Barrel disinfectant/de-stinking/etc.

[mu2bdriver]

Hello,

This topic may have been discussed before, but a search didn't turn up many results so please bear with me.

I got my 3 food-grade dark plastic barrels for water storage. They were cleaned before I got them but still have the smell of what was previously stored in them.

What recommendations do you have to remove the smell from them (if not, I can live with it), cleaning for long-term storage, and for maintaining the long-term quality of the water.

Thanks.

 

[ShadeWPI]

Wash them with a mix of 1 part chlorine to 10 parts water, then wash them with a mixture of 1/4 cup baking soda to 1 gallon warm water. Allow the baking soda mixture to sit for 24 hours, then rinse with clean water.

That should remove most, if not all of the odor from the plastic and the 24-hours will allow the chlorine to evaporate.

 

[pernox]

Any odor not removed by the above can be eliminated by leaving them closed and filled with a bleach/water mix in the hot sun for a few days. Rinse and repeat if necessary, but it usually isn't.