Gear Maintenance Lets all share!

[Gambit McCrae]

So I learned this weekend that not everyone is edumicated in the ways of taking care of gear. I thought I would post my "Post Trip Cleanup" Routine and let others share what they do as well!

Tent: When I get home from every trip I set my tent up in the garage, I don’t actually set it up as much as I hang it up by two points to let it dry out really well. I do this so that the next time I use it , it is like brand new, and there isn’t old water, or moldy mildew smell in the tent. As well this gives me a change to clean it out, and do an inventory of poles and tent stakes so I know all is accounted for.

Sleeping Pad: When we blow up a sleeping pad the moisture of our breath gets inside of it. If conditions are right I’m sure an accumulation of water would reside inside of my pad so at the end of a trip I blow up the pad and rest it vertically in a spare closet, valve at the floor. I leave it like this until next trip.

Sleeping bags(Down): These are easy, if there is any moisture to speak of I toss it in the dryer with some tennis balls for about 10-20 minute on medium heat. Other than that I leave them either laying out on a spare bed or in a hanging cotton sack in the closet.

Water Filter: I take the Sawyer Squeeze and back flush it, and then place it on a paper tower flow side down and let it drain out over night. I do the same with my bladders and water bags

Food: Any left over food is taking out and consumed as snacks at home

Kitchen: Pots get washes, fuel canister wiped off and weighed, new weight written on canister

Resupply: Expendable like TP and Meds

Organize used maps, Photos and notes and completed mileages

Pack: Hardly nothing really just shake it out and pick the trash out of it.

Clothes: Washing machine

[jwright]

Hate to admit it in public, but I've been known to wash the mud off my stakes.

[HooKooDooKu]

I'll play along.

Boots: Wash dirt and mud off of boots, leave them in garage to air dry.

Tent: Set the tent up in my air conditioned storage room to get it bone dry before next trip.
Before I had the storage room, use to setup in a dry basement (garage) and set up a box fan to help dry.

Ground Cloth: Wash and hang to dry

Sleeping Pad: Roll them out to make sure they are totally dry before storage.
I inflate my NeoAir with a bag, so I don't have to worry about getting moisture out of it.
My kid's self-inflating pads get stored inflated inside an old bed sheet to keep dust off them.

Sleeping Bags: Hang them in the storage room to dry before storage (wish I had a good place to store them hanging... but for now have to live with the large storage bags they came with and placed on a shelf).

Water Filter: Back flush the Sawyer mini leave out to dry.
Water bladders are rinsed, then hung up-side-down over a wooden dowel to drain and dry.

Resupply: I might be a while before the next trip, so expendables are refilled as a part of packing.

Pack: Rinse the outside and hang in the downstairs shower to dry (prevent a buildup of salts from sweating).

Clothes: Washing Machine along with camp towels and such.

Everything else placed in their storage basket placed inside a stand-alone closet/shelf.

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

Hate to admit it in public, but I've been known to wash the mud off my stakes.

I stand with you. I am a stake washer too. I wash them off then dry them with the wipe I use to clean my face and hands with in the morning

[LittleRock]

Agree with everything posted so far. For tents, one trick I learned in boy scouts was to throw in a couple dryer sheets when packing it back up after drying it out to keep odors down.

[Maui Rhino]

When backflushing your water filter, use distilled water. Over time in storage, minerals and chemicals in plain tap water will clog your Sawyer.

[Gambit McCrae]

When backflushing your water filter, use distilled water. Over time in storage, minerals and chemicals in plain tap water will clog your Sawyer.

Did not know this thanks!

[daddytwosticks]

I do pretty much the same as you all. This is one aspect of hiking that I hate...the maintenance and clean-up, but it makes a big difference in how smoothly my next section hike goes.

[peakbagger]

I used to handle equipment for a scout troop on occasion and the biggest fails were to delay fixing equipment until later and not tagging defective equipment (which includes missing items). Even with myself its quite easy to just hope I remember it and inevitably it doesn't get fixed until the last minute if at all.

[HooKooDooKu]

When backflushing your water filter, use distilled water. Over time in storage, minerals and chemicals in plain tap water will clog your Sawyer.

Accurate advice... but at $20 a pop, I plan on just replacing the unit each year.

[2015 Lady Thru-Hiker]

Agree with everything posted so far. For tents, one trick I learned in boy scouts was to throw in a couple dryer sheets when packing it back up after drying it out to keep odors down.

