View Full Version : Pack + Washing Machine
cabbagehead
10-31-2012, 16:07
How often do you put your pack in a washing machine?
I'm estimating once a month (of strolling) for me. maybe once every 2 weeks for the shoulder straps
Feral Bill
10-31-2012, 16:10
I have a pack I've used since the mid-seventies. Never been washed yet.
I put my son's pack in a soak of hot water and oxiclean free overnight, then filled the tub with cold water and rinsed out very well. Came out very fresh, which is something after 2,184 miles.
peakbagger
10-31-2012, 16:25
A pack is going to get "funky" no matter how often you might wash it. The odor gets into the fabric and foam and it isnt coming out. About the only thing washing it will do it make it wear out quicker . Some folks do replace hipbelts and shoulder straps eventually but usually its because the foam is collapsed. If the pack gets muddy or dirty outside just wipe it off and keep hiking
yellowsirocco
10-31-2012, 16:52
Hahaha. Washing your pack. Good one. What a bunch of nonsense.
(In case you were actually serious refer to the Ron Swanson Pyramid of Greatness under the block B.O.)
My point with the Oxiclean Free soak is that we salvaged a pack that would have otherwise been tossed because its "funk" made it unfit to bring inside. Definitely worth doing at that point, but I would not have bothered before then. Oxiclean Free is great stuff, and I use it for many tasks, including cleaning brewery equipment.
kayak karl
10-31-2012, 17:22
i hike in the rain without a packcover once every two years, whether it needs it or not.
Starchild
10-31-2012, 17:46
I sometimes fill the tub with soapy water to help keep the pack cleaner maybe 1/year or (1 per 2 years). Seems to make the water in the tub dark and dirty looking.
Slo-go'en
10-31-2012, 20:47
A beat up, dirty pack is a badge of honor. How else will eveyone know it's gone the distance? Although I have on occasion considered taking my pack to the car wash and using the power spray on it :) Come to think of it, my favorate pack is getting pretty filty...
hung my old pack out in the hurricane along with a throw rug the dog barfed on, does that count as washing it?!?! :D
cabbagehead
10-31-2012, 23:53
I don't put my clothes in bags, so my pack gets dirty quickly. It's not that harmful for the pack to machine wash it. It's unsanitary not to wash it after a certain number of uses.
turtle fast
10-31-2012, 23:59
I had to spray Lysol my pack and straps when I got to Bland, VA and stayed at the Big Walker Motel..otherwise I think the hiker funk bacteria would of carried me on the trail.
Feral Bill
11-01-2012, 00:27
i don't put my clothes in bags, so my pack gets dirty quickly. It's not that harmful for the pack to machine wash it. It's unsanitary not to wash it after a certain number of uses.
wyop......
brotheral
11-01-2012, 05:26
:eek:
How often do you put your pack in a washing machine?
I'm estimating once a month (of strolling) for me. maybe once every 2 weeks for the shoulder straps
RU Kidding Me ???? :-?
Like my jeans son, I never wash them.
Just take em off and sttaaannnddd em up!
A beat up, dirty pack is a badge of honor. How else will eveyone know it's gone the distance? Although I have on occasion considered taking my pack to the car wash and using the power spray on it :) Come to think of it, my favorate pack is getting pretty filty...
Is that the one with the Long Trail E-2-E patch on it?
Never wash my Packs, i got a closet full of packs that's never been washed.
I've never washed a pack.
I washed a used pack when I first got it. Otherwise I use Febreze.
garlic08
11-01-2012, 09:28
It all depends on the pack and how it's used. My backcountry ski pack, for instance, has never seen dirt or sweat. The pack I hiked the AT with, especially after the summer, either got washed or torched. (Hike 20 mile days for weeks in 90F+ temps and tell me your pack doesn't need to be washed.) Since it's a frameless rucksack, it's a no-brainer to toss it in the laundry every couple of weeks. If that pack had a frame, it would take different care.
bannerstone
11-01-2012, 09:48
I don't so much care about the appearance but anti-microbial spray now and then before storage probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Come to think of it, I could probably give my trail runners a good spray as well. :)
David
staehpj1
11-01-2012, 09:50
Never. I have hosed one off without soap when it was extremely muddy.
Wait... there was one exception. At the local park a dog peed on a young couples day pack. They immediately pitched it in the trash, where I recovered it, took it home, and did put it in the washing machine.
The other trick is to get some enzyme-based pet spray like Nature's Miracle, which will "eat" the odor-causing bacteria. Not necessary after the Oxiclean soak, but it won't put the pack out of commission for a few days either.
turtle fast
11-01-2012, 12:05
I do not see an issue with an Oxyclean soaking....I mean as long as it kills the odor producing bacteria and you do not have potentially damaging agitating action of a washing machine. As long as it does not degrade the packs integrity I do not see an issue with it....though the odor may be interesting to the forest dwelling creatures and you may get mistaken for a day hiker. ;)
Slo-go'en
11-01-2012, 12:05
Is that the one with the Long Trail E-2-E patch on it?
Yeap. It's got almost 2K miles on it from section hikes.
daddytwosticks
11-01-2012, 15:36
In the tub with some warm soapy water. Rinse, then hang out in the sun. :)
I washed a used pack when I first got it. Otherwise I use Febreze.
Me too. Soak the padded parts with Frebreeze and leave out in the sun for a few days.
bubonicplay
11-02-2012, 00:23
After washing I would spray some waterproof spray around it, that way it will shed water when rained on.
After washing I would spray some waterproof spray around it, that way it will shed water when rained on.
I've been more likely to user permithrin lately.
RJ Lewis
11-05-2012, 20:39
I think I washed a pack once....it was so filthy at the time, and my cat had sprayed it, so it had some real funk going on. Washed it in the tub with some Natures miracle and sports wash, and once soaked overnight and rinsed well, I hung it up to dry in a shady area and left it out for a couple of days. That certainly did the trick for that particular pack.