Fish Smell in Cooler

[urbanmyth]

Will Oxyclean get a slight salmon-y odor out of a cooler? I have a perfect 70 some quart rolling Igloo cooler my grandpa used to use salmon and trout fishing out on the big lake. Usually held ice and dead and dying fish. Is there any hope to use this as a mash tun? It could save me a pretty chunk of change if it can.

 

[kh54s10]

I would Oxyclean it, Bleach it, Oxyclean again. After you convert it and do a few brews it will smell of grains. Too good a catch to not try.

 

[urbanmyth]

Too good a catch to not try.

I see what you did there.

 

[postal_penguin]

Oxyclean and bleach will take care of the odors. They are strong oxidizers which destroy the odor causing molecules. You can also try leaving it open out in the sun if you are in a location that still gets strong sun(e.g. not the northern United States) since the UV will also destroy odor causing molecules.

 

[markmc40]

I agree with Oxyclean. I forgot a watermelon we didn't get a chance to eat one weekend in the family cooler (which gets way less TLC than my mash tun!). Worked like a champ and it had been several weeks/months with rotten fruit in it. Nice score on a big cooler.

 

[RandomBeerGuy]

What if you wash it with oxy then let it soak in a sanitizer for a little while then brew? If all else fails go buy a new one. At lease you know once it is sanitized there are no nasty bacteria.

 

[urbanmyth]

Truth and truth. Thanks guys. I will give this cooler a shot!

 

[samc]

+1 Sunlight really is the best at odor removal from plastic. I've done the Oxi soak on things that never got all the odor out, but the Sun did the trick.

 

[urbanmyth]

As the sun is hard to come by these days in Southeastern Wisconsin, I shall attempt the Oxyclean route. Thanks a bundle!