When backflushing your water filter, use distilled water. Over time in storage, minerals and chemicals in plain tap water will clog your Sawyer.

Both nice things to know. With regard to my squeeze bag, platypus and any other water bottle I use, I fill with water with a capful of bleach added. Let set for about an hour, then rinse well and let air dry.

I do pretty much the same as you all. This is one aspect of hiking that I hate...the maintenance and clean-up, but it makes a big difference in how smoothly my next section hike goes.

I also take apart my hiking poles and rinse off any grit that may have gotten between the sections, let dry then put back together for next time. Read somewhere this helps keep the locking mechanisms working better and longer.

Lastly, I throw a little white vinegar in with my hiking wear. Helps to deodorize them.

[Rocket Jones]

During my trip I write down notes about equipment issues that come up. That way I don't have to try to remember the little things that need to be taken care of before they become big problems.

[garlic08]

If you use multi-section poles, take them apart and let them dry.

...For tents, one trick I learned in boy scouts was to throw in a couple dryer sheets when packing it back up after drying it out to keep odors down.

Sheesh, I'm getting old. When I was in Boy Scouts, there was no such thing as a "dryer sheet." And the tents were canvas, a real joy to dry. And they always had "that smell."

[Dogwood]

During my trip I write down notes about equipment issues that come up. That way I don't have to try to remember the little things that need to be taken care of before they become big problems.

Here's what I do and I don't wait to make the repairs, adjustments, clean gear up, etc until after the hike. I do repairs, replacements, clean ups, etc as I hike so when I do get done with the hike I have less to take care of. It seems a get very decent durability even with my very UL gear this way. I'm prolly sewing or patching something about every 2-3 wks when on a long hike.

[NY HIKER 50]

This might be a bit off topic but I make sure everything gets cleaned when I get home and sew if I have to and make some repairs. Let me warn everyone: Coming home from a trip and opening everything up is like opening a Pandora's box. Anything that crawled or flew in will be in your house if you are not careful. The reason I have to clean everything is that the house will stink. I'm an apartment dweller. Once I get home and everything is cleaned the place resembles an EMS. Hammock hanging along with a tarp, sleeping bag and anything else.

[RangerZ]

Both nice things to know. With regard to my squeeze bag, platypus and any other water bottle I use, I fill with water with a capful of bleach added. Let set for about an hour, then rinse well and let air dry.



I also take apart my hiking poles and rinse off any grit that may have gotten between the sections, let dry then put back together for next time. Read somewhere this helps keep the locking mechanisms working better and longer.

Lastly, I throw a little white vinegar in with my hiking wear. Helps to deodorize them.

Same with disinfecting my squeeze bags, I then puff them up and stand on the end so that they drain.

I (gently) put a paint stirrer in my reservoir to keep it opened up and prop up so it drains and drys.

I also oil my walking staff.

The basement does look like a gear explosion for a couple of days.

[BuckeyeBill]

Same with disinfecting my squeeze bags, I then puff them up and stand on the end so that they drain.

I (gently) put a paint stirrer in my reservoir to keep it opened up and prop up so it drains and drys.

I also oil my walking staff.

The basement does look like a gear explosion for a couple of days.

I read somewhere that after disinfecting and air drying people put their squeeze bags and hydration bladders in the freezer until their next trip. Anyone heard of this or do it with their bags?

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[rocketsocks]

A bread twisty tye makes for a good temporary connection where the screw used to be on my glasses. Strip about an inch of the paper off, insert, twist and snip excess ...keep the twisted part towards the outside so as to keep it away from your eyeball.

[Rocket Jones]

I read somewhere that after disinfecting and air drying people put their squeeze bags and hydration bladders in the freezer until their next trip. Anyone heard of this or do it with their bags?

Yep. Rolled and rubber banded.

[Starchild]

Tent open it up, hang it away from cat's clawing reach, and let it dry - unless I know that it is bone dry.

Kitchen items, wash/dishwasher, placed on mantel (camping stoves and pots are interesting conversation pieces)

Steripen/rechargeable battery pack for pen and smartphone - get it to apx 50% charge (will lengthen the life of the rechargeable battery) - place in fridge (also to preserve battery life)

Sleeping bags if needed wash and or dry, store unstuffed.

Backpack, returning from my thru I opened up the bottom zipper and top and placed it in a stream weighted down by rocks for a few hours, letting the water run thru it. Was a good way to clean it.

Left over long term (FD) food goes on shelf, other shorter term food goes in stomach.