I accidentally left a gas can with maybe 3/4 gallon of gas in the car, and my wife drove the car, can fell over, and she didn't notice until she got back in the car the next morning.
This is in the back seat well behind the third row in a minivan.
Entire car smells like gas now to the point that it's hard to be in the car. What a mess.
She's going to get the van detailed now, but I'm worried that might not do it or they won't want to touch it.
Ug, I feel like an idiot.
Let it sit out in the sun for a few days with the windows barely cracked and it should evaporate.
Baking soda to help absorb the smell?
Gasoline is exceptionally volatile, it evaporates really quickly so I’d recommend leaving it out and ventilated for a few days.
Concensus seems to be leaving it in the sun with windows open. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/asking-for-a-friend-spilled-gasoline/130499/page1/
May also want to PM ultraclyde, I think he is the R&D director for Odoban. They may have a product to use.
Not very GRM, but depending on your coverage, maybe give your insurance agent a call?
Evaporating will get most of it out, ideally you should get the affected seat sections out of the car. I still suspect it will smell like an old-school RC plane afterwards, that'll be the next challenge.
Definitely leave it in the sun with the window cracked but also pull the carpet affected by the spill and power wash or otherwise give it a serious cleaning.
Pull the rug and insulation and replace.
You are very lucky to not have had a Wife Flambe'!
I never transport fuel in the passenger compartment.
A match.
mtn said:Concensus seems to be leaving it in the sun with windows open. https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/asking-for-a-friend-spilled-gasoline/130499/page1/
May also want to PM ultraclyde, I think he is the R&D director for Odoban. They may have a product to use.
Airing it out is the way to go. Get all the soft goods you can out of the car and wash them if you can. If you can't get the carpet out let it air out a couple days and then rent a carpet shampooer with an upholstery attachment and do a wet extraction on it using a good cleaner. Make sure everything is dry when it goes back in the car or you will have mold and mildew issues.
Afterward get some of our eucalyptus scent OdoBan and follow the fabric refresher directions. That fragrance is good on gas smell fir most folks.
Ozone generator? Works after you have had to drive your skunked Labrador retriever back home from the in-laws farm.
Detail shops should have them.
Pete
In reply to NOHOME :
I believe that Ozone generator's use high voltage to create an arc in order to generate the ozone. So I don't believe that would be safe with gas fumes.
Shotgun?
C'mon it had to be said....
In reply to 7rx :
The lord hates a Coward.
If you air the thing out for a week, I doubt there will be enough residual volatile anything to make a good explosion.
Pete
Been there, done that, recently. I didn’t spill much though. Did pretty much what everybody here says and it finally went away. I shampooed the snot out of it first and aired it out. I now transport any gas container inside secondary containment. I need to get my f’ing truck back.
spitfirebill said:Been there, done that, recently. I didn’t spill much though. Did pretty much what everybody here says and it finally went away. I shampooed the snot out of it first and aired it out. I now transport any gas container inside secondary containment. I need to get my f’ing truck back.
Yes--even if the container is just a large garbage bag.
febreze
Well, I got to take a look tonight.
Turns out, gasoline is very effective at softening honda's insulating tar, and floating it all up and into the carpet.
So far I have cut this out and scraped out a bunch of insulation. Truly gross.
So, should I paint the hole with bedliner? Try to find another carpet and splice it in? Grab a sheet of dynomat to replace the lost insulating tar?
Yuck.
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