# Camelbak - taste issues?



## Frangible (Nov 2, 2006)

I just picked up a Camelbak with a hydration bladder (new), and the water from it has a rather... distinct taste, relative to drinking from a Nalgene bottle. I've rinsed it multiple times and only use filtered water. I don't believe it's a microbial growth issue or anything.

For those of you with more experience, is this normal? Does the taste fade with use?

Thanks.


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## NutSAK (Nov 2, 2006)

Mine is years old and it still has that "plastic tea" (that's what I call it) taste.

Rinse it well with baking soda in water. It seems to reduce the flavor for a while.


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## jds009 (Nov 2, 2006)

my camelback doesnt have much of a taste issue but i think it all comes down too is if you want water or not


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## benchmade_boy (Nov 2, 2006)

jds009 said:


> my camelback doesnt have much of a taste issue but i think it all comes down too is if you want water or not


 same here -whenever your thirsty i dont care what it taste like. i dont use it every day but when i do its not cuz "it looks cool" its cuz i need it.


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## Jumpmaster (Nov 2, 2006)

A couple of caps of bleach put into a half-full bladder will take care of taste issues, or it has for me. Just slosh it around, let it sit over night (after bleeding some through the tube) and then rinse.

Then again, I only put water in mine so it never gets funky. I clean it after several days of use.

JM-99


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## VWTim (Nov 2, 2006)

Mine had a more distinct taste when it was new, and after using it 4-5 times the taste started to go away.


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## beezaur (Nov 2, 2006)

Effordent or similar denture cleaners usually do a good job of removing funny tastes.

Normally the plasticy tastes are volatiles left over from the manufacturing process. I suspect they are not real good for you, especially when combined with chlorine. The amount you would consume is not large, but still, why consume carcinogens when you don't have to. I don't know if you can buy activated charcoal at the drug store (don't see why not). That might help -- squirt in a good dose of slurry, swish it around, and let it sit 24 hours or so.

Scott


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## Jumpmaster (Nov 2, 2006)

beezaur said:


> Normally the plasticy tastes are volatiles left over from the manufacturing process. I suspect they are not real good for you, especially when combined with chlorine. The amount you would consume is not large, but still, why consume carcinogens when you don't have to.



Bleach + "volatiles" = carcinogen? I looked on the internet for info on this, but could not find any. Do you have a source for this information? Camelbak says on their website it's ok to use bleach to disinfect the bladder.

JM-99


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## turbodog (Nov 2, 2006)

Just leave water in it all the time. The taste will leach out soon enough. Then dump the water and refill before use.


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## soapy (Nov 2, 2006)

Baking soda works well for absorbing the taste.

The taste is, afaik, the plasticisers used to keep the plastic soft and flexible. When new, the concentration is higher, and you can taste it more. These aren't carcingenic as far as I know (perhaps in mega-doses?) but they are thought to be analogues of female hormones (Xenoestrogens), and hence may cause birth defects. Phthalates - look them up.

However, I don't even know if the CamelBak is made of PVC.


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## nazgul (Nov 3, 2006)

I just rinsed mine out a few times and the taste went away. I only carry water in mine and I store it in the freezer to keep things from growing in it. It might be the minerals in your drinking water that is reacting with the bladder.


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## X Racer (Nov 3, 2006)

turbodog said:


> Just leave water in it all the time. The taste will leach out soon enough. Then dump the water and refill before use.


 
+1 I leave mine full until I need to use it, then I dump it and clean it out and refill for use...


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## Chingyul (Nov 3, 2006)

beezaur said:


> Effordent or similar denture cleaners usually do a good job of removing funny tastes.
> 
> Normally the plasticy tastes are volatiles left over from the manufacturing process. I suspect they are not real good for you, especially when combined with chlorine. The amount you would consume is not large, but still, why consume carcinogens when you don't have to. I don't know if you can buy activated charcoal at the drug store (don't see why not). That might help -- squirt in a good dose of slurry, swish it around, and let it sit 24 hours or so.
> 
> Scott




Thinking of trying the activated carbon route. Have you been able to find it at the drug store?
I was looking into it, and the BRITA filter uses activated carbon, as does aquarium filters, which are both easy to find. The aquarium filter is cheaper, but I'm not sure if there's anything else that's added in that might be harmful. Would be best if there's an easy source for the raw material.


