The aroma of fuel, which is a product of petroleum refining, creates discomfort. And in high concentrations, its vapors can even lead to poisoning.
How to remove the smell of gasoline and diesel fuel from the inside of a car? Simple recipes and special auto chemical products will help with this.
Reasons for the appearance of unpleasant amber
Before you begin removing the specific aroma of diesel fuel or gasoline from your car, it is important to determine the cause of the problem.
If the appearance of fumes is associated with equipment failure, then it must be eliminated. Otherwise, no measures to remove the odor will help solve the problem completely.
The most common causes of the aroma of gasoline or diesel fuel in the cabin:
Malfunction of the fuel pump or filter.- Worn fuel hoses.
- Lack of tightness of the tank lid.
- Gas tank leaking.
- Carburetor failure.
- Wear of the door seals, especially the rear ones.
If the source of the unpleasant odor is eliminated, the smell of diesel fuel can be eliminated in 1-3 days.
Flavors
They are also air fresheners. Their selection is currently extremely large on store shelves. They are a small object (of various shapes) that is hung under the rearview mirror or mounted on the dashboard. Inside it is a sponge with aromatic substances of various scents (their choice is also huge). However, the problem is that flavorings in this case are ineffective. They can only be used at the final stage, when there is very little odor left and there is a desire to simply freshen the air.
If gasoline smells very persistently, then using flavorings is not recommended. Firstly, they do not eliminate the smell, but only add their own aroma. And secondly, a mixture of two odors will be felt even more unpleasant than one of them.
How to eliminate it using improvised means?
After identifying and eliminating the source of the fuel odor, we move on to treating the car interior. Sorbents and flavorings can be effective .
Ventilation
The easiest way to remove unpleasant odors from the interior is to ventilate the car. To do this, open all the doors and allow a draft to act.
In cool weather, it is enough to keep the interior open for 2-3 hours. During rain and high humidity, ventilation will be ineffective.
Soda
Kitchen soda is a product that has the ability to absorb various substances, including unpleasant odors. If fuel has been spilled on a soft seat, the procedure is as follows:
- Sprinkle the stain generously with baking soda straight from the pack;
- leave for 10 hours;
- clean with a brush.
This method will remove the smell itself, but may not cope with the stain. Cleaning with dishwashing gel will help remove it.
If you have a car vacuum cleaner, you can also use it to complete the cleaning.
Dishwashing gel
In cases where the source of the odor is a stain from accidentally spilled gasoline, you can use dishwashing detergent.
How to use:
- Pour water into a bucket (3-5 liters).
- Dilute ¼ cup of washing gel.
- Soak a rag in the solution and wash away the stains.
- Using clean water, repeat the treatment.
Lemon
Essential oils contained in lemon zest can be used as an odor control agent. A natural odor eliminator and freshener is prepared as follows:
- cut off ½ lemon;
- pass the lemon through a meat grinder along with the zest;
- squeeze out the juice using gauze folded in 2 layers;
- Add a glass of water to the resulting volume of juice;
- mix;
- pour into a container with a spray bottle.
You can even use this product on soft upholstery. The recipe is suitable in all cases, unless you are allergic to citrus fruits.
Vinegar
Table vinegar will not only help remove odors, but also disinfect. To process the interior you will need to perform the following steps:
- In a separate container, combine a glass of vinegar with 1-2 glasses of water.
- Pour the solution into a spray bottle.
- Distribute the product over the affected area.
- Leave for a quarter of an hour.
- Wipe with a damp cloth.
After treatment, it is advisable to ventilate the interior, leaving the doors open for 2 hours.
Coffee
Coffee lovers may like this simple recipe based on natural beans. Its action is based on the properties of coffee to absorb odors, while releasing a pleasant aroma.
Procedure:
- pass a few tablespoons of coffee beans through a coffee grinder;
- pour the resulting powder onto the seat with the stain;
- leave for 6 hours;
- Clean off the product with a brush; collect the remaining residue with a vacuum cleaner.
Additionally, you can pour the coffee beans into a plastic container. And make holes in it with a needle. Leave the resulting flavoring in the car.
Using coffee is an option for eliminating odors. But this approach will not eliminate the stains themselves ; other means will be needed for these purposes.
Only natural coffee rich in aromatic substances can be used for processing.
Activated carbon
The adsorbing properties of activated carbon can be used to treat car interiors from unpleasant odors. You will need a lot of tablets - about 50 pieces.
Application:
- Remove tablets from blisters.
- Spread around the cabin.
- Leave for at least a day.
This method will be ineffective if gasoline was spilled on soft upholstery and managed to be absorbed.
Essential oils
Essential oils have the ability to quickly displace other odors, filling the air space. For processing, you can use not only purchased fragrances from a car store, but also pharmacy essential oils.
for neutralizing fuel odor :
- bergamot;
- grapefruit;
- lemon;
- jasmine;
- pine;
- ginger.
Using pharmaceutical oil is very simple - just soak a sponge in the oil and wipe the plastic elements with it.
Special cases
Gasoline is stable, so the smell is absorbed not only by clothes or furniture, but also by household appliances and objects. Containers in which gasoline has been stored for a long time are especially affected by this.
Automatic machine
After washing dirty clothes, the smell of gasoline remains in the drum of the washing machine. It is removed using empty machine runs. For the first run, soda is poured into the washing powder compartment. The second and third runs are done empty, with cold water.
Reference! The washing temperature for an empty run should be no more than 30 degrees.
Canister
Containers in which gasoline was poured quickly absorb its smell. Various methods are used for removal:
- Detergent. “Fairy” is poured into the bottom of the canister, then the canister is filled with hot water, closed with a lid, and shaken. To wash away traces of detergent, you will need 6-8 rinses of the canister with warm water.
