How to clean oil out of containers

Widgeon

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We buy linseed oil in 25L containers and split the cost - it's the cheapest way to get a good quality product. The plastic jerry cans the oil comes in would be really useful as water carriers if only I could get the oil out! I have tried a couple of methods but it hasn't worked and there's still an oily residue in the containers. Any brilliant ideas for removing it? Scrubbing is not an option as they're big containers with a relatively narrow screw cap.
 

Widgeon

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Have you tried fairy and a toilet brush?
Yes I tried that, it helped a bit but not much - the container's too big to get to most of it to scrub - I'd need an 18 inch long brush, and a toilet brush wouldn't fit through the cap. I guess I could adapt some kind of extra long loo style scrubber.....
 

meleeka

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I’d just keep filling and emptying until the oil has gone and then soak with a Milton tablet. Be careful when using detergent. I had one that got mild colic when I did this many years ago. Linseed oil won’t harm them, but detergent might.
 

Honey08

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Warm it up so the oil is as liquid as possible- pour as much as possible out. Then fill 1/4 of the tub with hot water and loads of fairy liquid. Shake it like crazy, pour out, repeat. Do it several times. Rinse loads.
 

HorsesRule2009

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I would think fairy/dish soap and hot water and shake.
Could possibly by a small bag of cheap rice and add in (raw) it will mean it is slightly abrasive when you shake
 

Hackback

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You probably need to use the fairy neat without water initially to break down the oil, difficult though when it's on the inside of a container. I'm interested to know if the coke idea works!
 

Goldenstar

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Milton won’t help .
Fairy is your best bet it’s a good degreaser use really hot water and rinse with hot .
dishing washing tablets , you would need so many I suspect it would be cheaper to buy containers .
get the containers warm before you start with the water .
It will be hard going they make varnish out of linseed oil for a reason .
 
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