Cleaning Food Grade Barrels

[Bsaggy28]

Hey, I got 2 60 gallon food grade barrels that contained pickles in brine that smelled horrendous. I pressure washed them pretty good for about 45 min and they now only have a hardly noticeable horrible smell. Any recommendations on getting rid of the smell?
thanks,

 

[Steve Burton]

Pickle brine is vinegar. Bleach might help with the odor but I wouldn't worry about it, time and use will do it for sure.

 

[Bsaggy28]

Pickle brine is vinegar. Bleach might help with the odor but I wouldn't worry about it, time and use will do it for sure.

Does the odor leach into the water I would be storing/mixing in it?

 

[ichthyoid]

If you use bleach, be sure to rinse with a dechlorinator. Or, allow to dry thoroughly before use.

fwiw,
Sodium thiosulfate is the active ingredient in most dechlorinators, and what you should look for.

Using baking soda will remove odors as well, but may take more. A paste made with water, scrubbed on, allowed to dry & rinsed well should also work.

 

[Bsaggy28]

I let the baking soda sit and dry for a couple of days and just pressure washed them clean. Smell is just about gone and isn’t bad. I call that a win.