If you got a barrel (or bought a barrel of fuel and lubricants on the cheap) and you want to keep it on the farm.
Usually they want to use such barrels as a container for water, but at the same time it is necessary to somehow completely clean the internal container of the iron barrel from all foreign substances.
Cleaning fuel barrels
First of all, it’s worth finding out what this “fuel and lubricant” is.
Fuel and lubricants are fuels and lubricants; a synonym for this abbreviation is the word “petroleum products”.
Fuel and lubricants include flammable products and lubricants (which are more often used in the automotive industry).
Combustibles (or, more simply, fuels) can be divided into:
Gasoline, Diesel fuel (diesel); Combustible gases are also classified as fuel (but they are not relevant here). In turn, lubricants are divided into:
Engine oil; Transmission oil; Special purpose oil; Grease.
Cleaning barrels from oil products
Typically, oil product barrels are cleaned by steaming and washing.
How to do it? Quite simple, but this method is quite dangerous and requires caution.
Install 2 support walls from bricks, place a barrel on them (there will be a fire under the barrel). Fill the barrel with a sufficient amount of water (the water should boil for a long time). There is no need to close the plug. When the water boils, steam will accumulate in it and thanks to it, the fuel oil (or other substance) will simply flow into the water. You can only cover it with a stopper (just cover it, not screw it in) after the water has boiled and is gradually cooling down. Wait until the barrel cools down. Take the cooled barrel and pour dirty water into the container. If you are not satisfied with the result, repeat the process (usually once is not enough to clean the surface thoroughly). Now it’s worth considering substances and preparations that will help clean the barrel.
Caustic soda - which can be added to water.
UPTS -2002 is a substance that effectively washes off and degreases containers at temperatures from 30 to 50 (the temperature of water in a barrel). It also acts as a solvent for oil, lubricants and other substances.
SOFEX-TMS-2001 is a general-purpose detergent, divided into several brands, but for cleaning containers from traces of petroleum products it is better to use grade B.
Cleaning barrels of oil, gasoline and diesel fuel using improvised methods
Most often, diesel fuel and oil are cleaned with gasoline (and then the smell of gasoline is removed).
The gasoline itself is usually washed off with plenty of water.
Method 1 – Fill the oil barrel with sand (you can use biscuits, sawdust) so that it absorbs the oil, then rinse with a stream of water. Then pour water and a little fairy and wash thoroughly. Rinse with water (although with the bottom method a small amount of oil remains).
Method 2 – Wash oil barrels with soapy water, followed by rinsing with water; it’s a bit unsuitable for water, but just right for compost.
Method 3 – Cut off the top lid of an oil barrel and put some firewood inside (you can use branches of medium thickness). Set the branches on fire - the fire will remove all traces of oil. After this we have a hot barrel - we need to wait until it cools down.
Now we have a barrel that is clean of oil, but now we have a barrel that, without additional coating and care, will soon turn into a rusty barrel. Take a kilogram of cement and mix it with 0.5 liters of milk. Cover the inner surface with the resulting mixture and leave to dry for a couple of days.
To improve the quality, you can paint the top of this mixture with water-dispersion paint, although without it you will already have a high-quality, clean water barrel.
Method 4 – First, wipe with newspapers (or rags) and then wash with soapy water.
After such simple operations, we get a barrel that can be used on the farm to suit your needs. Well, a bonus can be the fact that you save a lot on this if you bought a used barrel, not new, clean
Cleaning diesel fuel barrels. How easy is it to clean a barrel?
How to clean plastic barrels
What happens if you throw fireworks into a diesel fuel barrel?
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Special formulations
There are products on sale that can be used to remove the smell of diesel fuel from many surfaces. They vary depending on the material from which the product is made. Compositions with maximum effectiveness:
OdorGone Professional
This universal spray is suitable for treating:
- hard and soft surfaces,
- bags,
- of things,
- clothes and premises.
Before using it, initial cleaning is required using a soap solution. When the product dries, the composition is sprayed onto it.
To prevent it from weathering, the item is covered with film or placed in a case for up to 8-12 hours. Price – 815 rubles.
Borger Gut Duft
This is an effective odor remover for cars . The finished solution can be used to treat:
- seats,
- upholstery,
- salon,
- air conditioning systems.
