Two dirty barrels of pure...

A while back i bought a used water tank, RO unit and two barrels from a windy who was giving up - only a young lad, he'd decided he'd rather take employment doing something else.. fair enough.

Anyway both barrels are white, look a bit dirty and have a couple of orange stains - like a nail has rusted over them or something.

Recently filled up from spotless (free credit) and figured I'd fill these two up as well - make the most of it as they say. Anyway.. one stinks of paraffin.  The other seems okay.

At first i thought the paraffin smell was a bi product of the barrel being manufactured but now i'm not so sure as even full of pure, it stinks.

Am I wasting my time keeping them both sat here full? - should i use or dispose?

Cheers

You have wasted more time writing this post about that issue ? on serious note if unsure don’t use ?

 Test the water with a TDS and see if it's useable. You should of given them a good wash out prior to using them. The smell will lift over time if there constantly used. 

Just go on Gumtree and buy some of a car wash there only a quid a 25l container. 

I got some used ones from eBay which had balsamic vinegar in them before, good wash out with pure, then drained and filled again they are fine, even with a hint of fish and chips ? 

I think your title is a contradiction in terms “two dirty barrels of pure”” pure water cannot be dirty by its nature . 

Any container that has had paraffin or any similar product in it unless steam cleaned with detergent isn’t suitable for pure water , the barrels only cost around £5 new just buy a couple and you won’t have any problem , if you have to use second hand only use something that has had water soluble contents in it ,like washing up liquid, concentrated orange juice etc ,theses can be used safely knowing there won’t be a problem .

just buy a few new barrels.....their not expensive.......some window cleaners really dont like spending money do they??

Okay thanks guys, I'll just empty the suckers and be done with it. I was just trying to get the most free pure i could when i had a free fill from spotless lol. I'd have obviously preferred to fill the 250L tank I got but no way of getting it there... or back lol so figured i'd get an extra 50L in the two barrels.

Cost of barrels isn't really an issue for me - I'm not scrimping, I just didn't have much notice to find anymore lol. I keep meaning to order in some 10L barrels to replace the 25L menaces...

if you see yourself using 25l containers for the foreseeable future then just buy them new. 

you can get 4 for about £20 on eBay.