Any thoughts on removing gas smell from my trunk

[markmc99]

I went to get gas for my tractor last saturday and on the way home my gas can tipped over. A small amount of gas dripped out on the carpet in my trunk. I left the trunk open about 9 hours saturday and another 8 or so today. Not concerned about it catching fire just need to get rid of the smell.

I saw a suggestion to put a bar of soap in there with it. Thant sounds like a good idea, not sure that it get rid of the smell but will be a good air freshener. It has been suggested to rub down baking soda and vacuum up and put some pieces of charcoal in the trunk.

Any suggestions here?

 

[ragkar]

Remove the rug and hang it on a clothesline. Remove everything else and prop it up and let it air out.
Open the trunk and rear car doors and use a fan to help.

You're lucky that it wasn't kerosene or diesel as they evaporate a lot slower.

 

[bcp]

Maybe an idea here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/oil-fuel-lubricants/99769-how-remove-gasoline-odor-after.html

Bruce

 

[ToadHill]

You could replace it with skunk odor, but seriously baking soda left in a dish in the trunk will absorb the odor.

 

[2manyrocks]

Letting it air out is essential.

Fabreze does well on some odors. Should be able to find it in the laundry detergents in the store.

 

[CurlyDave]

ragkar has it exactly right.

Open the whole thing and use a fan. I can't emphasize enough how much a fan will speed up the process of getting the odor out. Get anything that is fabric, cardboard plastic, etc out of the trunk, trunk liner and all. If you have a spare tire in there take that out & let it air out also.

If you can take the back seat out also, that would be a good move too. Usually the partition between the back seat and the trunk is pretty permeable to gas fumes and the seat may have absorbed some of the odor already.

Get air moving both in the trunk and in the car. Two fans would be even better.

 

[DIRTROAD]

Search the net for mortuary supplies or coroner supplies. These places have masking scents or cover scents that are simply amazing. I'm sure you could imagine what I am talking about.

I sometimes think outside the BOX just a little!!

 

[kebo]

Remove the rug and hang it on a clothesline. Remove everything else and prop it up and let it air out.
Open the trunk and rear car doors and use a fan to help.

You're lucky that it wasn't kerosene or diesel as they evaporate a lot slower.

That reminds of a time when my dad spilled some kerosene in the car years ago. We used to have a kerosene heater to help heat the house in the winter, and dad would usually get the kerosene for it. One evening he was on the way to play bingo and he stopped at a conveinence store to fill up the 5gal kerosene tank. Sometime prior to that he had managed to lose the rubber gasket on the filler cap. Well, somewhere along the way back home he made a sharp turn and the tank fell over in the trunk. He got home and the 5GALLON can was just about empty. Oh crap. A couple days later the rear seat started turning brown, then the rear carpet started turning brown. They had to put the car in the body shop and it took them days of wiping and drying to get all of the kerosene out. Then had to replace the rear seats and the carpet cause it was ruined. Insrurance covered most of it. It wasn't too long after that mom quit using the kerosene heater!!

 

[BruceWard]

Kitty litter is good at soaking up any liquid. I suggest spreading kitty litter on the carpet. Leave it for several hours and then vacuum it out.

 

[jbos333]

All I can say is I spilled 3 gallon or so of Diesel in my trunk about 2 yrs. ago, removed all carpet, threw it out, sopped up puddles with rags, wiped remainder down with lacquer thinner real good and then left trunk lid open as much as possible/drove with windows down. Smell is finally gone now.