I spilled a bunch of gas in my car.

January 29, 2007 10:08 AM

I spilled a bunch of gas in my car. The smell--apparently--does not dissipate even with the windows rolled down. Any ideas?
posted by mwachs to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Considering that your floor mats are polyester (petrolium-based) and the glue that holds the interior carpet to the floor of your car will all be dissolved by the gasoline, which is a solvent, I'd suggest renting a steam cleaner (rug doctor) from the grocery store ASAP and getting it clean.
posted by SpecialK at 10:10 AM on January 29, 2007

Here is a page which might help.
posted by JPowers at 10:45 AM on January 29, 2007

Previously. OK, cars and boots aren't very similar unless you're playing Monopoly, but I guess the principle of getting rid of the smell will be the same.
posted by edd at 11:00 AM on January 29, 2007 [1 favorite]

That happened to me once and I found this product at the store, I think called the Air Sponge. It was in the cleaning section and it comes in a container like margarine. You just open the top, leave it in until it dries up. It took about 3 days but it worked great!

my 2 cents


CDM
posted by Country Dick Montana at 12:35 PM on January 29, 2007

Febreeze and a wet/dry vacuum.....

repeat if needed.......
posted by peewinkle at 3:35 PM on January 29, 2007

Nthing the wet/dry vacuum idea. I did this to my first car and turned the flooring into a gooey mess.
posted by thisjax at 5:25 PM on January 29, 2007

Petrol vapours are heavier than air so will not dissipate with doors closed and windows open. You need to clean it out as described above.
posted by polyglot at 5:29 PM on January 29, 2007