gas can tipped in my jeep

[PI]

I went to get gas in a plastic gas container. The kid that filled it put the screw on cap ,with the hole in the middle, on THEN placed the yellow disk on the outside. The can was in a box about 4" high. I never saw him fill it. It tipped on the way home...about a 10 min. ride. When I got home I had lost about 2 1/2 gal . in my car. The gas stations insurance is paying for the replacement of the carpets but the place that is doing the repairs said that it still smells even after washing. The new carpets will be in tomorrow and I'm not sure the car will ever be right again. It is undrivable at this point. Has this happened to any of you and what did you do? Right now the insurance provided me with a rental. It is a Ford Explorer, 2004. HELP!

[mike4947]

While I've never had a couple of gallons dump in the interior of a vehicle I have had up to about a 1/2 gallon.

I never had to replace the carpeting, but IMHO the key to getting it back to normal is ventalation and cleaning. We stored it in my FIL's barn with all the windows open and weekly shampooed the carpeting with a detergent we got from Service Master that they use to remove petroleum smells/liquid when they do cleanups.
We couldn't afford Service Master's rates, but the guy that came out was nice enough to sell us the cleaner. It took about a month but the smell did go away and other than a discolored spot under the passengers seat there was a sign we'd spilled anything.

[brainpause]

Maybe spreading a whole bunch of charcoal briquets out in the area of the spill would absorb the smell? We used to do it with tennis shoes.

Larry

[Acts 2:38 girl]

Wait and see is my advice.  I think replacing it will help a lot, and the smell will eventually diminsh.  I've spilled gas and deisel fuel in my van before and after scrubbing the carpet it did smell, but it went away within a week or two.  You've got to remember that gas is made with oil, so you want something that will remove oil.  If they have already replaced the carpets there is not much you can do, but if they are not installed see if you could scrub it down with a dishwashing detergent made to cut through grease, like Dawn or something.  Now they have dishsoap made for pots and pans, so it's even stronger to cut through grease and oil.  Then I would put the car in the garage (if possible) and run a small air purifier (you can get them at Wal-Mart etc) overnight until the smell is gone.  Air purifiers are the best!  When our dog got sprayed by a skunk our whole house smelled awful!!  She ran in before we realized, and it didn't take but a few seconds to tell!  We ran the air purifier and within a day or two the house smelled normal!  If you don't have a garage then just run an extension cord.  Hope this helps.  When I was pregnant my sense of smell was always heightened (?) so I had to find ways to kill smells that only I could smell!  
Tell us how it goes!

[luvourjayco]

You can buy stuff to sprinkle on the rugs to absorb smells. Not the freshener stuff but the commercial stuff. Try a commercial cleaning supply business. Let the stuff set for a bit and then vacumm. My father was always and forever dumping stuff in the vehicles. Mom used kitty litter for awhile but it can be tough to vacumm up if it gets wet.

[topcat7736]

PI,
I would keep the new carpet away from the area until the smell goes away (might take a few days) or it will absorb the gas odor. Some baking soda, spread over the area, might make the odor disappear quicker. Be very careful not to have anything spark inside the vehicle. Gas fumes are as volatile as the gas itself.

[tlhdoc]

Wow what a mess.    I would wait to have the carpet installed and have the inside cleaned again with something like Dawn Power Plus.  Good luck with it.  

FYI we will be camping at North-South Lake SP, NY May 7th weekend.  

[brainpause]

Oh, and another thing:

Although the fumes are probably too lean to burn, it might be a good idea to NOT take a chance on igniting them while using electric motor devices such as DustBusters, powered air filters/fresheners, etc.

Larry

[PI]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I knew I could get some help on this board.
My DH spoke with the guy at the garage and he had  removed the soundproofing tar and the car still smells. He will see how it is before installing the new carpets. I fear my car will be a total loss.I would have to assume he washed the area already. We will have to wait and see.

[2manytoyz]

Simple Green works very well on removing grease and oil.  Should work great on any petroleum products.  All the carpet and insulation must be removed, no cheating!  Scrub the entire floor with a 50/50 mix of Simple Green and warm water.  Has a minty smell that soon disapates.  I've used this to completely detail an engine compartment on a Mustang that had 100K on it.  Good stuff, safe to use, smells good.

Be very careful that you don't get the computer wet.  Some vehicles have the computer under one of the front seats.  Take a peek before you get carried away.

Don't worry, you'll get this resolved.

[julecav]

I asked my DH who is a HVAC tech about what they use to get rid of the smell if they spill oil but he said it was just for diesel not regular gas and gas will eventually evaporate.  When we moved into our new house it had that awful old lady smell in it what worked best for that was just putting baking soda boxes in all of the cabinets and closets.  A few of those fridge packs might help a little.  Maybe 100 or so of those little pine tree air fresheners hanging around could remind you of camping ;>}
Good Luck