R50/53 ARghhhhhh...spilled gasoline in Umberto
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6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Milford Mass
ARghhhhhh...spilled gasoline in Umberto
Not happy
...I was returning from the gas station where I had filled up my gas can for my lawnmower and took a turn too fast....before I could pull over and stop, I heard: glug glug glug glug as the spout popped off even thought it was tightly sealed....however only about 2 cups of gas spilled onto the carpet of the front passenger section, along the side by the passenger's right foot. I soaked up as much as I could with some towels and have the removable mat outside all hosed off and drying.....but obviously the car reeks of gasoline.
I am hoping that just airing it out over the next week of sunny dry weather will help, but any ideas out there? Any "how to's" as to how to remove the carpeting? ( the dealer says 4 hours of labor...eeks!) so if I could do it myself, if I need to, then I would just order the part and replace the carpet myself rather than cleaning it....any suggestions?
...I was returning from the gas station where I had filled up my gas can for my lawnmower and took a turn too fast....before I could pull over and stop, I heard: glug glug glug glug as the spout popped off even thought it was tightly sealed....however only about 2 cups of gas spilled onto the carpet of the front passenger section, along the side by the passenger's right foot. I soaked up as much as I could with some towels and have the removable mat outside all hosed off and drying.....but obviously the car reeks of gasoline. I am hoping that just airing it out over the next week of sunny dry weather will help, but any ideas out there? Any "how to's" as to how to remove the carpeting? ( the dealer says 4 hours of labor...eeks!) so if I could do it myself, if I need to, then I would just order the part and replace the carpet myself rather than cleaning it....any suggestions?
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From: Greater Chicagoland. Ich Bin Ein Midwesterner!!!
This is BAD. You may have to replace the carpet indeed. The smell will take a long time to go away and you will smell it in any sunny day when the windows are rolled up.
Good luck to you.
Good luck to you.
5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Ohio
I had the same situation, but not quite as extreme about a month or so ago. The smell will go away. Just air it out whenever possible. I left the boot open on mine for the rest of the evening and windows down while in the garage for the next few days, the smell was gone in about a week.
6th Gear
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Knoxville, TN
Originally Posted by umberto
......but any ideas out there? Any "how to's" as to how to remove the carpeting? ( the dealer says 4 hours of labor...eeks!) so if I could do it myself, if I need to, then I would just order the part and replace the carpet myself rather than cleaning it....any suggestions?
Last year the same thing happened to me in the minivan just before I was going out of town with the family. Needless to say, my wife was not about to go with that strong smell inside. I tried everythingI had around the house and then went on-line to find the answer. I found this product called ZorbX. I ordered it and IT WORKED!!! I highly recommend this product:
http://www.zorbx.com/sections/people/gasoline.asp
Maybe borrowing/renting a small carpet steam-cleaner could help, then a spray bottle of Fabreze when dry....
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From: A Den in Maryland
Be sure to keep the windows slightly cracked open to aid in ventilation, especially if there is still a great deal of fumes building up. It will help in reducing the smell and quite possibly help prevent a dangerous level of vapors.
4th Gear
Joined: Sep 2005
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From: Royal Oak, Michigan
A radical approach might be to dump a certain amount of baking soda onto the affected area, let it sit and then vacume up. I bet that a few applications of this stuff would neutralize the odor no problem. Then you just have to figure out how to get the remaining white powder removed 
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6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Milford Mass
Hi all...it has been a week of airing out and the smell is much less now, but does anyone know what is under the carpet by the front passenger's feet? The gas spilled along where the carpet meets the right sidewall. I was wondering if there are any drainage holes that the gas would've hopefully exited the car or if there are any depressions where the gas has collected or any foam that might have gotten soaked up with the gas?
So what is under the carpet in that area and how difficult would it be for me to be able to fold up just that area of the carpet to let it air out under there (if I need to)?
So what is under the carpet in that area and how difficult would it be for me to be able to fold up just that area of the carpet to let it air out under there (if I need to)?
5th Gear
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: NW Georgia, USA
To raise up that area of the carpet, you'll need to disconnect the battery and wait for about 30 minutes. (This time you really NEED to do it to avoid setting an airbag light)
Remove the seat.
Remove the seatbelt anchor attachment in the rear seat footwell area.
Remove the passenger side kick panel. It's mainly held in with clips, but there may be a screw or two. It's been a while since I've removed one. This is a Loooooooooong part. It reaches from the front passenger footwell to the rear footwell.
Then you can raise up the carpet and peek under it. Under the seat is a big thick block of styrofoam. It's the same material used in those cheap coolers, but this is about 1-1/2 inches thick. There may be more of this stuff in the passenger footwell, but I haven't looked there. Gasoline will melt this stuff.
I retrofitted heated seats into an '04 MCS, so I've been into some of the areas that concern you.
Good luck with this!
Rawhyde
Remove the seat.
Remove the seatbelt anchor attachment in the rear seat footwell area.
Remove the passenger side kick panel. It's mainly held in with clips, but there may be a screw or two. It's been a while since I've removed one. This is a Loooooooooong part. It reaches from the front passenger footwell to the rear footwell.
Then you can raise up the carpet and peek under it. Under the seat is a big thick block of styrofoam. It's the same material used in those cheap coolers, but this is about 1-1/2 inches thick. There may be more of this stuff in the passenger footwell, but I haven't looked there. Gasoline will melt this stuff.
