Spilled kerosene

[guy48065]

I was transporting a kerosene space heater in my Explorer and the movement caused the fuel to overflow onto the carpet in the back of the truck. It mostly soaked in to the removable carpeted covers but a little extra ran down into the storage wells under the floor.

I need to know how to quickly (today--using common products) get rid of the kerosene before it does something nasty to the carpet or adhesive.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Not an expert at cleaning up Kerosene, but a quick google search found these instructions:

Kerosene leaves more than just an oily stain when spilled on carpet. In addition to removing a potential stain from the kerosene, you will have to deal with the odor kerosene leaves behind. Large quantities of kerosene can mean the end of a carpet; however, small amounts, such as drips from a kerosene lamp, can be easily removed. Several household cleaners will come in handy. In addition, airing out the area naturally will get your carpet back to normal.

1. Open windows to allow fresh air and ventilation; remove or replace the padding below the carpet if it's saturated with kerosene.

2. Blot the affected area thoroughly with white, absorbent towels. Continue blotting until liquid stops appearing on the towel.

3. Clean the affected area with a clean towel dipped in an oil-fighting detergent mixture. You can mix your own using a 1/4 teaspoon of liquid dish detergent in a quart of warm water. Continue to blot after each round of cleaning to pull the kerosene out of the carpet.

4. Rinse the affected area with clean water from a spray bottle. Blot the rinse water with dry towels. Allow to dry.

5. Sprinkle a liberal quantity of baking soda on the affected area to absorb residual odor. Allow it to sit for several hours or days depending on the severity of the odor. Then vacuum the used baking soda. Repeat as necessary.

[Ricorocks]

Hi Guy,

Spilled in the trunk of my new Audi, a little gasoline, from the lawnmower can.

All that stuff Paul says yeah do it!

For me the gasoline odor persisted for quite some time.

Trunk open - outdoors <air it out>
Baking soda helps, pour a box, where ever, the spill may be
One of the best, truck driver solution was, ground coffee "dry" like not used, pour it on & leave it, my case a week.

Spray(s) only lasted a little while

Things that adsorb work better than masking the scent.

Finally my last step was to change the cabin filter.

My spill was less than 1/8 of a cup, it took several months to be rid of the smell.

[irvsmith]

My safety light is coming on around this. The story is that my cousin died in a car crash when he was overtaken by the fumes and passed out. It was in his trunk and I can't speak as to how much was in the trunk but felt I should mention it.

Ok safety light is now off.


Hi Guy,

Spilled in the trunk of my new Audi, a little gasoline, from the lawnmower can.

All that stuff Paul says yeah do it!

For me the gasoline odor persisted for quite some time.

Trunk open - outdoors <air it out>
Baking soda helps, pour a box, where ever, the spill may be
One of the best, truck driver solution was, ground coffee "dry" like not used, pour it on & leave it, my case a week.

Spray(s) only lasted a little while

Things that adsorb work better than masking the scent.

Finally my last step was to change the cabin filter.

My spill was less than 1/8 of a cup, it took several months to be rid of the smell.

[guy48065]

My safety light is coming on around this. The story is that my cousin died in a car crash when he was overtaken by the fumes and passed out. It was in his trunk and I can't speak as to how much was in the trunk but felt I should mention it.

Ok safety light is now off.

Overcome by kerosene fumes?

Because the panels are removable I scrubbed them with an APC and water, with a good hose rinse. Twice.

There still a bit of smell remaining so maybe I'll try the baking soda trick.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

This actually reminds me, I actually had a neighbor who used to have a a 64 T-Bird and a 64 Galaxy 500. He bought new.

He only used Kerosene to clean the cars. As a kid, I always wondered why his cars were flat black. I think they started off as deep blue before the Kerosene baths.

[irvsmith]

Overcome by kerosene fumes?



Because the panels are removable I scrubbed them with an APC and water, with a good hose rinse. Twice.



There still a bit of smell remaining so maybe I'll try the baking soda trick.


I think it was actually gasoline but I got this like third hand.