# HELP! Used blue barrel prep!



## OklaWerewolf (Jun 3, 2012)

Just bought some used blue plastic barrels for water storage. They were not cleaned out at all. Guy said he thinks they had soap or deodorizer in them. They smell like a carpet deodorant. I was wondering what is the best and safest way to clean them for water storage. I put dish soap in them and I'm running water through them. I also added 1/2 cup of bleach to each. What can I do to clean them to make the water safe to drink?


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## Domeguy (Sep 9, 2011)

Hey OWW, I've been selling barrels for a while now. FWIW, my advice is to only use barrels that you know for sure are food grade, and used for that, to store drinking water in. Who knows what kind of chemicals are in soaps and deordorizers! I wouldn't use them for drinking if there is ANY residual odor.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I'm with *Domeguy*. I would not use a barrel that I was not 100% certain what had been stored in it. I believe chemicals can soak right into the plastic and remain no matter how many times you rinse or wash it out. You don't need any of that stuff getting into your drinking water.


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## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

Ditto.  Find other barrels that you KNOW are food grade. Sounds to me like these aren't.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

I agree with what everyone else said... in the mean time, use the barrels you've gotten for greywater for the garden. (If you got one)


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## worldengineer (Sep 20, 2010)

Plastics are porus, thus anything that was in the barrel will almost certainly have leached into the container. Depending on what was in it using it for grey water still might not be a good option as the chemicals could possibly contaminate your plants.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

worldengineer said:


> Plastics are porus, thus anything that was in the barrel will almost certainly have leached into the container. Depending on what was in it using it for grey water still might not be a good option as the chemicals could possibly contaminate your plants.


True. I believe he said it was a detergent that was previously in the barrels, but you can't be too careful. Too bad OP doesn't know what was exactly in them

Is Soapy Water Good for Plants?


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## OklaWerewolf (Jun 3, 2012)

Would everyone that replied to this thread mind putting this on my web site also? www.oklahomasurvivalist-com.webs.com


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## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

So were you really looking for help, or just looking for traffic for your own website?  

Not cool.


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## BillS (May 30, 2011)

I thought about buying some used blue barrels to store drinking water. The problem is that they have plugs on them that are only 3" or so. There's no way to scrub the inside of them to get them clean. I gave up on the idea for that reason.


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## OklaWerewolf (Jun 3, 2012)

I'm needing help with info on how to clean my barrels


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## OklaWerewolf (Jun 3, 2012)

From the way it sounds, I'm just going to use them for gray water for my garden.


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## dahur (Dec 18, 2009)

I ran into the same problem when I bought some from a local car wash.
You CAN use them for things other than food or water. I just cut the top off of this one, and this is what I managed to stuff in:

240 paper plates
130 styrofoam plates
52 rolls t paper
4 rolls paper towells
1 5th rum
1 5th vodka
65 30 gallon bags
2 boxes 1 gal zip bags
2 boxes tin foil
15 10 qt. kool aid
10'x20' piece of plastic (used to line barrel)
3 toothpaste
2 boxes tylenol
4 MRE
1 box towellets
1 can black flag
2 700ft fish line
1 fish bait
1 box sinkers
1 box fish hooks
20 ink pens
24 pencils
2 elmers glue
1 box crayons
1 box vitamins
4 big candles
1 bag de caf coffee
1 bag reg coffee
1 -11 lb. bag laundry detergent
100 sheets paper


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## OklaWerewolf (Jun 3, 2012)

Wow never crossed my mind to just store stuff in them. Thanks for the good idea! I have all kinds of things I can store away and it will take up much less room.


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## Domeguy (Sep 9, 2011)

*Food grade barrels*

I can get food grade barrels that have snap-on or screw tops, i guess we could look into how much shipping would be. OKWW, i'm going to have to make a trip to OKC if you want me to bring some down.


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## OklaWerewolf (Jun 3, 2012)

Yeah I'd be interested in getting some from you if you ever come down this way.


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## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

I have to haul water to my place for now and I picked up some barrels from the local boat/rv shop that had rv antifreeze in them and I use those barrels for the livestock water. It is non toxic and they are doing well. I have 2 6 gallon containers for my personal drinking and cooking water and that is enough for 2 weeks.

The other barrels are used for showers, laundry, watering, livestock etc.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

OklaWerewolf said:


> I'm just going to use them for gray water for my garden.


Rainwater = YES, but *not* grey water. It will go septic and become black water, which needs to be handled like sewage.


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## Jimmy24 (Apr 20, 2011)

LincTex said:


> Rainwater = YES, but *not* grey water. It will go septic and become black water, which needs to be handled like sewage.


Agreed. Only use for grey water is flushing the toilet. I have shower and lavatory water recycled for that use. And it is run through a basic filter before I pump to toilet. Kitchen sink water needs grey water line out of house. It has fats and food particles that will make it septic and rancid quickly.

Jimmy


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Jimmy24 said:


> Agreed. Only use for grey water is flushing the toilet. I have shower and lavatory water recycled for that use. And it is run through a basic filter before I pump to toilet. Kitchen sink water needs grey water line out of house. It has fats and food particles that will make it septic and rancid quickly.
> 
> Jimmy


Wow. I never thought of this. I'm glad I started looking into water storage types and options before jumping in head first!


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