Kieran said:
@Grier
I’ve never heard of keeping bladders in the freezer. Why do you do that?
The freezing stops bacteria from growing. I’ve been doing this for years and never had a problem.
I use Star San, which is the same thing I use to clean my beer brewing equipment. It’s an acid-based cleaner that kills bacteria, and you don’t have to rinse because the residue is minimal.
Denture tablets and freezer are the way to go.
You can clean the hose by filling it with a bit of baking soda and water, then forcing the mix through the hose. Shake it around to clean out any gunk. After that, rinse with water and hang the bladder upside down to dry with the tube pointed downward. For the mouthpiece, just rinse it quickly and hang it too, or use a straw cleaner if you have one.
I towel dry the inside and prop something inside to keep the bladder open while it air dries.
Just throw it away and get a new one!
I place it on a bottle to keep it open and let it slowly dry.