is this barrel safe to use?

[rbeau30]

A quick search on Wikipedia turns this up.

Sodium hypochlorite is a chemical compound with the formula NaClO. Sodium hypochlorite solution, commonly known as bleach, is frequently used as a disinfectant or a bleaching agent.

Household bleach sold for use in laundering clothes is a 3-6% solution of sodium hypochlorite at the time of manufacture. Strength varies from one formulation to another and gradually decreases with long storage.

Household bleach is, in general, a solution containing 4-6% sodium hypochlorite and 0.01-0.05% sodium hydroxide; the sodium hydroxide is used to delay the breakdown of sodium hypochlorite into sodium chloride and sodium chlorate.[4]

I would say if you clean them before using them as storage... knowing that using an ammonia type cleaner on these barrels could possibly KILL you if there is any Bleach residue on the barrels.

[Dr_Fwd]

No, it's Not safe.

[rbeau30]

No, it's Not safe.

Exactly, I guess what I was getting at is if 3-6% of a solution is BAD, then a whole barrel of potentially 100% solution is really bad. Some of it has got to be left in the barrel...

[Fromk]

I don't think a used container of ANY kind is good for storing water unless you know 100% that it was used for just that before you got it. It's not worth the risk.

[KevDen2005]

I wouldn't store any type of drinking water in a container that used to contain poison

[sbgixxer]

I am a Water Treatment Operator and Sodium Hypochlorite is what water treatment plants use to disinfect water. So although I wouldn't want to drink it in it's concentrated form, it's already in the water that comes out of your tap. If you wash 'em out, you should be fine. After you fill it up with water, you can test it for cl2 residual. If it's too high then maybe it's not a good idea but I'd bet that you'd find very little in there after a few rinsing cycles. The water that goes out of our plants has a residual free chlorine of between 2.0ppm - 2.5ppm. You would be safe with a little more but use that as a benchmark.

[thvigil11]

I am a Water Treatment Operator and Sodium Hypochlorite is what water treatment plants use to disinfect water. So although I wouldn't want to drink it in it's concentrated form, it's already in the water that comes out of your tap. If you wash 'em out, you should be fine. After you fill it up with water, you can test it for cl2 residual. If it's too high then maybe it's not a good idea but I'd bet that you'd find very little in there after a few rinsing cycles. The water that goes out of our plants has a residual free chlorine of between 2.0ppm - 2.5ppm. You would be safe with a little more but use that as a benchmark.

+1

My dad is also a water operator. I have used many five gallon buckets from him for long term supply storage. A little rinse, and its good to go. Same stuff that's in your tap water.