"How to Clean a Backpack" by Richard Anderson

Since I'm the one home today I get to complete the task of cleaning our backpacks (Osprey Aura 65 and REI XT 85) after our 5-day excursion into the Grand Canyon. Richard (my boyfriend) is keen on cleaning all the gear as soon as we get back in order to remove the dirt, critters, and salty sweat remnants so that our stuff can last as long as possible. Neither of us really knows if there is a "proper technique" for cleaning the gear but here are the instructions he gave me for the ritualistic cleaning of the backpack.

1. Open all zippers and take everything out of the pack.
2. Double check all is out of the pack. (You can leave any carabiners that are attached in place)
3. Fill a bathtub up with warm water.
4. Put no more than 1/8 cup of powder detergent or a little bit of liquid detergent that you would use to wash your clothes in the tub and run your hands in the tub water to dissolve all the detergent.
5. Put the packs in the tub and completely submerge them. Let sit for 10 minutes.
6. Go back and vigorously agitate both packs and use your hands to scrub the padded areas.
7. Resubmerge packs for another 5 minutes.
8. Again vigorougsly reagitate both packs and pull the packs out of the tub.
9. Drain the tub.
10. Refill the tub with fresh warm water.
11. Put both backs back into the tub. Reagitate both packs to remove all detergent.
12. Empty bathtub water and repeat steps 10-11 again.
13. Take packs outside and hang them up to dry.

Viola! Clean packs.