pack pad odor

[Indyal]

I have a Mystery Ranch pack that I used on my sheep hunt. It has a main pad in the middle of the pack. Now every time I wear it and sweat, it emits a very powerful ammonia like smell. Once it dries it is barely noticeable to me. I have tried soaking it in cold water and Dawn dishwashing soap and then using a hose. But I think all my old sweat is too embedded in the foam padding.
Any suggestions? I am thinking I will try my power washer on the low setting nozzle. My last resort is to remove the pad from the frame and mcgyver a new one onto the frame.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

Either that, or buy a new pack. My packs get relatively odiferous after after a year or two and I just live with it till it comes time to buy a new one, which is about every four years. But, you could try pressure washing it - which I don't think will help - or simply buy a new pack. Maybe next time, try a pack with webbing against your back, instead of foam padding.

 

[BBob]

I’ve had decent luck in the past with soaking in MiraZyme which is now called ReviveX. In some cases it worked fantastic and in others it was so so.

 

[KnuckleChild]

Oxyclean, rinse well then in the sun for a while

 

[ytlogger]

I can smell your pain. My first internal frame pack was a Dana Designs, kind of an earlier version of Mystery Ranch. Great pack in it's day. Somebody suggested to me to try stuffing it in a big garbage bag with about a half pound of coffee grounds for a while so I did that for a few months in winter. Don't do that - your pack will smell like really bad coffee made with chickensh!t. Recently I have had good luck with different solutions of water and vinegar in water bladders and bottles. I wonder if a soak in that stuff would work. I might try it with the shoulder straps from my SG pack, after the season is over.

 

[svivian]

Ive soaked my pack in a medley of vinegar, dawn soap and detergent over night and then let sun dry for a few days and that has taken alot of smells and stains out over many seasons.