Wife spilled gasoline in the SUV (1 Viewer)

[ikiru]

My car died this past weekend and I had my wife go get some gas for me while I stayed with my car. She went to the gas station and filled a container and it happened to spill in her new SUV on the way to get it to me. Now her new SUV smells like gas. Does anyone have a good way to get the awful smell out?

-ikiru

 

[Dave Poehlman]

A match?

Sorry.. couldn't resist.

If it's not a terrible amount of gas, it should eventually evaporate. Just park it with the windows open in the sun someplace.

I always use that spray foam carpet cleaner in a can and scrub it into the fabric with a stiff brush.. let dry and vacuum.

 

[Jeff Braddock]

At the car dealership I used to do detail work for, we would do like Dave said. Get some good carpet cleaner, take a good stiff brush (not a metal one of course), we vacuumed it after it had set a few minutes with a wer/dry vac. If it remained in the carpet, we would redo, usually letting it stand for quite some time. Also, to help get the smell out, we had some citrus spray that you can buy at Walmart. Or if you want to spend a few more dollars, they have ozone spray that is supposed to be very good at getting rid of odors. I have never used it personally, but know people who have with good results. Hope it helps.

 

[Michael*K]

Sorry Dave, I think you used that same line when I spilled gas in the car last November and it's still weak. Edit: It wasn't Dave, but probably only because someone else beat him to it.
Ikiru, I hate to break the news to you, but I doubt there's any product you can buy that will let you take care of this problem yourself. I had some gas spill in my trunk last November (click here to see my thread at the time) and I tried everything suggested by people here. I spent a bundle on various cleaners and nothing worked. I was getting headaches from the fumes and finally broke down and brought the car to a detailing shop. They professionally scrubbed and shampooed the entire trunk and nothing helped. Finally, as a last resort, they sealed up the car and let some machine run inside overnight. I think they said it was some ozone type gizmo that removed all the air from the car, and kills anything living (squirrels maybe?) In any case, it worked. Cost me 60 bucks, but I was so happy to have a fresh, clean smelling car again.

 

[Jeremy Allin]

I had my wife go get some gas for me while I stayed with my car.

Congrats! I don't know many wives who would agree to that!

 

[Jody C Robins]

Same thing happened to a friend of mine. Rent a steam cleaner. Does an OK job. Then leave your windows open for about a week. It eventually goes away, I promise.

 

[MickeS]

Jeremy, I was thinking the same thing, but then I realized that ikiru's wife wasn't in the car with him, she came with gas in her own car...
/Mike