Safe way to degrease clean water containers

[ltkenbo]

I work at a restaurant and today when I was leaving I noticed a big 5 gallon jug in the back to be thrown away just like fish stores commonly keep water in. I asked the cook what they were for and he told me that it was a container for the vegetable oil they use for cooking and since they thrown them away once the oil is used up I took it cause if I could clean it it would make a great container for storing saltwater. Anyways, I want to make sure I get all the oil out. I have rinsed it out several times with hot water but there is still a thin layer of vegetable oil left on the walls of the container. What would be a safe non-toxic solution to cleaning this off? I suppose salt water itself might help.

 

[Bifferwine]

Try vinegar. You can dilute out vinegar in some water (I usually do a 50/50 mix) and let it soak overnight.

 

[daugherty]

i would use a strong vinager mix let it soak then do a few more times to try and clean it out

 

[ltkenbo]

Allright cool, thanks guys.

 

[dcantucson]

This may sound strange but you can also pour a couple of cups of clay cat litter or sand and shake it all around inside. The clay or sand will absorb a lot of the oil. Let it set a day or two and then rinse it out. After that, do the vinegar treatment as Biff and James suggested. I used to do restaurant work and those oil container make great water jugs.