View Full Version : Washing a Backpack
Shrkbit143
06-27-2006, 19:38
I just returned from Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and want to wash my backpack. Any suggestions on how to do this?
Lone Wolf
06-27-2006, 19:48
Go to a car wash and use the high pressure gun. Works great especially after a dead, bloated, festering, maggot-ridden ground hog has been in it for 2 days in 80 deg. heat. Right Jack?:D
max patch
06-27-2006, 20:00
I also use the car wash when necessary.
Skidsteer
06-27-2006, 20:02
I just returned from Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico and want to wash my backpack. Any suggestions on how to do this?
Go to a car wash and use the high pressure gun. Works great especially after a dead, bloated, festering, maggot-ridden ground hog has been in it for 2 days in 80 deg. heat. Right Jack?:D
Or...if the funk on your pack doesn't quite meet with the 'dead, festering, maggot-ridden groundhog' criteria, you can wash it with a bucket of lukewarm water, a small amount of laundry detergent, and a medium bristle brush. Rinse thoroughly with a garden hose and hang it up to dry.
hikerjohnd
06-27-2006, 20:21
Or if you want to be sure it needs the car wash route, you can put a 'dead, festering, maggot-ridden groundhog' in it for a couple of days then head off to the car wash...
Frolicking Dinosaurs
06-27-2006, 21:09
Hmmm... I just soak mine in a bathtub with mild detergent. Drain & rinse twice. Then put it in a bucket and haul it out to the clothes line to dry. However, I've never dealt with deceased ground hog funk so I'm no expert.
Hmmm... I just soak mine in a bathtub with mild detergent. Drain & rinse twice. Then put it in a bucket and haul it out to the clothes line to dry. However, I've never dealt with deceased ground hog funk so I'm no expert.
No serious answers allowed!!!!:mad:;)
That's what I do. Since I have a closet full of packs for every occasion, I have to honestly say that I've done it only once. My Gregory pack saw a lot of trail between 1991 and 2002, when it got semi-retired in favor of frameless packs. I probably washed it around 1999. I guess I don't stink as much as some folks, also, I let the rain wash it off on a regular basis the week after a hike. I just hang it upside down and let the rain do its thing.
the goat
06-27-2006, 23:22
Go to a car wash and use the high pressure gun. Works great especially after a dead, bloated, festering, maggot-ridden ground hog has been in it for 2 days in 80 deg. heat. Right Jack?:D
this wouldn't have anything to do with the photo of: jack, his empty backpack, and a garden hose that hangs at kincora, would it?
LIhikers
06-28-2006, 16:24
I've always doenr the same as Frolicking Dinosaurs suggests.
Footslogger
06-28-2006, 16:34
Bathtub method with a little lysol worked for me. Left it in there quite a while and noticed that the salt embedded in the shoulder straps all disolved and the padding expanded back to its original thickness.
'Slogger
Watch out for car washes; they can blast the polyurethane right off. Better to use a regular washing machine after securing all zippers and straps so they don't hang up. Mild soap. No bleach. Pretreat heavily soiled areas with any presoak and maybe a brush. If hiker stink is a factor, wash first, then treat with McNett's Myrazine.
TJ aka Teej
06-28-2006, 22:22
We're supposed to wash them?
mweinstone
07-08-2006, 15:30
i dont need no stinkin wash.i wear my dirt with pride.and ill use up my packs life long before salt and dirt have anything to say about it.
blindeye
07-08-2006, 17:14
i kinda' enjoy the dead, festering, maggot ridden hog funk thing goin' on
After a long hike, I just hang my G4 up outside and hose it off. Let it dry real well and it is ready for the next hike.
Bobby
RITBlake
07-09-2006, 18:33
tried the bathtub method but was happier w/ the carwash method.
rambunny
07-10-2006, 08:58
Pass the Fabreeze please