Getting rid of rubber smell from feedbowls

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tiggs

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I have bought a new rubber feedbowl and can't get rid of the rubbery smell. It has been in the garden for two weeks and I have just brought it in because of the storms tonight and it still smells strongly of rubber. I was going to use it to put all my horses Christmas presents in but he won't eat from it if it smells so strong. Any tips for getting rid of the smell?
 
I bought new ones recently. I did like you, I left them out in the rain for a week or so, scrubbed them with washing up liquid and a brush a couple of times and left them again. Mine weren't that bothered by the smell though (but I wanted to be sure). If he's still fussy, perhaps make a feed with sugar beet or molasses and rub it around the bucket, leaving it overnight, then tip it away, brush the bucket out slightly (not washing) and put his normal feed in it.
 
Thanks, I have left it soaking overnight with washing powder and a splash of white vinegar then will put it outside again in the morning. I think this must be a different make as I have always used rubber feed bowls and they have never smelled as strong. I did look at the tub trugs but I think he would wreck them.
 
Yes I've used them for years but noticed the smell more this time (and the label inside was hard to remove too!). I'm not a tub trug fan in general. They don't last half as long.
 
Am I correct you are going to all this trouble before you even try to use it. how do you know he will have an issue . If he did ,hunger usually does the trick.
 
I had the same trouble - neither the 2 yr old nor the 4 yr old would eat from it - solved the problem by feeding the starved (in her opinion) pony out of it for a week or so till the smell had gone!! Not that's of any help to you, but as suggested already, maybe try leaving some feed in it for a while & see if that helps get rid of the pong!!
 
popsdosh said:
Am I correct you are going to all this trouble before you even try to use it. how do you know he will have an issue . If he did ,hunger usually does the trick.
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I have never bothered before but this smelled so strong I couldn't bear to have it in the house and he is very sensitive to smell.
 
I hate these things, too heavy and not easy to carry with one hand. I shared my yard for a couple of years with someone who used these, I'd pinched the handles together to carry with one hand (had my horse's feed in the other) and it flicked out of my hand and the feed went everywhere! At that point I'd had enough so bought my yard mate's horse a Gorilla trug as a gift. The other plus point was he wasn't able to shove all the food out of it like he could the rubber bowl. She took the trug I bought with her when she moved out - converted!
 
Those huge things made out of an inside out car tire? Great in theory but a pain in the neck in practice: the pong never leaves them, they are difficult to fling about when being cleaned, and who wants to eat out of something that smells like rubber?

I like trugs though. You can choose the size and colour that you like, load it up at home, take it to the tap when you get to the paddock, add water (never from the hose though because who wants to eat feed that tastes like hose?) and voila.
 
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