I decided to be proactive and fill up a couple of gas cans in prep for the season. I'm not sure how, but when I got home my weathertech-ish floor liners had a little pool of gas in them. The cans themselves seemed dry. In any event, now I have to try to get rid of the smell. And please don't say I need to rip up the carpeting because that's not going to happen. I guess I'm looking for other options. I see baking soda/vinegar/hot water mentioned. Also, charcoal, Dawn, Simple Green. I feel like Seinfeld trying to get rid of the B.O. smell in his car.

Anyone have any foolproof simple, cheap, effective methods that have worked you? Thankfully, it seems to be limited to the floor of the front passenger compartment. At this point, I'd almost be willing to mask the odor if I can't eliminate it. I can't drive around all winter with the windows open hoping it'll eventually air out.

Thanks.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2023 02:00PM by wurm.

It should evaporate and then you can use a carpet extractor to get the rest.

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C(-)ris
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spray with automotive carpet cleaner and use a carpet extractor with warm water to extract. I spray carpet cleaner on the carpet and don't put it in the extractor.

I'm pretty sure the gasoline smell is gone once it burns </sarcasm>

if all else fails, take it to a detailing shop, maybe they have more experience with this, I imagine this is not unusual for them.

Thanks. I've read some comments about using a carpet extractor (Rug Doctor?) but was hoping to avoid renting equipment for this. For the time being, I sprinkled a bunch of baking soda all over the carpeting in that area and closed up the windows. I'll see if that does anything while investigating renting an extractor.

Thanks for the heads up. Good reminder to me to use a plastic bin to transfer my gas cans in.

Quote
wurm
Thanks. I've read some comments about using a carpet extractor (Rug Doctor?) but was hoping to avoid renting equipment for this. For the time being, I sprinkled a bunch of baking soda all over the carpeting in that area and closed up the windows. I'll see if that does anything while investigating renting an extractor.

I would think that opening the windows would be better. Leaving them closed is going to keep the fumes inside.

That's what I thought, too. And that's what I did all day yesterday. But something I found today that mentioned the baking soda (which I can't find now) mentioned shutting the windows to let the baking soda react better.

Found it.

Baking Soda/Coffee Grounds
We grouped these two together because they work and are used in the same way. They both absorb odors from the air. Simply put a bowl of baking soda or coffee grounds in your vehicle overnight. Make sure that the windows and doors are completely shut. In the morning, dispose/compost the baking soda/coffee grounds. Repeat with a fresh bowl as necessary.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/2023 03:43PM by wurm.

Baking soda won’t absorb gasoline fumes and closing the windows is counterproductive. Take the mats out and leave them out for a couple of days.

Leaving the mats in and closing the windows may lead to the fumes getting everywhere (worse than before perhaps) in the car.

Take the mats out. What I propose will make a MESS, so be prepared.

I'm going to go through the various things you may have at home:

The problem with using baking soda is that the baking soda is an ionic compound and doesn't dissociate and thus doesn't react to the gasoline (gas is a mixture of various hydrocarbons, which are NOT ionic--remember: like dissolves like). You need something that will bind to the gas, react with it, and thus either change it to something that isn't noticeable or something that is much easier to get out.

You could try 70% alcohol. However, as it has SOME but NOT MUCH miscibility with gasoline, it probably won't work well. It can additionally discolor the mat or otherwise have undesired effects with it. Alcohol can and does work for some organic compounds, however.

Acetone should work quite well; it is commonly thought of as a "universal" solvent, especially with organic compounds. USE GLOVES!! I cannot stress this enough, as it can easily carry crap through your skin and into your blood stream if you are not careful. (There are worse compounds that will do this, but they are not commonly found in the household.) Acetone can and will attack plastics, so if your mats are plastic then acetone is probably NOT what you want; test on an inconspicuous place. This has a rather high probability of not working because of this problem. [See ** and ***]

You could try dish soap. Dish soap is specifically engineered to handle greasy stuff, which you could easily call gasoline greasy. It can take a fair bit, and will need a lot of water to wash it out thoroughly depending on how the mat is made, but shouldn't really affect the color of the mat (unless the mat is not color safe, which the exposure to gas should show you ).

