fermenting barrel?

[beefbandit]

Hey all, i got some 20L detergent bottles from work, and am thinking of starting a 80l birdwatchers brew in my 100l tank. leaving it a few days, then stirring and offloading to the 20L bottles for the rest of fermentation.
The question i have is, the detergent bottles ( plastic type HDPE-4) have been washed out with 80dc water and then soaked for a few days in cold. but they still have a very powerful lemon detergent smell.
would they be alright to use or would the smell or whats making it still get to the brew?

cheers.

[Mud Mechanik]

Would you drink the water that is soaking in them?

[beefbandit]

i did think of that and did taste it. It didn't taste lemony. would the lemon get into the brew tho?

[Mud Mechanik]

It's not the lemon flavor that I would be worried about....it's the detergent.

[beefbandit]

ok so the plastic might still have the detergent chemicals in it that might leach out? if so is there a way to get rid of the chemicals or should i just burn the barrels.

[Mud Mechanik]

I would not use them.

[Dnderhead]

rinsed out good detergent shuld not hurt,,i use it all the time to wash things,,

[Prairiepiss]

I personaly wouldn't use them. I have a 15 gal drum that held Dr Pepper syrup. I've been using it for quite a while now. And the smell and taste still comes through.

[Bushman]

I personaly wouldn't use them. I have a 15 gal drum that held Dr Pepper syrup. I've been using it for quite a while now. And the smell and taste still comes through.

It is amazing how many different things bring flavor through both wanted and unwanted.

[Durace11]

Fermenting wash is more acidic then water so likely you will get some leeching of the product when fermention is going on. Try finding buckets from a bakery that are FOOD GRADE, typically used to hold frosting or baking molasses. You can usually get a few of them cheap or free by asking.

[beefbandit]

sweet will put barrels in the back of the garage and see if time gets ride of the nastys . if not ill throw em away. I could just leave the brew in the original fermenting barrel for the whole process anyway.

cheers

[kobold]

how about rinsing with white vinegar?

[cornsqueezer]

+1 Dnderhead

rinsed out good detergent shuld not hurt,,i use it all the time to wash things,,

If after you rinse and dry them out put the lid on them and after a couple days open and smell. if it smells like detergent then don't use, but if it smells OK then I would say they are fine to use. I do agree if any trace of detergent is in the containers it will carry over in your wash/product.

[Dnderhead]

at lest in US all detergents has to be biodegradable,,this means that yeast can use them.the problem whould be the added perfume.some is even high in phosphats.posably after rinsing good use for a disposable fremont such as cleaning run?.

[rad14701]

All detergents are not created equal... Was this dish washing detergent, laundry detergent, or an industrial detergent...??? What gets absorbed onto the plastic and then leaches out may or may not be safe... Use your own judgement and be prepared to live, or die, with the possible consequences... Doesn't get much simpler than that...

[beefbandit]

yip white vinegar kind of did it. Put a few glugs of white vinegar in them and filled with water. left them for a few days then washed with hot water, No lemony smell. They do smell like vinegar now tho . I think the plastic just takes on the smell and maybe chemicals of anything in it. The question now is would vinegar smell and or chemicals harm my mash?

also it was normal biodegradable lemon detergent.

[kobold]

yip white vinegar kind of did it. Put a few glugs of white vinegar in them and filled with water. left them for a few days then washed with hot water, No lemony smell. They do smell like vinegar now tho . I think the plastic just takes on the smell and maybe chemicals of anything in it. The question now is would vinegar smell and or chemicals harm my mash?

also it was normal biodegradable lemon detergent.

rinse it with preferably hot water and let it dry and air out.. i don't think there will be much smell left or that it will transfer. vinegar is less offensive than detergent imo.

[Dnderhead]

i use sodium/potasium hydroxide ..cleans/removes all..but you do have to be careful.