I have no idea why she wants you to mess with the rings. Did you swell the barrel before filling it? Did it leak then? So now you have the barrel in the sun, WHY? Did you empty it out?
Whether you emptied it out or not, get it out of the sun.Wash the barrel down if you like clean looking barrels with some b-brite or oxy-clean. Keep the bung on it while doing this and scrub it using a Scotch Brite pad. When finished rinse it off and follow up with another rinse using a meta solution. The barrel will dry off on it's own, you don't need to put it in the sun.
If the barrel is empty, fill it with hot water for a few days, empty it out and fill it right back up with your wine.
Top up that carboy in the background.