What to add to the septic tank to prevent it from smelling: a review of basic equipment
It is not always possible to eliminate the smell by pumping or cleaning, so many people are wondering what to add to the septic tank to stop the smell. Sometimes it is enough to eliminate damage or identified design flaws, but more often it is impossible to do without biological or chemical drugs.
Also, before buying this or that product, it is necessary to identify the cause of the unpleasant odor. There is also a difference between cesspool septic tanks and conventional ones. In our article we will tell you what means you can use to get rid of the smell and what to do to minimize the risk of its occurrence.
Waste disposal
The collected substances can be disposed of or processed to extract a useful petroleum product (its content usually does not exceed 50% of the collection volume). In any case, before destruction and cleaning, the resulting mass is kept in temporary storage facilities (settlements). The mass travels from the settling tank to the landfill of the recycling station or processing site in a tanker truck, a sludge container or a vacuum machine. The choice of method for transporting the spent product is agreed upon in advance by the cleanup plan.
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How to clean diesel fuel from the floor. How to wash diesel fuel from clothes
There are a lot of special products for cleaning diesel fuel that will deal with the problem quickly and efficiently, but they are usually not on hand and are not cheap. Others are found in almost every home, in the kitchen or in the medicine cabinet, and sometimes are not much inferior to the products of famous brands. Let's look at some of them.
- Salt. This food product is found in almost every kitchen and, in addition to its well-known culinary qualities, it also has remarkable cleaning properties. These properties can fully manifest themselves if the stain is fresh.
- Petrol. You can clean many different stains with gasoline, but you should be careful - not every material can survive such cleaning without consequences. And most importantly: you should not use gasoline that is sold at gas stations.
- Stain remover. This product is somewhat less common, but a good housewife should have it without fail. Its very name gives us hope that it will not be difficult to remove the stain with its help. But the effectiveness of such products largely depends on the brand, or rather on the price.
- Hydrogen peroxide. A medical product that, in addition to its antiseptic properties, can save from aromatic dark brown traces of diesel fuel.
- Dish gel. Just like salt, it should be in every kitchen. It's no secret that its functions are far from limited to washing dishes. They can also wash floors and tiled walls, clean kitchen appliances, and they can also remove diesel stains.
- Laundry soap. A truly universal detergent, and also the most environmentally friendly.
- Baking soda. Baking soda's alkaline properties are especially noticeable when combined with other cleaning ingredients, such as soap or dish detergent.
- Sunflower oil. It would seem that this product leaves stains, which sometimes require considerable effort to get rid of. But, if you apply the right approach, it turns out that this is a fairly effective remedy in the fight against old traces of diesel fuel.
- Ammonia. A medicinal product with outstanding cleansing properties, especially when used in combination.
Video material
Use our recommendations and advice and used barrels will be useful to you again on the farm. And as a bonus, you can use those unspent funds that you could use to purchase new water tanks for useful and pleasant things for yourself. Good luck!
To clean the container from gasoline, you can use a soap solution. It is highly desirable that the water be running. If you need to clean a 200 liter drum, you will need a hose connected to the water supply. This is not an easy job and it will not be possible to rinse the container in 1-2 times. You will need a large amount of water, soap, and rags. Dishwashing detergents are also effective in this matter. If it is possible to use hot water, the process of washing the barrel will be faster.
Another way to clean gasoline from a container is to use kerosene. It is capable of corroding most petroleum products, including gasoline and motor oil. To do this, dip a rag in kerosene and carefully wipe the bottom and walls of the barrel with it. The procedure is repeated several times. Then cold water is poured into the container, baking soda is added and left for several days. After which the barrel is thoroughly washed with running water.
How to clean gasoline from diesel fuel.
- The best cleaning solution is solarium sediment, it lasts 2-3 weeks and it’s clean as a tear!
