# How to get that s**t smell out of the camelbak



## Whason (Sep 15, 2008)

So I guess this belongs under the apparel section. 

I was doing a Mt Whitney hike with my new North Face camelbak and had to use the restroom with one of those s**t bags that they give you before you do the Whitney hike. You're supposed to carry your feces out, so I did, in my camelbak (its in a double plastic baggie btw). Now the largest pocket has an unpleasant odor, its not quite ****, its more chemicals mixed with ****. 

This camelbak is probably no more than 10 rides old, and now everytime I smell the main pocket it smells like s**t. I've heard bleach at 1:10 concentration works, or maybe the washer machine. What do you guys think.

BTW there is no fecal matter as far as i can tell in the pack. THe outside of the plastic bag was dry and pretty clean.


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## YamiRider1316 (Mar 26, 2011)

umm gross. might try hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. I use that to get the smell out of anything from riding shoes to skunked dogs. Usually scrub with hydro/baking soda. Let it sit for a lil then rinse. For the real bad stuff I'll sometimes rinse with white vinegar then water.

Sent from my LG-P930 using Tapatalk 2


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## ronyc (Aug 27, 2008)

If the above does not work use room temperature coffee in a spray bottle. It will take the smell away and just wash it afterwards to take the coffee smell off.


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## icecreamjay (Apr 13, 2004)

Hmmmm, no experience with chemical **** smell, my camelbak just smells similar to the bags of gear the hockey players in high school carried. As in it smells like 6 years worth of concentrated sweat stink. 

For some reason those synthetic fabrics just hold onto the stink. I haven't found a solution, the washing machine just seems to cover it a bit until I ride, which unleashes the stink again. Luckily I've never had poop IN my camelbak (It has been flung onto it by my rear wheel, but thats a different story).


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## Whason (Sep 15, 2008)

Update: I used febreze infused washer detergent and washed it on gentle. It still smells faintly. I'm going to try the vinegar thing. THe coffee thing seems like it might stain.


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## ronyc (Aug 27, 2008)

Sorry, when I read your post I automatically assumed your pack was black. YES the coffee will stain, so only good on black or dark fabrics.


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## DavyRay (Apr 13, 2012)

It's your imagination. Nylon and polyester have a signature smell. It smells slightly organic. If you think it smells like poop, it smells like poop. Wash everything to be sure it is clean, and find a new Camelbak in the store to sniff.

It is normal for stored camping gear to smell slightly like urine. Poop, I don't know.


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## motochick (Jun 22, 2010)

Turn it inside out and lay it in the direct sun....sun kills bacteria, bacteria makes it smell. Works for my hockey gear! Good luck.


P.S. couldn't you just bury your poo? How would anyone be the wiser? Fill your blue bag with dirt next time!!!!


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## masm71 (Dec 24, 2010)

I wash my sweaty glothes with baking soda and vinegar .... helped until now


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## Whason (Sep 15, 2008)

Washed it once that didn't work.

Bleached it now it doesn't smell bad anymore. It discolored my straps though.


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## gmcttr (Oct 7, 2006)

My first try would have been washing with Oxyclean.


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## Whason (Sep 15, 2008)

Thanks for the postiive rep, but seriously, I took the pack out the day after the hike in Yosemite, and the hiking group I went with, one of the girls was all "whats that smell", and i had to listen to them debate for 30 minutes on the trail whether it was the granular chemicals, or actual fecal matter in my pack. Sort of motivated me to get that sucker fixed up.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

*Mint denture tablets*

Fill up you Camelbak with some warm water and toss a couple denture cleaning tablets in. Rinse out after a few hour.

Minty fresh!

***


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## Nehpets (Sep 9, 2012)

scar said:


> Fill up you Camelbak with some warm water and toss a couple denture cleaning tablets in. Rinse out after a few hour.
> 
> Minty fresh!
> 
> ***


Yes that is the best way to clean the reservoir of the camelbak. However, I'm pretty sure that is not where Whason stored the poop bag. If so, there are much more serious issues that need to be addressed than getting the smell out.


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## Doe Boy (Jul 23, 2012)

ronyc said:


> If the above does not work use room temperature coffee in a spray bottle. It will take the smell away and just wash it afterwards to take the coffee smell off.


I think it might smell like Sh!ty coffee.


