# Cleaning residue in used 5 Gallon Bakery Buckets



## B2bKen (Aug 12, 2002)

I have been gathering up 5 gallon buckets from my local grocery (bakery department) for over a year. I have been using them for container gardening and long term food storage. But... Been having a heck of a time cleaning out the sugary icing. Been using detergent, pinesol, etc. Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean and cut this greasy like icing so I can get the buckets clean?
Thanks
Ken


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

Dawn dishwashing soap cuts just about every substance known to man. I used it to clean out a bucket that had peanut butter in it, and it all came out. I soaked the bucket with hot soapy water first, then scrubbed it out with Dawn on a scrubbie sponge.


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## SJSFarm (Jun 13, 2012)

Id sure as heck stay away from that bakery! If what they are using sticks that well.
I just use hot water to melt the fat then dawn and a kitchen scrubber.


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## Ohio dreamer (Apr 6, 2006)

Do the walls feel a bit greasy after you wash all the sugar out? If that's the problem and you have used a good kitchen detergent that cut grease, then it's clean. The "slickery" felling on the walls of the plastic is a characteristic of the plastic....so the sticky stuff slides out better. Now, if you run your fingernail along the wall and get a residue....that's not the plastic, but a greasy mess. Add some white vinegar to your Dawn dish soap and scrub again.


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## Kristinemomof3 (Sep 17, 2012)

I get bakery buckets as well and Dawn cleans them out. Sometimes we even get leftover frosting out of them.


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## DarleneJ (Jan 29, 2012)

I wash mine by hand then stick in the dishwasher. On the 5 gal buckets I have to take the top rack out. I fill it with as much other stuff as I can along with one or two buckets at the most and run.

For hand washing, dawn and hot water is the key.

So glad we don't eat the crud that comes in those buckets, no matter how the bakery tries to pass it off as food.


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## puddlejumper007 (Jan 12, 2008)

dawn it is, they used that to clean up the wild life that got in the oil spill


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Dawn and really hot water.
And yes.. the inside of the buckets is going to be a bit more slickery, just like Ohio Dreamer said.


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## elkhound (May 30, 2006)

Dawn is a must prep item .


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## Ozarks Tom (May 27, 2011)

I'd try TSP. It cuts oily/greasy residue. We also add a little to our washing machine since the EPA regulated phosphates out of detergents. You can get TSP at the big box stores in their paint departments. It's in the solvent, paint thinner area. Use gloves.


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## B2bKen (Aug 12, 2002)

Thanks everyone!!! I was washing them out with my homemade laundry detergent, and it did not cut the sugary grease. Tried dawn yesterday, and it was a miracle! I will certainly add dawn to my preps. Thanks, Ken

Sent from my BNTV600 using Homesteading Today mobile app


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## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

A little off topic, but Dawn also makes a product called Dawn Power Dissolver and I have lots of it stocked up. (buy it from an office or restaurant supply company in bigger bottles, less expensive) It works miracles on burnt, greasy, yucky grills, stoves, or anything else that needs need cleaning without a lot of scrubbing. Our gas grill stopped getting hot enough a few weeks ago, and I discovered that inner parts had gotten clogged with dripped BBQ sauce and meat juices. I sprayed the inside while it was a little warm, waited 30 minutes, then just hosed off most of the junk. I sprayed the really stubborn parts again, then used a wire brush and it looks new again!

http://www.dawn-dish.com/us/dawn/product/037000006329


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## maude73529 (May 10, 2002)

I just set mine out side and the ants and bees clean it for me. Then I take it in the house wash, rinse and dry.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I use Ajax dish soap. Works just fine. I can't stand the smell of Dawn.


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## ldc (Oct 11, 2006)

I do the-almost-boiling water cure!


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## GoldenCityMuse (Apr 15, 2009)

Kerosene, gasoline, acetone, MEK........ and a match!

Well, not really.

Ammonia is supposed to really cut grease.


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