For those who have the opportunity to install a barrel in the garage, there is no better method than this, except for centrifugation. At the same time, 2-3 weeks is clearly too much. 5-7 days is enough. The fact that after 5 days remains in suspension will not harm anything. And any filters here are just extra money and hassle. According to the mind, it’s done like this: two barrels. The taps are embedded 10-15 centimeters above the bottom. This height is needed so that the movement of the outflowing flow does not raise turbidity from the bottom. At the very bottom there are also taps for draining shit. Barrels must have lids or stoppers. We fill the barrels and let them sit for a week. Next, we begin to use diesel fuel through the top tap. You can extend the hose directly to the machine, or you can pour it into buckets/canisters. When we use up the first barrel, we begin to use up the second, and immediately add diesel fuel to the first one to the top, without worrying that the dregs from the bottom will mix with fresh diesel fuel - everything will settle. Depending on the quality of diesel fuel, you can top up the barrel from 2 to 50 times. Then we drain the sediment and all the crap through the bottom tap and pass it through the filter. And not necessarily even through a diesel filter. Can be done through coffee maker filters. Water, of course, will pass through it, but sand will not. Then you can carefully drain the top layer of fuel and only water and half a liter of fuel will remain in the bucket, which can be used for kindling. The settled and filtered fuel is again poured into a common barrel for general sediment. The total fuel loss will be within 1 liter per 200-400 liters of fuel. And if the diesel fuel is good, then everything will work out quite economically. The most important thing is that there is practically no need to spend any time on maintenance. Fill it up and use it. Well, once every 2-4 months, start filtering the sludge. Particularly harmful and restless ones can do centrifugal cleaning, which will clean the barrel in about five minutes. But this is a separate topic.
Causes of unpleasant odor from a septic tank
It has been absolutely proven that there are 3 reasons for the appearance of an unpleasant odor. Let's talk about each in detail.
The first reason is that the septic tank was installed incorrectly. What does it mean:
- No ventilation holes
. Quite quickly, a bad smell begins to come out of the septic tank if the device was installed incorrectly. This is due to the insufficient number of holes in the drainage field and the design of the cleaning system itself. - The drain pipe is missing
. According to accepted standards, in houses no higher than 2 floors, when installing a sewer system, it is allowed to install a check valve instead of a drain pipe. Each homeowner independently determines what is best suited for his cottage. But there is an important addition: the absence of a vent riser can negatively affect the pressure when filling sewer pipes, which will lead to damage to the water seals.
There are two more reasons:
- There are no siphons.
- There is mechanical damage to the pipes.
Also, the cause of the unpleasant odor may be a manufacturing defect in the septic tank.
Warranty obligations do not apply to products that were installed by persons other than professional workers. Self-installation is often resorted to in order to save money, but in the event of a defect, repairs will be carried out at your own expense. What should you do first if you notice a bad smell coming from your septic tank?
To determine the cause of unpleasant odors, you should analyze:
- When was the last time the septic tank was cleaned? An unpleasant odor and cloudy sewage indicate siltation in the chamber. It is necessary to promptly remove solid sediment from the septic tank.
- Is there a ventilation pipe equipped to remove air from the cesspool?
- Is there any mechanical damage to the sewer pipes (cracks, leaks, etc.). If the cracks are small, then it is practically impossible to notice them; they do not allow water to pass through, but an odor may appear.
- Have harmful chemicals such as chlorine, manganese oxide, acids, disinfectants and medications entered the sewer along with the water? Bacteria that process organic substances die when interacting with aggressive compounds.
- Whether more than normal cleaning agents have been used or drained. They produce a large amount of foam, which negatively affects the functioning of microorganisms.
- Is there a regulator for the supply of oxygen to the septic tank (if there is an aerator). If there is little oxygen entering the chamber, the bacteria die.
- Was the power supply interrupted for more than 4 hours? Without oxygen, aerobic bacteria live no more than 4–6 hours. If this happens, new bacteria will need to be colonized, and it takes 20 days for them to multiply.
- How long ago did the colonies of bacteria in the chambers resume? For the septic tank to function properly, it is necessary to maintain the optimal number of microorganisms.
- Is the compressor operating correctly and is the perforated pipe through which oxygen flows damaged? If there are disturbances in the operation of the device, air is supplied intermittently, this also leads to the death of bacteria.
- Has any solid waste, such as paper, plastic bags, or vegetable peelings, gotten into the drain? This could cause the filter or overflow pipes to become clogged, causing damage and causing the system to not function.
If the smell appears due to the septic tank itself, then you should pay attention to the following points. A large amount of sludge is the main cause of the problem.