You could try something like SimpleGreen, or some other degreaser used in the garage and car industries.

I would try SimpleGreen, followed by a bit of dish soap to ensure I got as much as possible out. If the gas stained the mat, you may try something like alcohol to get it out. Then, I would take a box of baking soda and generously sprinkle it on the mats. Take a scrub brush and brush the baking soda into the mat; repeat it until the mat appears almost white. Yeah, it's probably overkill, but you want that smell gone entirely. Give it a few days in an open area (or in the sun, if good weather is expected) to dispel any fumes that may make it out of the mat. Thoroughly wash the baking soda out, allow it to dry, and replace it in the car. If I'm feeling adventurous, I might try acetone BUT that has a rather high possibility of failure (see above).

** For giggles, you can place some acetone in a container (preferably glass, but something you don't really care about), and place a styrofoam cup in the acetone. The acetone will dissolve the styrofoam and make a mess, but you will see the cup slowly get smaller and smaller as it is eaten and dissolved from the bottom upward. A sciency trick for the kids.

*** I had a laser level at one time, until the cat knocked the acetone can over and spilled acetone on it. The cat was trying to jump to the top of the cabinets and missed, sliding downward to the counter top and knocking over the acetone I was working with. The laser level nearly instantaneously fused into a chunk of melted plastic, rendering the laser inoperable. I couldn't really get mad at the cat as she was a rescue that someone had thrown out after declawing her. I didn't see what she was trying to do until too late, or I would have tried to stop her. She was trying to jump from the washing machine behind me to the top of the cabinets mounted on the wall in front of me. She was a good cat.

I recently spilled gas in the car, I left the windows open and the smell was gone in a few days.

Thank you, all. I'm taking tomorrow off for other reasons since it's going to be the nicest day this week, and will open all the windows and sunroof as long as is practical.

The mat came out as soon as I got home and as I said, it seemed to pool all the gas in it, so unless it seeped through, the mat should be okay. Maybe it didn't make it through to the carpet. It didn't seem wet, but the smell is definitely lingering. I'll all for giving Simple Green a try. It's nice to have on hand anyway.

Interestingly enough, I know I've had similar instances like this in the past with previous vehicles, and yes, the smell does dissipate over time, but here we are heading into the Fall and I don't relish the thought of driving around in 45 degree weather with all the windows open.

Thanks again for the advice, and especially Diana for your always thorough tips and explanations.

You will have good airflow even with the windows up if you drive with the fan set on high and directed to the floor.

---

Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Anytime I need dish soap to clean something other than dishes, Dawn, Classic Green is my goto.

It does a great job.

My buddy's highly active Lab (RIP) loved water and anytime he walked her along the shore line he had to really watch her or she hit the water.

On one occasion she was deftly scampering over large rocks and I asked him what she was on about.

He said she's looking for a way down to the water, but there isn't one, and that why he likes this path.

Except she found a way on the next walk and she disappeared, only to be found playing neck deep in water and mud.

Nothing he could do would remove it until he tried Dawn.

It took awhile and the Lab loved being washed, so Dawn FtW!

---

I am that Masked Man.

All you can do, is all you can do.

There’s trouble — it's time to play the sound of my people.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
RAMd®d
Anytime I need dish soap to clean something other than dishes, Dawn, Classic Green is my goto.

It does a great job.

My buddy's highly active Lab (RIP) loved water and anytime he walked her along the shore line he had to really watch her or she hit the water.

On one occasion she was deftly scampering over large rocks and I asked him what she was on about.

He said she's looking for a way down to the water, but there isn't one, and that why he likes this path.

Except she found a way on the next walk and she disappeared, only to be found playing neck deep in water and mud.

Nothing he could do would remove it until he tried Dawn.

It took awhile and the Lab loved being washed, so Dawn FtW!

I use the foaming blue Dawn to wash up after working on cars. Does a much better job of cleaning up grease and grime than GoJo. Plus, there's no need to worry about grit clogging up the pipes.