I carry two of these Camelbak bottles (above) in my Prius for my travels. One I usually have water in it and the other I often make herbal tea. The color does hide the buildup from making my herbal tea, by just letting the tea to brew at car temperature. The other is smoke gray and also not easy to see buildup inside.
I found this problem last year when I started making my own herbal tea, I noticed the nipple that you bite on the bottle to drink had black in it. After a detailed investigation, I was making a face at what I was drinking though, and I went out and bought a straw brush shown below. Once in awhile when I washed dishes I would disassemble the parts on the bottles and wash them. The brush is long but did get into the nipple to clean by twisting it to get into the cracks inside. Cleaning the bottle meant putting a wash cloth or sponge inside with soapy water and shaking the bottle. Not the best results, but it was acceptable.
Note: the above bottles are the ones I use with the SteriPen to sterilize the water (see separate post). They arte 750 ml size and the SteriPen only has two settings, 1 liter and 1/2 liter, so I set the SteriPen on 1 liter for sterilization.
I think I bought the straw brush (above) at Bed Bath and Beyond.
My 2 Liter CamelBak also needed cleaning, but since it was just water there was no grime. The straw brush worked well on the tube but the bag I just flushed out and shook with some soap in in the best I can.
This year, I again went to Bed Bath Beyond and I found a bottle cleaning kit with 3 brushes. The long large brush worked great on the inside of the bottles and the CamelBak bladder bag. The short brush works great on the CamelBak bottle straws as they are short. It also worked good, not great, on the nipples. The nipples still require angling the brush tip into the inside cracks to get it clean. The short handled circular brush works good in the inside of the cap on the CamelBak bottles and the threads on the bottle.
The above are now items that I carry with me for cleaning my bottles and bladder bag. The 3 bottle brushes fit in one of my cooking bags that fit under my sleeping area and the long straw brush gets slid under the plywood floor (void space) I built for the cooking bags to slide in on.
For small vehicle dwelling, like my Prius Campervan, these brushes have become important to me in keeping my drinking containers clean.
Brent
macaloney@hotmail.com
I used to use a steripen as well as aqua mira drops, but eventually switch to a Sawyer filter for real time and gravity filtering: http://www.antigroundhogday.com/ when I was backpacking. We'll see if this works when I hit the road, but yes, cleaning stuff out every once in awhile and only keeping water in the bladders helps. We'll see!
ReplyDeleteI have a small backpacking pump/ filter but did not use in 2 years. I knew where the water sources were on the Havasu Falls hike so didn't bring the filter. The SteriPen alone is ok for bacteria, but a filter or LifeStraw is useful where there is particles.
DeleteCleaning containers seems to be a once a month kind of thing
Apparently my copy and paste skills are lacking, here's the link to the filter: https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-mini-filter/
DeleteCan I ask an unrelated question? Have you ever been "discovered" or approached while urban camping? Can you describe that?
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteMy urban camping is the smaller of all the camping I do. I have never been approached or known to have been discovered. What my experience has found that if I pull in a spot at dusk or dark, having scoped the location out earlier. I ensure I'm ready for bed, or at least get in it, for the night by laying my drivers seat back and sliding into the rear after checking that no one is looking. I then set the drivers seat up and fix my curtains and climb into bed for the night. I then leave at first light. It has a lot to do with location selected and once you are in side for night you minimize moving around. People walk by my car and never notice anything.
I also keep a clean front car seat, have tinted windows, and have curtains that when drawn just make the inside dark.
I have done this on streets, parking lots, and parking garages in cities.
I do everything I can to blend in and this includes not being outside my car.
Brent
Thanks -- your blog is interesting on both a travel log level and also a "living in a Prius" level. I especially enjoy the Prius posts. Thanks!
DeleteWe met at the RTR I was the 350 lb cane walking Louisiana Prius with a trailer hitch cargo rack so I stand out way more than you. I have USC Urban stealth camped 3x One Lake Havasu parked in front of a camera at a public water park under renovation. My argument would have been if confronted that I parked in front of a camera to show I have nothing to hide. The other was in Shreveport La at a parking lot in between a bank and a home depot. I did as you do I just slipped into bed went to sleep I then was out of there first light I slept just enough to be safe to drive. The other was just a rest stop I again slept long enough to get safe and pumped it back up. I was not confronted but I did not try to USC as people that usually get a knock. That is I got my rest and got gone ASAP.
ReplyDeleteSean,
DeleteI do remember meeting you at the RTR. I try to keep track of Prius dwellers, although remembering names is more elusive for me.
Stealth has been described by some as not possible as people know you are there. Although my goal with my Prius travels was cost and mobility and not stealth, I was able to achieve a highly stealth image.
It has worked well in my ability to fit in. Parking lots, street side, and parking garages have all worked well for me for my 3 years of travels.
Thanks for the comments.
Brent
nice
ReplyDelete