Silt very often builds up where the cesspool is rarely cleaned or used incorrectly. It appears on the bottom and walls of the septic tank. The sludge gives off a foul odor, but an abundant amount of contaminants leads to overflow of the purification chambers and the release of sewage to the outside.
Siltation is indicated not only by a bad smell, but also by difficulties with flushing water into the sewer and the flow of wastewater from the septic tank to the surface.
Perhaps the cleaning system for the home was chosen incorrectly from the very beginning, or it became unusable over time. Therefore, the drainage pit fills up faster and the filter system cannot cope with the load.
In this case, you will need to replace the septic tank and re-equip the treatment station. To avoid such mistakes, you should calculate in advance how much cesspool volume is required for your needs.
Methods for removing petroleum residues
Typically, containers where petroleum products were stored are cleaned using the following methods:
Such methods are quite dangerous and require special caution. Proceed as follows:
- Install support walls from bricks. There should be two of them.
- Place a metal barrel on the supports.
- Fill the tank with enough water.
- Build a fire under the barrel.
- There is no need to close the cap of the container.
- The water must boil for a long time so that enough steam accumulates in the barrel.
- The remaining oil products, thanks to the steam, will flow into the water.
- After the water boils and begins to cool, cover the barrel with a stopper, but do not tighten it.
- Leave the tank to cool.
- Empty the dirty water from the barrel.
- Repeat the whole process one more time if you are not satisfied with the result.
Aids
To make the cleaning process more effective, use the following preparations and substances:
- Caustic soda. This product can be added to the water during steaming and washing to quickly wash a plastic barrel of chemicals.
- UPTS-2002. The drug effectively degreases and removes residual petroleum products at a temperature of 30 to 50 degrees of water in a barrel. The product can also be used as a solvent for oil, lubricants, and other similar materials.
- SOFEX-TMS-2001. This product is a general purpose cleaning product. It can also be used to clean containers of petroleum product residues under brand B. This detergent has several brands for different purposes and materials.
Old pollution
To remove a large stain or a small contaminated area, you can use not only modern chemical products. The tools available in most farms will provide a good service.
Turpentine, kerosene or refined gasoline
These 3 substances are guaranteed to save you from having to throw away things soiled with diesel fuel. Apply one of the products to a sponge or cloth and wipe the stain thoroughly.
Expert opinion
Natalya Osadchaya
Before using turpentine, kerosene or gasoline (use only purified gasoline!), test it on a hidden area of the fabric. Each of these substances can disturb the color of the fibers. Consequently, you risk getting a damaged item instead of a cleaned stain.
Helpful information
Tips for eliminating the smell of diesel fuel or gasoline from various surfaces:
- The longer you soak the item, the better.
- Clothes should be washed in hot water.
- Washed items must be rinsed by changing the water 2-3 times.
- Treated products must be dried outside or in a room with good air circulation.
- The faster you take measures to eliminate the unpleasant odor, the easier it is to get rid of it.
You will find a lot of useful and important information about removing various unpleasant odors from objects and surfaces in this section.
Prevention and recommendations for caring for a septic tank
To prevent the appearance of unpleasant odors from a cesspool in a country house in advance, you should take the following steps:
- When choosing a septic tank, give preference to a larger volume, this is better than choosing a small one and experiencing problems due to an overfilled tank.
- Carefully approach the choice of bacteria for the cesspool (the simplest option is anaerobic microorganisms that do not require an influx of fresh air).
- Regular maintenance and cleaning of the storage chamber will help prevent the appearance of bad odors.
- When purchasing a septic tank, you should check the tightness, absence of damage to parts, and the material from which the device is made. How long it will last depends on the quality of workmanship.
Here are the recommendations of country house owners for eliminating unpleasant odors, which are worth listening to:
- When cleaning septic tanks, you need to pay attention to your own protection. Glasses, a respirator, rubber gloves, boots, a rubber apron, and an old robe will help protect yourself from getting toxic substances on your skin and mucous membranes.
- It is recommended to pump out the remaining liquid after cleaning the septic tank using a conventional pump. In this case, it is not worth risking the filter; it can easily become clogged.
- Waste from cesspools should not be poured onto the soil, as this pollutes the environment. They must be collected in plastic barrels and taken to a special waste recycling point.
You should strictly follow all recommendations for the operation of the septic tank, prescribed in its instructions by the manufacturer, this will help to avoid many problems.