bladder cleaning tablets work really well too.  They’re mostly Sodium Chlorite which can be bought in bulk for pretty cheap if you want to save a couple of bucks.

Just be sure to rinse the thing a few times prior to the next trip.

[David D]

I’ve always just used dish soap and rinse then fully dry with a fan.  No taste or mold in my Gravity works after many years.  But I never let them get funky.  The nuclear options (bleach) are needed if they’re allowed to get a bit ripe.

[CFDTuc]

Don’t use bleach here, but use Steramine tablets for sanitizing food/water contact surfaces. I figure if it’s used in commercial services leaving no taste or residue, as well as recommended for sports field drinking water systems sanitizing, it should work great for my limited uses. One tablet per gallon water, allow at least a minute of surface contact, then air dry.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

If you use a platypus as a dirty water bag for your filter, all you have to do is put an aqua tab or 3 drops of bleach per liter to turn the water in the bag into treated water. Now the platypus is not a dirty water bag anymore. If you are going to store your platypus, you should wash it out like you wash the dishes and let it dry before you put it away. I usually put it over a wooden spoon in the dish drainer or do some equivalent of that and let it dry for as long as it takes.

[Tom K]

” I use 2 generic denture tabs left in the container, full of tap water overnight. It takes all the plastic chemical tastes away. No aftertaste at all.”

Works very well.  Left overnight and rinsed 3 times the next morning and I’m good to go, with nary a hint of chlorine or anything else left.  Give it a try, AK.  I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[DWR D]

Try treating with Baking Soda… might/could take the chlorine taste/smell away…

[H W]

Most comments are about cleaning the dirty bag. What about the filter itself?

[AK Granola]

Okay so I bought denture tabs but didn’t dare put them in the bag! They are so minty – does that smell stay behind after you rinse the bag? Not sure which is worse – bleach or mint coffee.

[Tom K]

“does that smell stay behind after you rinse the bag?”  Not in my experience.  I also use the mint smelling tabs, which I leave in overnight.  In the morning, I empty it out and rinse 3 times.  I have never detected even a hint of mint afterward.  One additional note:  Be sure to flush out the drinking tube and bite valve with each rinse.

I hope this helps.

[Zero Flight]

@H W

Back-flush it a bunch.  If there’s any resistance, do the vinegar soak + back-flush thing until it flows free & is free of the vinegar smell.  You can store it like that, or hit it with some A.M. or a very dilute bleach water… same dilution as for drinking.

It’s when you get it out again that you have to make sure it’s prepped.  Re-hydrating it thoroughly basically, then making sure it still flows freely.

[David D]

Been talking with Platy last couple months about a Quickdraw that won’t revive well after dry storage.  They recommended storing wet with a diluted bleach solution (2.5mL per L water) claiming it can result in a better flow after reviving (and not just revive more quickly)

Saw a Gravity works filter stored wet with tap water (no bleach) and it molded

[Author]

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