i'm not sure if this is the best place to ask this question, if not please let me know a better place. I just purchased a very cheap 300 gallon water tank. It was cheap due to the fact that they stored Canola oil in it, and didn't clean it. They recommended a de-greaser along with a high powered water sprayer. Before I try it, I wanted to see if anyone had any advice on cleaning it, if a de-greaser is the best route, how much I need to use, or any other advice.
Also, my mom said if I don't get all the Canola oil out, it never spoils and it wouldn't kill us to drink if there was a disaster and we HAD to drink it to survive. Is this true? Thanks in advance.
Edit: We will be storing water in it as emergency water, and it is plastic, i'll attach a picture.
Best Answer
Hot water (how hot would depend on the type of plastic - at least warm, to start with) and baking soda (bicarbonate of soda.) Let stand (or agitate, if you want) for 24-48 hours, repeat as needed.
If you can source food-grade lye and are aware of and able to take appropriate precautions for handling it, it would work a bit faster, but in both cases you are using an alkali (mild or strong) and that will saponify (turn to soap) the residual oil. Baking soda is cheap, safe to handle, and easy to get as a food-grade item.