Countycomm BOB - how to wash?

[KevinL]

I recently picked up a nice CC BOB courtesy of a kind CPFer who helped me get hooked up. It does however have a strange smell, possibly because it got soaked in the rain en route here - the outer packaging was very damp.

I've tried airing it out for a couple of days and the smell has not gone away, so I'm thinking about soaking it in tap water. Does the bag tolerate this kind of treatment?

Thought I'd ask, didn't want to damage a brand new bag. Thanks guys /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jtice]

All my bags have done well, with cold ro room temp water.
Run the water on it, or use a filled sink, while you work the material in your hands.

When you let it dry, make sure to try to hang it, or set it down, in a good shape.
it might want to maintain that shape after it dries.

I have also found fribreeze (sp?) to work well, just leaves a faint flowery scent, but is good at getting out musty smells.

 

[Deanster]

+1 on cold or warm water in the sink, with liquid dish soap and a sponge (NOT a scrub pad). Seems to work out ok - you want to make sure that it's somewhere warm and dry afterward, so it dries fairly quickly - a warm sunny day oustide would be good. The fabric is thick enough, and the interior has a couple layers, so you don't want it to dry slowly and get mungy again.

 

[junior]

very interesting.....

i throw a lot of my gear in the washing machine on cold with no ill effect. A bob bag should be able to take any kind of water and certain kind of cleaning.

Kevin, when you wash it, stuff it with paper towels so that the paper towels will soak up the dampness and such.

I just got some gear in and kept one of the items for my self. The item was a camelback torso pac. I threw it in the washermachine in gentle cycle in cold water with cold water detergent and it came out practically new. I used paper towels in the torso pac to soak up the dampness and it worked out great.

Keep in mind that dish washing soap is meant to clean oils and such and is a lot stronger than clothing detergent.

oh, and sometimes if you are not careful, if you wash some bags and such in the washermachine you can stip the waterproofing on the inside if the waterproofing is old and such.

Sink may be the best bet for you kevin

just my .2cents

 

[ErickThakrar]

WARNING: Any detergent, dishwashing liquid and/or soap that contains Tensides can and WILL strip the polyurethane coating on the inside of most types of water-proofed pack fabrics, like the Cordura used in Maxpedition stuff and others.
Use only detergents that do not contain tensides.

 

[KevinL]

Thanks for the tips guys /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif all the advice is appreciated.

I planned to hand-wash in a sink, with water only, hang to dry outside and a good point was made about waiting for a sunny day. Today doesn't look good (overcast, light rain). Point taken about using the paper towels, that sounds like a really good idea to help it dry faster.

Excuse my ignorance but what's a tenside and how do I tell?