Definitely talk to your BM about what they expect. When I was grooming I would dump the buckets daily and scrub once weekly with dilute bleach. We had enough buckets that I could switch them out once weekly which allowed me to clean them really well with bleach and hot water.
I use Listerine from the dollar store.
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I use hot water and a cheapo toilet brush from the dollar store.
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Dump & wipe buckets daily, once a week scrub. It bites in winter because cold hands are basically inevitable - a really thick textured rag (rougher the better) can help you from getting too much exposure to damp cloth (and soggy gloves) for the wiping portion. For the scrubbing, the long handled brushes will keep you dry but I tend to like the brillo pad type scrubbies just to get into it more aggressively. Your preference will win out.
And for my once weekly clean, I’ll dump out, spray with unscented bleach & let sit a little (or a bleach/water combo if it’s really filthy and you want to saturate the area) before scrubbing. If the bucket is truly gross beyond belief, leave about a half inch of water in the bottom and pour several capfuls of bleach in. Agitate the water, coat the filthiest areas, and then let sit. It tends to take grime right off - but you have to rinse mindfully afterwards.
Entertainingly, a number of horses I know actually like the “pool-smelling” buckets (diligently rinsed but the odor lingers a bit). There were two that could be fussy at horse shows with different water. We just made sure to scrub buckets (spray bleach before, scrub, rinse, & fill) so it had the clean smell, and they were happy with the “familiar” bucket/water/smell combination and drank without issue.
Gloop of non scented non splash bleach. I have to say I dont even do that great of a job rinsing it out when I’m done, a quick swish and dump with about 1/4 bucket of fresh water is good enough. The horses borderline seem to like the smell and taste.
Scotchbrite pads. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotch-B…96CC/205609748
I take mine indoors and scrub with pads and dishwashing liquid.
I line up all my buckets. In the first bucket I pour like a capful of bleach and fill 1/4 way with water and scrub using a kitchen brush or a an old horse brush (cleans the brush too!). I scrub that bucket then dump that water in to the next bucket and so on. Then I rinse all of them very well.
But yea, once they’re scratched up a bit, the dirt collects in the scratches.
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I use a toilet brush and just brush with what water is remainig. If the buckets are already really grody, maybe she just wants you to knock off what comes off easily?
I use a little bit of dish soap once a week, let the filled bucket sit for around 5 minutes, then scrub the buckets with an old body brush, and rinse them extremely well. A little bit of bleach swished around the final rinse seems to help keep the algae at bay and allows me to get by with deep cleaning once a week.
The buckets are dumped daily and while I wish the barn staff would rinse the empty buckets they just fill them back up.
When my girls were moved into their current field the buckets were extremely caked up and gross due to not having horses in that area for a few months. It took me around an hour per bucket to get everything off but once I started to properly maintain them they have (so far) stayed clean!
Yuck! Once you get them cleaned (you’ve had some good suggestions)… I have never had a scrub brush around when I’ve needed it, so have always just used a wad of hay. If the bucket’s really bad, I’ll throw a bit of sand in there, too. Scrub, rinse, done!
I usually do all my water buckets at once. I fill the first with a few gallons of water and a small amount of dawn dish detergent then scrub with this brush
https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-8-5-in-Gong-Scrub-Brush-227MBHDXRM/204357186.
Then I pour the mixture into the next bucket and scrub- until all the buckets are scrubbed (I have a total of 5 buckets). Then everything is rinsed really well and refilled.
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I’m having trouble imagining indoor water buckets with crud caked in them. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that. OUTSIDE water troughs absolutely- they’ll get an algae build-up and chlorox about once a week or every other week is the only thing I’ve found that gets rid of that.
Feed buckets are a different story. All my guys require wet feed so they all ended up disgusting stained buckets. After a few years they’d break anyways so I’d just chuck them and buy new ones.
What we all need are a few giant sized denture cleaning tablets. Easy to use, makes everything sterile and fresh smelling to boot!
My buckets are 37 years old. I hate brushes they just scratch the surface. I found that a sponge does a much better job. I dump them daily, give them a quick wipe. None of them are stained. I have never used any kind of product in them.
Use microfiber cloths. To start with you can use an eraser. These are soft and won’t scratch. They are not used with chemicals but with water.
I had done the buckets when the barn b**** walked in and complained to all and sundry that I had not filled the buckets. All the horses were without water.
I just kicked the side of it so as all could see that the bucket was full. It was so clean they weren’t seeing the water.
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I used to do the “take them all out of the stall - dump in the yard - line up - fill with soapy water - scrub - rinse - hang back up” routine and found it was taking way too long.
Instead, I now roll a double-wheeled wheelbarrow along the aisle, and I actually use the “leftover” water in each bucket to give them all a quick scrub down with a sponge or microfiber rag. I have gotten pretty good at “swishing” the leftover water around before dumping it into the wheelbarrow, and most buckets come out just as clean as if I used soapy water and scrubbed them. The wheelbarrow saves me a TON of time, as I am not constantly walking to a doorway to dump buckets. The wheelbarrow will hold close to 50 gallons of water before I have to dump it, and the dual wheels give it stability as I push it down the aisle, and I generally don’t spill a drop. Not sure the wheelbarrow would work great on an uneven aisle, though.
I use my hand to wipe off invisible slime, doesn’t take much.
I have never put any products in a water tub - horses eat off the ground. Next to poop. And can drink out of puddles. Why would I waste money on chemicals?
I use an old tire brush (found it, have no idea why someone would expend effort washing a tire) to knock the gunk off the sides of the 100gal troughs in summer. If the water is clear and free of debris, they’re good.
