How To: Reuse Franzia (or Any Other "Wine-In-A-Box") Or: a Compact, Airproof Bag for Liquids.

So, last night I found myself at a party, full of people with questionalbe taste in alcohol. Needless to say, By the end of the evening, there were several empty boxes of wine (which dosen't actually come in a box).
as I was breaking down the empty wine boxes, I realized something very important. The bags inside the boxes are heavy-gauge plastic, and have removable valves. Finally! something I can use to bring along a decent wine on my next camping trip, or any other of the myriad uses these bags will undoubtedly find (even a solar shower). the new franzia boxes come with a spigot-type valve, which (after a bit of pulling and twisting) are removable. Finally! a way to take a nice bottle of wine with you on a camping trip, or a good, sturdy plastic bag with a built-in valve. here's the skinny:

Step 1: Empty the Bag/Box of Wine.

fortunately this first step will be done for you by the partygoers, if not, I recommend squeezing. Drink this foul liquid at your own risk.

Step 2: Remove the Bag Valve

These pictures are a little out of order, as I had the idea for this after I had cleaned out the bag, but they should still work for you.
To remove the bag, Grasp the black valve part in one hand, and in the other hand, grasp the white plastic retaining ring (note: your valve and retaining ring may be of a different color and construction, but I know for a fact this works with franzia).

once you have a good grip, pull and twist untill the black valve assembly pops free. don't do this while wearing a shirt you like, as you will most likely spray a bit of cheap wine about.

Step 3: Wash the Bag/valve.

now that you have the bag open, it's just like washing a camelbak bladder. However, if you havent done that, the following process works quite well.

rinse the bag out with hot water and empty it.
squeeze about two teaspoons of dish soap into the bag. fill 1/2 the bag with hot water, and pop the (closed) valve back in. Shake the bag around to clean out the inside of it.

once it's nice and fomay, open the valve and squeeze the bag to get the soap and water out (this helps by cleaning out the valve). once empty, pull the valve back out.

fill the bag with hot water (gets more soap out). shake the bag around and rinse it out, make sure you get all of the soap suds (if you're curious, just taste the water, it should no longer taste like wine or soap.


when you have the bag clean, fill it up with hot water. put the valve back in and squeeze the bag. this forces the clean, hot water through the valve, and cleans it out the rest of the way. once that's done, pull the valve back out, and you should have a bag that looks like tihs.

Step 4: Blow the Bag Up and Let It Dry

like it says. brush your teeth and rince with mouthwash (to help with germs)
then, blow the bag up and set it on a shelf to dry.

I didn't documen these next steps, as im not sure how well they work, but I did them anywya to make sure.

when you want to use the bag, Pour 4 oz of rubbing alcohol in it and push the valve back in.
shake it up to clean the bag of any germs, and squeeze it out through the bag.

rinse the bag out with several changes of hot water, fill with whatever you wish, and enjoy your new reclosable, 5 litre bag!

also of note, if you fill these up with air (blow it up), they make GREAT camp pillows.
they will eventually break/wear down, but just ask your box-wine-drinking friends to save their emptys, and you'll be in good supply for a while.

Step 5: Make Sure You Get the Funk Out

I just checked the bag after letting it dry for a few days, and there is still a very apparent odor of wine. I'm letting the bag sit overnight after filling it with hot, soapy water to see if this helps cut down the smell. I'll Update this when I check it tommorrow. Please feel free to share any methods for getting the funk out. I'd say the bag is probably ok for potable liquids, it'll just make them taste nasty.

Step 6: Clean Out the Funk

SO, if you check out the comments, you'll notice where i hypothesized on the effectiveness of the dish soap/baking soda/hydrogen peroxide concotion. Well, it has been tested, and it works pretty damn well. you have to go through several changes, but eventually you'll get the wine smell/taste out.

Step 7: The Proofs (and Best Solutions - Literally) Are in the Comments.

Ladies and Gentlemen of Instructables. I am taking this opportunity to do two things: 1) Offer my congratulations to all of you who kept this instructable alive over the past four years, and 2) Thank each and every one of you (and there are so, so many of you) who have upon reading this added your suggestions to help take this from a cheap wine-induced idea to a fully usable and practical certainty. You all undoubtedly embody the prag/enigmatic spirit that is instructables, and I salute each and every one of you, as well as offering my most sincere and heartfelt thanks for helping with the evolution of this brainchild.

In short, I will be publishing an update to this instructable, reflecting all of the gainful insights you have provided, credit where credit is due, of course.  If there is a way to turn this into a group, I'll do that, so that all of you can have creative control of the solutions that you have helped to make into a reality.

Thank you all for demonstrating what this site is about.

-Rhys