Gear

or fill it with cola/blackcurrant!

Or heck, go the whole hog and fill it with guinness.

22 year old MacAllan single malt is the best sterilising fluid known to man.

i think were talking about stereilising the hydration bladder...

oh what the hell...

mmm...whisky....

(and a decent one at that!)

Chuck it in the bin and buy a Camelbak next time.

They probably fur up just as badly but they're blue so you can't see it.

i've been advised to use denture cleaning tablets. it sounds reasonable after all think of what teeth go through.

i'll try it tommorow (depending if i can walk or not - bad toe!)

camelbaks are impregnated with silver so although mould can grow (food-borne bacteria), it takes longer and can't get as far as in others. According to the guff it provides protection against water-borne. (so that would be nice clean tap-water then!)

In my experience they still mould up if left but take longer than platypus or other models.

As a research biochemist and microbiologist I frequently get asked this question by my fellow mountaineers. It's quite simple really. If you're refilling from streams in the UK/Europe on an overnight camp, it doesn't hurt to throw in a chlorine tablet. That keeps both you and the bottle happy.

As soon as you get home, I agree that a baby bottle steriliser tablet, or an outdoor company proprietory product, should do the job. It's a no brainer. Make sure they are well drained - you can get a drainer from Camelbak. Then store in the freezer.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, use the bottle if it has (green or black) mould growing in it. Contrary to popular belief, it will not give you a dose of penicillin, as that is destroyed in the stomach, and would be too low a dose anyway.

Black mould spores contain quite potently carcinogenic alkaloids - you do not want to ingtest these. So keep them clean. If there is green mould, I'd probably clean the tube out and use, but frankly, if your tube is lined with black mould I'd chuck it and get a replacement part.