- Lemon juice, citric acid. The juice or acid is diluted with hot water and poured into a canister, left for 1 hour, then rinsed.
Special odor neutralizers for cars
To eliminate odors in the car interior, special neutralizers can be used. A large number of manufacturers produce such auto cosmetics, which allows you to choose the best option in each specific case.
These products are preferable to flavorings , as they make it possible to solve the problem rather than camouflage it.
Doctor Wax
The environmentally friendly neutralizer is designed for car interior care. The gel product with a natural fresh aroma has a compact packaging, allowing it to be placed under the seat.
The principle of operation is absorption, not masking, of unpleasant odors. The average price is 380 rubles.
Helmetex Auto
The neutralizer has an aromatherapy effect . It eliminates unpleasant odors, including specific odors from gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as other persistent ones. It has a disinfectant and antibacterial effect and is hypoallergenic.
The product is suitable for treating plastic, fabric and leather surfaces, interiors and luggage compartments.
Produced in Russia. Volume – 100 ml. The average price is 450 rubles per bottle.
Deliss
The drug is designed to effectively eliminate odors in the car interior. Gives the aroma of light pleasant freshness.
The neutralizer works at the molecular level , coping with unpleasant odors, including those from gasoline, animals, food, etc.
The drug was created using Japanese technology, manufactured in Russia. The average cost is from 220 rubles per 100 ml.
How to get rid of the smell of gasoline on your hands?
How to wash the smell of gasoline from your hands? Of course, using measures that are effective and not harmful to the skin.
glass cleaning products such as Fine glass, Flat, GRASS Clean Glass and many others are excellent for this purpose etc. Take these products in the form of sprays, treat your hands and wash them thoroughly with soap.
dishwashing liquids without fear , because... they are safe for the skin. Lather your hands like soap and rinse with warm water.
Or after washing, rinse your hands again in a weak solution of vinegar .
To get rid of the smell of gasoline on the skin, you can use specialized liquids from manufacturers such as: AIR, Break Down, Good Sense Fresh. These products are designed to gently eliminate unpleasant odor on your hands.
Dry cleaning: price issue
If you don’t have time to bother with eliminating the smell, or the products you used did not help solve the problem, you can turn to the services of a professional traditional dry cleaner.
For this treatment, special preparations with a high percentage of surfactants and the necessary equipment for cleaning are used.
Complex treatment will not only remove odor, but also remove stains from seats and plastic. Cleaning is carried out in several stages. The cost of a wet cleaning service is from 3,000 rubles, dry – from 1,500 rubles, taking into account the company’s price list and the volume of work performed.
What not to do
Gasoline belongs to the category of organic compounds and has a strong, persistent odor. The density of gasoline is 0.71 grams per centimeter³, which determines the boiling and freezing point of the substance. Physico-chemical characteristics are the basis of the rules that must be followed when handling things stained with gasoline.
Chlorine bleach
"Whiteness" is a disinfectant and cleaning agent that helps remove numerous stains from clothing or furniture. The main active ingredient of the composition is sodium hypochlorite. Chlorine bleach has a distinct, strong odor. Excessive inhalation of vapors causes toxin poisoning. If you apply chlorine bleach to a gasoline stain, an odor mixing reaction will follow. Volatile vapors can cause severe poisoning from the particles resulting from the reaction. This rule applies to any chlorine-containing bleach.
Washing machine
Sometimes motorists, in an attempt to rid clothes of the persistent gasoline smell, load things into the drum of a washing machine and turn on the high-temperature wash cycle. This is mistake. The gasoline smell spreads throughout the drum of the washing machine, and in the future, laundry washed after this load will have a persistent gasoline aroma.
Hot water
Soaking in hot water increases the smell of a gasoline stain on any item. Synthetic items will smell especially strongly.
Ozone cleaning: advantages and disadvantages
In addition to traditional cleaning and dry cleaning, car owners can order ozone interior cleaning services. It is produced using a special ozone generator. This method is very effective and quite fast. The entire processing takes about half an hour.
The operating principle is based on the oxidizing properties of ozone. As a gaseous substance, it effectively penetrates even hard-to-reach areas of the cabin, removing odors and disinfecting.
The advantage of this method:
- efficiency;
- speed of processing;
- harmlessness.
The downside is the price, which starts at 2,500 rubles.
If all else fails
If you cannot remove the smell of gasoline from the interior by any means, it is possible that the problem with a fuel leak has not been resolved. If you are sure that the car is in good condition, then try a few more methods:
- Washing seat covers. To be sure to neutralize any remaining fuel, wash at a temperature of 65°C or more. Additionally, use scented conditioners.
- Ozone cleaning. An ozone blower is used to treat the machine. Its molecules quickly eliminate foci of stench, even if they are more than 1-2 months old. A pleasant bonus will be the destruction of pathogenic flora - mold, bacteria.
- Car wash with dry cleaning. If your car smells like gasoline very strongly, you will have to turn to professionals. To wash car interiors, products with a high content of surfactants are used, which quickly neutralize unpleasant odors and remove oily marks on seats.
The smell of fuel in a car is a solvable problem that can often be dealt with using improvised means. If there is no effect, there are always backup options - chemical and ozone readings.
Features of washing in an automatic machine
If a person works in an auto repair shop or gas station, his belongings will emit a fairly strong aroma. In this case, you can wash things in a washing machine, but follow a few simple recommendations:
- Before putting your clothes in the washing machine, soak them in soapy water for a while. You can add a little glass cleaner to it. It will help eliminate the unpleasant odor.
- Wash items with powder or gel in a suitable mode.
- Add an extra rinse.
- When re-rinsing, use fabric softener.
- Dry in the fresh air.
Advice! If there is no conditioner, add table vinegar when rinsing.