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## beezaur (Nov 3, 2006)

Jumpmaster said:


> Bleach + "volatiles" = carcinogen? I looked on the internet for info on this, but could not find any. Do you have a source for this information? Camelbak says on their website it's ok to use bleach to disinfect the bladder.
> 
> JM-99



Do a search for "trihalomethanes" or "disinfection byproducts." Basically the same chemistry is going on here as with combination of chlorine with organic acids (and others) in drinking water.

If you want to make a carcinogen, a good basic recipee is to combine a halogen (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, etc.) with a mix of organics. You generally will get a multitude of compounds, some of which are known or suspected carcinogens. You can start with either natural or synthetic organic molecules. Some synthetics give off carcinogenic and/or otherwise toxic compounds by themselves.

Bleach is fine in a plastic container once that "new car smell" is gone -- that smell is the volatiles. Once they have gone, there is very little (from the bladder) for chlorine to react with.

You are also creating carcinogens when you disinfect water with chlorine, if that water has organic material in it, like dissolved organic acids or microbes. But as long as the level of organics is small, few problem compounds are created.

The same thing happens in drinking water systems. The pipes genrally have microbial slime in them, which reacts with chlorine in the water to create carcinogens and other toxic compounds (disinfection byproducts). Or the water might have organics to start with, like from a river used as a water source.

It is not good to have carcinogens in the public water supply, but they are at very low levels (usually), and the alternative is much worse. You could have entire cities getting sick from the water, which has happened. Those who are sensitive to toxics, like pregnant women, should run their chlorinated drinking water through a carbon filter to be safe. There is reasonable evidence that, with some waters, it does make a difference with pregnancies.

So back to the point, I would not drink chlorinated water from a Camelbak while it is new and still has that funny smell. If you have to disinfect your water in a new Camelbak, don't worry about it; the dose of carcinogen is less severe than the alternative (disease). Otherwise, dump the high-chlorine cleaning water and use fresh for drinking.

Scott


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## Stormstaff (Nov 4, 2006)

Check on the internet at Campmor or REI. I think they have special cleaning tablet made to use in bladders. They may be similar to the denture cleaner, but I'm not sure.

They also make a folding hanger that you fold, insert into the bladder, then it opens so it dries faster.


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## Jumpmaster (Nov 5, 2006)

beezaur said:


> So back to the point, I would not drink chlorinated water from a Camelbak while it is new and still has that funny smell. If you have to disinfect your water in a new Camelbak, don't worry about it; the dose of carcinogen is less severe than the alternative (disease). Otherwise, dump the high-chlorine cleaning water and use fresh for drinking.



I think I may have misspoken. I was not advising anyone to add chlorine bleach to their water and drink it. I was advising I have used it to disinfect/kill the new bladder taste by adding a couple of caps to a full bladder, letting it sit overnight, then rinsing thoroughly...I rinse mine by running a full bladder of clean water through it a few times. Then, dry it out and fill it with your drinking water.

I apologize if I was unclear about this before.

This info does make me concerned about my grandparents using bleach to kill the sulphur smell in their water in Missouri when I was young...

JM-99


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## soapy (Nov 5, 2006)

I wouldn't worry, they grew old and so did you. What doesn't (didn't) kill you makes (made) you stronger!


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## guntotin_fool (Nov 5, 2006)

call camelbak, they have a life time warrantee on the bladders and some ofthe older ones do have bad tastes that linger, the new ones do not.....


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## RAF_Groundcrew (Nov 11, 2006)

turbodog said:


> Just leave water in it all the time. The taste will leach out soon enough. Then dump the water and refill before use.


I'd advise against leaving it full of water for long periods.... I had one that I left full of water with a trace of steriliser solution. The bladder went VERY bad. The antibacterial lining that Camelbak bladders have, it went soft, like glue. I threw away the bladder, and got another one. 

I'd recommend washing then drying the blader, and then putting in a large ziplok bag with the cap off the bladder, maybe a pack of silica gel in there also.


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## guntotin_fool (Nov 12, 2006)

For long term storage I have been leaving the top off and slipping a clean but empty 20 ounce pop bottle in the mega opening that seems to keep the bladder open enough to keep air circulating and the inside nice. If you insert the pop bottle fat end first, it seems to come out easier.


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