5 gallon plastic bucket residual smell

[Johnjenner]

I’m just getting started this year and I want to use 5 gallon bucket’s and have tubing run into them. My concern is a lot of the buckets I’m finding have been used for various processes that have a strong smell. I.e. pickles barbecue sauce etc. if I clean the buckets well do I need to worry about this or not?

[Biz]

You are better off getting some new food grade 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot, Lowes, etc. They can be ordered online too.

[Kbrooks80]

Take the bucket out to your garden. Fill it with dirt and leave it for 2 weeks. Then empty and clean the bucket, the smell will be gone.

[buckeye gold]

I agree get new food grade buckets from Lowes or home depot. They are not that expensive, link below

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Encore-Plastics-5-Gallon-Commercial-Food-Grade-Bucket/3694238

[johnallin]

Do you have a donut shop nearby?
That’s a great source for food grade buckets.

[sap retreiver]

Or a bakery like Sam's club. Their icing buckets wash very easily

[Z/MAN]

I agree bakery icing buckets work great and around here they are free.

[jetdoc]

We order our food grade buckets from US Plastics in Lima Ohio.
www.usplastics.com

[SeanD]

I also hit up bakeries for buckets when I need them. Sometimes they are rinsed out, sometimes not. Curiously, no matter how sweet or fruity the original contents, there is no residual flavor or odor in the sap. I might think twice about pickles or bbq sauce, but who knows? You could try one test bucket and see what happens.

[johnallin]

The local donut shop I get mine from has always had them cleaned out. Little, if any, odor in them at all. I rinse a few times and we're good to go. They're happy to get rid of them, and charge $1 ea with lids...or take syrup in trade.