Removing The Plastic Taste from New Hydration Pack Bladders

Back when hydration packs first came out I made sure that I bought one. I then made the not so wise move of testing out my brand new hydration pack that very weekend in a 100-mile mountain bike ride. Those early hydration packs had such a heavy plastic taste that I was retching after each sip of water. The hydration pack eventually lost the awful taste over the course of a couple of months. Now that I have a new hydration pack I don’t want to relive that experience. So I need a new plan of action.

How to remove the plastic taste from a new hydration pack bladder?

4 cups warm (not boiling) water
1 tablespoon Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Additional water for rinsing
Put the warm water into the bladder and add the Baking Soda. Double the Baking Soda for cheap no-name bladders.
Close the bladder and gently massage to allow the Baking Soda to permeate the plastic of the bladder and fill the drinking tube.
Leave to soak for at least an hour, preferably overnight.
Rinse once with clean water and then a second time with the Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with the water.
Rinse two or three more times to clear the Apple Cider taste.
Repeat process if your hydration pack still tastes of plastic.
Don’t neglect the bite nozzle of your drinking tube either. If you don’t you may still get the plastic taste after cleaning the bladder and drinking tube.

The good news is that these days Hydration Bladders, Soft Flasks and Water Bottles are manufactured completely free of BPA and BPS. This means that any plastic taste will have nothing to do with harmful chemicals. The odor (and taste) is likely caused by a combination of the heating and cooling of the plastic combined with the disinfectant wash that brings you a germ-free product.

That said, most people find the smell and taste repulsive. Luckily there is a solution to this distasteful problem.

Detailed Steps for Removing the Plastic Taste

Ingredients Based on a 3 pint (1.5 liter) hydration pack

4 cups warm (not boiling) water
1 tablespoon Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
Additional water for rinsing

Put the warm water into your hydration bladder. Add the baking soda. For cheaper hydration packs I find that doubling the amount of baking soda works a lot better and saves time in the long run. Close the hydration pack and shake vigorously to dissolve the baking soda.

Next, you need to massage the hydration thoroughly. You need to ensure that the baking soda solution gets into every crevice between and pore of the plastic.

You also need to ensure that the baking soda solution gets all the way down the drinking tone and through the bite nozzle. I do this by actually sucking on the drinking nozzle. Be careful though. Believe me, sucking a whole mouthful of baking soda solution is not the most pleasant experience you can have.

Once you have done this, set the hydration pack aside for at least an hour. If you can leave it overnight even better.

Next is the rinsing process. Start with at least one rinse of clean water. Remember to suck water through the drink tube and bite nozzle each time or you will get an unpleasant experience out on the trail. Then in another rinse, add the two teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar to the water. Again, it is important to massage the mixture through and to suck some through the drink tube.

Finally, rinse the bladder, drink tube and bite nozzle thoroughly with clean water. If your hydration pack still tastes heavily of plastic, repeat the process. A mild plastic taste will dissipate over time.

Alternative 1: Bottle Bright Tablets

Bottle Bright tablets are an ideal solution if you are pressed for time. For example, you have traveled to s trail race and arrive at your destination town and discover that you have left your trusted hydration bladder at home. When you add Bottle Bright to the water in your hydration pack they fizz and clean, leaving you with a sanitized water bottle free from a plastic taste.

The reason that I do not rate Bottle Bright tablets as a first choice is that the fizz action does a number on the rubber washers at either end of the drink tube. So, it’s OK for a one-off in an emergency but do it too often and your hydration pack will start leaking.

Alternative 2: Denture Cleaning Tablets

Similar to Bottle Bright tablets, Denture Cleaning tablets also work quickly at removing the plastic taste from your water bladder. You simply add a Denture Cleaning tablet to warm water in your water bladder and allow the fizzy action to do its thing. However, there are two things to keep in mind.

Similar to Bottle Bright tablets the fizzy action will erode the rubber washers that keep your hydration pack from leaking. Then, whatever you do, make sure you use the unflavored type or else your water bladder will have a permanent minty toothpaste taste that you will never be rid of.

Alternative 3: Bleach Solution

Many people cringe when I mention bleach as an option for removing the plastic taste from a hydration pack bladder. After all, bleach is a dangerous chemical. The truth is that bleach is dangerous when concentrated. The active chemical in bleach is Chlorine. The same chemical that you find in tap water and swimming pools. The big advantage of bleach is that if your hydration pack gets funky with bacteria and fungus bleach will sort that all out.

Be sure to make a diluted solution of bleach by adding it to water already in the hydration pack. Then leave your hydration bladder to soak overnight so that the Chlorine can do its thing. The next morning be sure to thoroughly rinse the bladder at least four times with warm water. I usually use the baking soda and apple cider method above to get rid of any bleach residue.

Alternative 4: Lemon Juice

Using lemon juice or lime juice is one of the most popular ways to get rid of a mild plastic taste in a hydration bladder.

Add several cups of lemon or lime juice to water in your hydration bladder and leave it to soak overnight. Rinse the bladder thoroughly in the morning. As I mentioned that this will remove a mild plastic taste. It will also leave a small lemon residue in the plastic that will flavor your water masking any remaining plastic taste.

There are two negatives that count against lemon juice. Firstly, lemon juice contains sugar. The crystalline nature of sugar makes it abrasive especially within the bite nozzle when the water starts evaporating. Over time this can contribute to your hydration pack starting to leak.

Lemon juice is also by nature organic material, meaning that the lemon juice can bio-degrade over time when you store your hydration bladder in a dark place between seasons. This can lead to finding a small forest of mold and fungus when you dig out your hydration pack at the start of a new season.

Bad Idea: Sports Drinks in Your Hydration Pack

If I can only give one piece of advice on hydration packs in will be to not put sports drink into them. Not ever. Well, you can if you want to. Just know that it will just eventually kill the bladder and the bite valve.

The two main culprits are salt and sugar. Although they are only slightly corrosive, both are abrasive. I once had a Camelback that I used exclusively for Gatorade. I did that knowing that I would need to change out the bladder after a single season and change the bite nozzle two or three times during the season.

Because of the abrasive and corrosive nature of Gatorade on the porous plastic, you won’t want to use it for plain water ever again. The Gatorade flavor will seep into the plastic and plain water will forever have an over diluted Gatorade flavor.

My second Gatorade water bladder only lasted me two months. I made the error of getting some Gatorade in the threads of the cap to the bladder. The bladder started leaking through the cap, soaking the Camelback and the back of my shirt in a sticky mess on a hot day. That was the last time I used Gatorade in a hydration pack.

My hydration pack that I use exclusively for water is one that I purchased in 2012. It is still working just as well as it was when it was new. I now carry my Gatorade in a drink bottle or soft flask that I routinely replace every couple of months.