I retrofitted heated seats into an '04 MCS, so I've been into some of the areas that concern you.
Good luck with this!
Rawhyde
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6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Milford Mass
2 week update
this is the 2 week update...the smell was definitely lessening.....I used ZorbX yesterday and: HOLy Cow.....the stuff works...the car's been sitting in the hot sun today with windows closed and NO smell at all. I used the ZorbX as directed and sprayed it on the carpet and the seats but differed from the directons that said to spray on the plastics and vinyl as well...I did not as I was afraid it would dry out those materials, but just one heavy application on the affected area of the carpet and light application on the rest of the carpets and the seats has worked wonders,,....very impressed. Also the front mat which still smelled strongly of gas even after sitting outside the past 2 weeks getting rained on (lots) now after one good spraying and the smell is gone.....yippee!!
http://www.howtocleananything.com/ti...s.asp?tid=1220
Spilled gas from automotive carpet
I spilled gas in the back of my SUV. The smell will not go away. What can I do to remove it?
Ryan
The solution is to rinse the nonvolatile solvent(gasoline) out of the carpet using a volatile solvent (dry cleaning solvent). Volatility refers to the ability of the solvent to dissipate at room temperature.
What you have tried to do was to wash, in essence, oil with water. They do not mix in fact when you attempted to wet clean the area the gas would have chased from the water.
If the spill is large (bigger than a dollar bill) I recommend calling an IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning & Restoration) certified carpet cleaning company and let them handle the problem.
If it is a small area, purchase some dry cleaning solvent (available @ grocery stores, janitorial supplier or carpet cleaning supply houses) along with some white terry towels.
Follow all safety instructions on the dry cleaning solvent bottle.
Test the affect of the dry cleaning solvent on the carpet before attempting to clean it by placing a small amount of dry cleaning solvent on the terry towel and apply it to an inconspicuous part of the carpet (I.e. under the seat) to see if there is any colour transfer or puckering.
If there does not seem to be a problem with the test, proceed to clean the stained area by placing dry cleaning solvent on the terry towel (DO NOT POUR IT DIRECTLY ONTO THE CARPET) and lightly tamp the stained area. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times if required and do nothing else.
Dry cleaning solvent will dissipate when exposed to the air and does not leave cleaning residue.
Cheers
Jay Miles, Forum Member
CRS Carpet Cleaning
Vancouver, Cananda
I spilled gas in the back of my SUV. The smell will not go away. What can I do to remove it?
Ryan
The solution is to rinse the nonvolatile solvent(gasoline) out of the carpet using a volatile solvent (dry cleaning solvent). Volatility refers to the ability of the solvent to dissipate at room temperature.
What you have tried to do was to wash, in essence, oil with water. They do not mix in fact when you attempted to wet clean the area the gas would have chased from the water.
If the spill is large (bigger than a dollar bill) I recommend calling an IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning & Restoration) certified carpet cleaning company and let them handle the problem.
If it is a small area, purchase some dry cleaning solvent (available @ grocery stores, janitorial supplier or carpet cleaning supply houses) along with some white terry towels.
Follow all safety instructions on the dry cleaning solvent bottle.
Test the affect of the dry cleaning solvent on the carpet before attempting to clean it by placing a small amount of dry cleaning solvent on the terry towel and apply it to an inconspicuous part of the carpet (I.e. under the seat) to see if there is any colour transfer or puckering.
If there does not seem to be a problem with the test, proceed to clean the stained area by placing dry cleaning solvent on the terry towel (DO NOT POUR IT DIRECTLY ONTO THE CARPET) and lightly tamp the stained area. Repeat this process 3 or 4 times if required and do nothing else.
Dry cleaning solvent will dissipate when exposed to the air and does not leave cleaning residue.
Cheers
Jay Miles, Forum Member
CRS Carpet Cleaning
Vancouver, Cananda
6th Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 1,627
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From: Neenah, WI
Get one of these for next time:
http://outmotoring.com/mini_trunk_net.html
Works great. Less filling.
http://outmotoring.com/mini_trunk_net.html
Works great. Less filling.
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6th Gear
Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Milford Mass
very funny....I like the smell of gasoline too, but the smell was so strong that even while driving with both windows and sunroof open I would have a weird feeling in the back of my throat while swallowing and I would taste the gas...not too pleasant....but is fine now
3rd Gear
Joined: Feb 2006
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From: VA
glad to hear you got it out. gas spilled in my husband's car when he was bringing me some (i ran out on the highway =/). his trunk smelled for about a month or more.
we tried everything, baking soda, kitty litter, rubbing alcohol. He has a sedan and a spare and gasoline fell into the spare tire well and turned into this really gross black jelly goo. we scraped it out.
last time i run out of gas!
anywho, glad to hear you are breathing fresh air now....
they should make one of those little tree air freshners that smells like gasoline haha
we tried everything, baking soda, kitty litter, rubbing alcohol. He has a sedan and a spare and gasoline fell into the spare tire well and turned into this really gross black jelly goo. we scraped it out.
last time i run out of gas!
anywho, glad to hear you are breathing fresh air now....
they should make one of those little tree air freshners that smells like gasoline haha
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