Cleaning Barrels for RO?

[TheRealRuk]

I got x2 55G barrels that were used for olives. I cleaned them out with bleach a few times and they have been sitting dry for a good month. Even after the bleach baths they still smelled like olives (not unexpected). The smell have decreased significantly over the last few weeks, and is almost undetectable. I don't "feel" any oil residue... Any recommendations on what to clean them with? Keep bleaching? Safe to use?

 

[redrider911]

Baking soda is supposed to remove odors.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

just some residual olive smell?

just some residual olive smell?

I'm thinkin' they're okay to use now, Matt.

 

[Dave VG]

Whenever I use any container not specifically for reef use I use soap and hot water to remove any residue like oils etc. and then rinse and rinse and rinse again. Then I use a mild bleach solution and rinse again with RO water. Maybe overkill but at least I know its as clean as I can get it.

 

[TheRealRuk]

I will probably bleach and rinse them one more time as I measure and mark them, then throw them into production... I think I was more worried about using soap and not being able to rinse the residue off well enough.

Thx Guys!

 

[SkiFletch]

Matt, I'd suggest filling it with RO, leaving for say 24 hours, draining, and then putting it into service. True de-ionized water is actually a decent solvent. Because it has no ions in it, chemist's will often refer to DI water as "hungry". It "wants" to dissolve any ions or residual particles and there's good reason for why lab chemists use it for washing their glassware