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## ja001son (Feb 27, 2011)

My camelbak smells like a camel. 0_0


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## Bikemaya (Sep 24, 2012)

I also say oxy clean. The trick is, you follow the instructions for a heavy stain soak. You use a ton of it, like a couple scoops in a bucket filled with very hot water. Soak overnight, then wash it. To boost the power, I also use some borax in the wash. I also found that using a detergent that had 'oxy power' in it tended to work much better than normal detergents when I presoak with oxyclean.

I am a cook. If you have never worked in the back of the house, you won't know what I am talking about. But, all your clothes, shoes, work stuff, will all slowly begin to smell like rotten grease. It is a VERY distinct smell that every resturaunt kitchen has, and the clothes of everyone who works in a kitchen has. No matter how much you wash your clothes, everything smells like rotten grease. Except my chef coats. That is the only thing of mine I can get the smell out of, because I wash them with the oxy clean method to get all the stains out. And, speaking of which, this method gets out 90% of all the stains I ever throw at it. The other 10% comes out with a traditional bleach wash. I found that bleach, oxyclean, and borax all get out different stains. There is some overlap, but some things won't get out what others will. And, you cant combine bleach with the other two in the same wash. For some reason, they react with each other and things only get moderately clean. You have to do two washes.

Actually, these methods will probably work really well for getting mud and grass stains out of clothes and gear too! You can't bleach most of that stuff, which is why the oxy and borax would be a good solution


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## beanbag (Nov 20, 2005)

Atsko Sport Wash. Available at Walmart for $5.


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## ehigh (Apr 19, 2011)

Now I don't know why mine doesn't smell.


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

I'd try gasoline and a match. I'm pretty sure that would take care of the smell. I'd also make sure I took a dump before the hike.

What did cavemen/women do? Did they put their dump in a plastic bag and dispose of it properly?


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## Whason (Sep 15, 2008)

Well the thing is Mt Whitney is a very long hike. Its about 22 miles, takes you to the highest point in the continental united states, and believe me I wasn't planning on sh***ing. Unfortunately the 3 am start messed with my usual schedule and by about 3 pm I had to go or else.

ITs kind of a pristine landscape with rocks and minimal plants and animals above 12k and when someone s**ts or leaves anything behind you can really smell it. We take in so many chemicals and artificial flavorings. Nothing worse than human poop.


THe rangers give you the S**t bags when you register with your permit before heading up.


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## S_Trek (May 3, 2010)

Get a new one.


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Jan 19, 2004)

Whason said:


> Well the thing is Mt Whitney is a very long hike. Its about 22 miles, takes you to the highest point in the continental united states, and believe me I wasn't planning on sh***ing. Unfortunately the 3 am start messed with my usual schedule and by about 3 pm I had to go or else.
> 
> ITs kind of a pristine landscape with rocks and minimal plants and animals above 12k and when someone s**ts or leaves anything behind you can really smell it. We take in so many chemicals and artificial flavorings. Nothing worse than human poop.
> 
> THe rangers give you the S**t bags when you register with your permit before heading up.


Yeah, and I guess if everyone took a dooky, it would be a pretty sh!tty area!


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## mnigro (Jul 31, 2007)

fill a bucket with hot water and dump in a whole box of baking soda, small one. Add some laundry detergent if you'd like. Let it soak for a day or more but swish it around a few times. Toss it in the washer when done. If this doesn't work, toss the thing and get a new one. 

You could use a small amount of bleach but it will break down the fabric and isn't really good for it.


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## icecreamjay (Apr 13, 2004)

Whason said:


> We take in so many chemicals and artificial flavorings. Nothing worse than human poop.
> 
> .


Except maybe a dog thats been eating human food.:nono:


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## goodmojo (Sep 12, 2011)

once synthetics smell it is too late to kill the bacteria (this goes for things like synthetic shirts). The bacteria have already created the organics that makes the fabrics smell. Oxyclean will work as it oxides organics. A very light bleach solution will work too, something like a teaspoon of bleach in a gallon of water. (about 50 ppm of bleach). This level is enough to fade fabrics so you might want to try less - around 10-15 ppm of bleach is the borderline for fading fabrics but will still oxidize organics. This would be maybe 1 teaspoon in 5 gallons of water.


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## gc4rr (Mar 29, 2012)

^ thanks


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