About a week ago I had a can of gas tip over in my hatchback Subaru and about a quart or so leaked out. There was cardboard under the can and rubber mats under the cardboard. When I got home, I removed the cardboard which had absorbed almost all of the gas. There is still a strong odor(actually it reeks!) and now that the temp has dropped, having the windows open a little isn't an option. Now I'm sure that I'm not the only person to have done this, so my question to this all-knowing board is just what will get rid of that smell? Didn't want to try Febreeze or something like that where I might just be adding another chemical smell to the gas smell but that gas smell has got to go. Successful ideas?
OT. What gets rid of spilled gasoline smell?
- Thread starter furfoot
- Start date
Stripper dust from the VIP room
Leave the car in a busy parking lot with the keys in the ignition and the doors unlocked. That should get rid of the smell.
For stuff like this, I like heat. Gas is a volatile compound and just needs some heat and ventilation to remove it. Since it is cold out, the gas is not evaporating and just staying there. Maybe try a hair dryer on the area. Or leave your car running with the heat on full blast and the Windows cracked for an hour then another 15 with the windows wide open. I am of course assuming there is not enough gas there to catch on fire.
A match should do the trick.....a lit match.
The stripper dust suggestion is fantastic, but maybe you should ALSO try this:
http://www.jcwhitney.com/custom-molded-carpet/subaru/c15075m83j1s19.jcwx
http://www.jcwhitney.com/custom-molded-carpet/subaru/c15075m83j1s19.jcwx
Looks like I may be overrating the night crew here...
Lynyrd Skynyrd once wrote about the very same topic...
Never tried it but was told a container of coffee grounds removed the smell of sour milk spilled in a car,.might work for the gas odor too?
Looks like I may be overrating the night crew here...
Ya gotta admit, you got some late night gold out of it!
Personally, I like the stripper dust idea. Unfortunately, most of the strippers I kno --er...-- have heard about from friends would not willingly hop into the back of a hatchback that smelled of gasoline. They're funny that way!
If you want to do it yourself, here's a link that might help: http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-remove-a-gasoline-smell
(Mr. Google is your friend, while McA board night crew = lunch crowd strippers! Dang, can't stop thinking about strippers!)
My suggestion is to take it to a professional detailer; they're much more likely to have the know how and the equipment/products to get the job done right.
Word of advice to anyone who absolutely positively HAS TO transport gasoline inside a vehicle: double bag it in heavy duty trash bags big enough to tie a knot to close them. Even without spillage, you're bound to get some gasoline odor that will linger for days.
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Hot water & vinegar wiped into the spilled area. Wipe in with shop rag then dry and vacuum. Baking soda & water (paste), scrub it in and let it sit for 20 minutes, then wipe up and vacuum and dry. Then repeat if smell still persists, topped off with soap and water.
Blowing drying may make the process move more quickly, and I'd be more concerned with the fumes sticking to the rest of the upholstery. And I have used coffee beans (to absorb moisture/odors) in the past, not gasoline. After you've done the above, go to the grocer and buy the cheapest bag of coffee beans and leave it open in the back of the car for a few days.
Blowing drying may make the process move more quickly, and I'd be more concerned with the fumes sticking to the rest of the upholstery. And I have used coffee beans (to absorb moisture/odors) in the past, not gasoline. After you've done the above, go to the grocer and buy the cheapest bag of coffee beans and leave it open in the back of the car for a few days.
Go rent a carpet cleaning machine with an upholstery attachment. Rug Doctor is a good one to use for this. Don't buy any cleaning stuff with it. Instead mix hot water with vinegar in the holding tank and use the upholstery attachment on the carpet in your car. Be generous when wetting the carpet. When done let it air dry out. When it's dry sprinkle baking soda on the carpet and vacuum.
Hydrogen Sulfide - and, lots of it. That gasoline smell won't matter anymore.
I have no idea why you would use vinegar. I guess because people always use it to clean stuff. Vinegar works in a lot of cases because it is acidic. It will absolutely do nothing on gasoline. You are trying to remove a non-polar volatile mixture. Aqueous solutions such as vinegar will not mix with gasoline at all. The fact that you try to vacuum up the vinegar solution probably gets rid of it because of the vacuuming action and has nothing to do with the vinegar.
Heat and ventilation are your friends when trying to remove volatile organic compounds. Vacuuming will also create its own ventilation. Avoid water based solutions because this will just cause more of a mess that you have to clean up.
Heat and ventilation are your friends when trying to remove volatile organic compounds. Vacuuming will also create its own ventilation. Avoid water based solutions because this will just cause more of a mess that you have to clean up.
So apparently a chick coming out of a pool with a wet t-shirt will remove the smell of gas? Interesting... never tried that one.
Langmuir is correct that water/vinegar is unnecessary. The odor is because the gasoline vapor is not dissipating and whatever trace gasoline liquid left absorbed in the carpet slowly will evaporate. If there is any area that is damp, use compressed air to blow dry the hair dryer/heat gun to warm. If just fumes then use a fan to ventilate. Charcoal may absorb some fumes but probably not a ton. Sprinkling scented kitty litter or powder and gently rubbing in before vacuuming will probably work better. Coffee or other scents will make it less noticeable till all gasoline has evaporated.
We once used coffee grounds for a milk spill in our car, and it worked great. Not only is coffee apparently good at absorbing odors, it's own strong smell effectively masked the milk odor immediately. (It took a little while to get used to the coffee smell, but it doesn't smell bad like spoiled milk.) We waited a week or two and then just vacuumed it out.
A
anon_1eeb2b426hv3y
Guest
Last night I resisted the temptation to write "light a match!"
Today, I literally laughed out loud visualizing the stripper, the gasoline-filled Subaru, the baking soda-stuffed sock and someone describing this "non-polar volatile mixture."
I need sleep.
Today, I literally laughed out loud visualizing the stripper, the gasoline-filled Subaru, the baking soda-stuffed sock and someone describing this "non-polar volatile mixture."
I need sleep.
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