Before you start: three things to establish
Cleaning a container you do not have information about is how people get hurt. Three questions come first, every time, and none of them takes long.
- What was in it? Get the label, the safety data sheet or a written statement from whoever had it. If nobody can tell you, do not open it and do not clean it — send it for recycling instead.
- Is it compatible with what you plan to clean it with? Caustic and aluminium fittings do not mix. Chlorine and ammonia residue produce chloramine gas. Acid and carbonate residue foam violently.
- Where is the rinse water going? In California, discharging product-contaminated wash water to a storm drain is a permitting problem with real consequences. Plan the containment before the first drop.
Stop conditions
What you need
- Pressure washer2,000–3,000 psi, hot water preferred
- Rotating tote nozzleSpinner head on an extension wand
- Alkaline detergentCaustic-based, food-safe if applicable
- Water temperature140–160 °F for fats and oils
- ContainmentBunded area or a catch basin
- PPEChemical goggles, gauntlets, apron, boots
- New gasketEPDM, one per outlet — always replace
- Sanitiser (if potable)Unscented chlorine bleach or PAA
- pH stripsTo confirm the final rinse is neutral
- Time45–70 minutes per container, realistically
The procedure, step by step
Drain completely and vent
Open the outlet, drain into containment, then remove the lid to break the vacuum. Let it drain fully — residual heel in the sump is where most of the contamination lives.
Pre-rinse, cold
One fill-and-drain of cold water through the lid with a spinner nozzle. This removes the bulk and, importantly, prevents heat from baking sugars and proteins onto the wall in the next stage.
Hot alkaline cycle
Fill to roughly a quarter with hot water at 140–160 °F plus alkaline detergent per its dilution rate. Cap the lid, then rock the container on a forklift or roll it if empty enough. Let it dwell 15 minutes. This is where fats saponify — heat and time do the work, not pressure.
Pressure wash the interior
Spinner nozzle through the 6-inch lid opening, working the corners and the shoulders where residue concentrates. Two to four minutes of actual gun time is plenty; longer just uses water.
Rinse one
Full fill-and-drain with fresh water. Drain through the outlet so the valve and outlet throat get flushed too — a surprising amount of residue hides there.
Rinse two
Repeat. Concentration is now roughly a hundredth of where it started if each rinse was a genuine full fill.
Rinse three and pH check
Repeat once more and test the drain water with a pH strip. Neutral means the alkaline detergent is gone. Anything above 8.5 means you rinse again.
Sanitise, if it is going near food or water
Fill with a chlorine solution at roughly 100–200 ppm, dwell 10 minutes, drain and rinse with potable water until you cannot smell chlorine. Peracetic acid at label strength is the alternative and rinses more cleanly.
Replace the gasket, inspect, dry
New EPDM gasket on the outlet — always, it is a six dollar part. Inspect the interior with a light for crazing while it is clean and wet, which is when it shows best. Air dry with the lid off, under cover, never in direct sun.
Matching the chemistry to the residue
| Residue | Use | Temperature | Dwell | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sugars, syrups, juice | Hot water alone | 140 °F | 10 min | Detergent rarely needed |
| Fats, oils, waxes | Alkaline caustic | 160 °F | 15–20 min | Heat is doing the work, not pressure |
| Proteins (egg, dairy) | Alkaline, then acid | 140 °F | 15 min each | Never start hot — it bakes on |
| Mineral scale, hard water | Citric or phosphoric acid | Ambient | 20 min | Neutralise fully before draining |
| Surfactants, soaps | Hot water, long rinse | 140 °F | 5 min | Foam is the problem, not removal |
| Latex, resin, adhesive | Do not attempt | — | — | Send it for recycling |
| Pesticides | Do not attempt | — | — | Licensed handling only |
When to send it to a wash bay instead
We are obviously not neutral here, so take the reasoning rather than the recommendation. There are four situations where doing it yourself is the wrong call:
- You need documentation. A wash certificate tied to a unit number is what an auditor or a customer accepts. Your own good intentions are not.
- The residue is fats, oils or proteins. These need sustained heat and alkalinity that a back-lot setup struggles to hold, and a half-cleaned oil container is worse than an untouched one.
- You have more than about six containers. At $38 a unit, professional washing beats a day of your labour and roughly 660 gallons of water almost immediately.
- You have nowhere for the water to go. This is the constraint that catches most people, and it is not one you can improvise your way around.
The water arithmetic
Frequently asked
Can I clean an IBC tote with just a pressure washer?
For sugars, syrups and simple water-based residues, yes — hot water and a spinner nozzle will do a genuinely good job. For fats, oils, proteins or anything that has been sitting for months, pressure alone smears the residue around rather than removing it. Those need heat, alkalinity and dwell time, in that order of importance.
How do I clean a tote for drinking water?
Start with a Grade A food-safe container with a known history — never an industrial one. Run the full procedure above, then sanitise with 100–200 ppm chlorine for ten minutes, drain and rinse with potable water until the chlorine smell is gone. Fit a new gasket, keep the container out of sunlight, and be aware that this makes it suitable for storage, not a substitute for treating the water itself.
What is the fastest way to get an odour out?
A hot alkaline cycle with a long dwell, then a dilute acid rinse to neutralise, then fresh water. If odour persists after that, it has penetrated the resin and it is not coming out — that container becomes an industrial unit or a planter. We use ozone treatment for borderline cases, which works about half the time and is worth $24 to try.
Do I really need to replace the gasket?
Yes. An EPDM gasket that has been compressed for two years will not reliably seal a third time, and it holds residue in the compressed face where no wash reaches. It costs six dollars. It is the highest-return six dollars in this entire article.
Written by the yard team at IBC Totes San Francisco. Last reviewed January 2026. Spotted something wrong? Tell us — we would rather fix it than defend it.