Need Help With Mitigating Gas Smell in Car

h8dirtycars

h8dirtycars

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Reaching out to anyone who knows how to mitigate the gas smell in a car.

A little background: Right after the bad storms in the northeast the beginning of March, the fuel can I was using for the generator tipped over in the trunk of my daughters Jetta. I know, I know I should have put it behind the front seats. Was lazy and now I have a problem.

The can tipped over close to the back of the back seats in the trunk. I removed the back bench seat, as the fuel soaked the foam on the bottom of the seat. It melted and discolored the foam, chemical reaction I guess. I haven't put it back in the car and got a good deal on a almost new on from ebay, which I haven't put in the car yet.
As well, I cleaned everything else that had a fuel smell on it. This would include the carpet under the bench seat, which was one side only, the sound dampening adhesive pads, and the trunk carpet and VW CarGo trunk liner for those of you who know what that is. I've spent a lot of time on this and when I literally put my nose practically touching these items I get no odor. Doesn't smell like gas at all. I purchased a cheap ozone machine from Amazon for $65.00 and there is still an odor in the car. And bought those charcoal bags and left them in the car. Nothing.

If I have removed the source of the saturated fuel what would still cause the odor? Is there anything under the sheet metal under the trunk or rear passenger compartment that would hold the odor?

If I took the car to a professional detailer, would they be able to mitigate it with a good ozone machine?
 
Where do you live? I've spilled gas in a vehicle before and nothing beats airing out the car with a large fan and dry air. If you're in a humid area it could be problematic. The petroleum distillates will eventually evaporate due to non-zero vapor pressure. You just need to get air circulation around the affected area to decrease the vapor pressure where the distillate remains. This will cause evaporation as the vapor will seek air space where the concentration is lowest.
 
I live in the northeast. Plenty humid. After the storm, we had plenty of days with no rain or snow, and I've aired it out for days on end, closing it up at night.

The thing is, I can't smell any fuel on the areas where I cleaned, and like I said I removed the seat, which is where the most concentrated smell is.
 
h8dirtycars said:
I live in the northeast. Plenty humid. After the storm, we had plenty of days with no rain or snow, and I've aired it out for days on end, closing it up at night.

The thing is, I can't smell any fuel on the areas where I cleaned, and like I said I removed the seat, which is where the most concentrated smell is.
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If you have a big fan it would be best to open up the whole vehicle and blow through as much air as possible. Airing out is not going to be sufficient if it is soaked in. You are fortunate that it is gasoline. If it were diesel or other heavier oil you would have a much bigger problem.
 
I don't have one but will head to Wally world to get one.

I'll try anything, hope that works. Thanks.
 
h8dirtycars said:
I don't have one but will head to Wally world to get one.

I'll try anything, hope that works. Thanks.
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The other thing in place of a big fan is to drive around with the windows down at high speed. I know it is problematic, noisy and not always pleasant but you really want as much air movement as possible. I spilled some gas in my car and it soaked the carpet. In NorCal it is quite dry and just driving around with the windows wide open on a warm, dry day got most of the smell out. Eventually, it will reduce, assuming there is no chemical reaction, which it sounds like you mitigated already.
 
It's finally starting to get warmer here. I actually drove around like that when it was pretty cold.
 
The fumes are probably trapped everywhere, including the headliner. Airflow is the key, and time. You could try to cover up the smell with some CG fragrances.
 
I worked for a home heating oil company when I was a kid and I had access to Sid Harvey products. They make an odor neutralizing powder that was designed to eliminate the smell of fuel oil spilled on a carpet. It is a superb product. I am sure that it will work with gasoline.
 
UncleDavy said:
I worked for a home heating oil company when I was a kid and I had access to Sid Harvey products. They make an odor neutralizing powder that was designed to eliminate the smell of fuel oil spilled on a carpet. It is a superb product. I am sure that it will work with gasoline.
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The same company that makes the filters, UD?
 
PaulMys said:
The same company that makes the filters, UD?
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They do make filters Paulie. Their products are used for the heating and air conditioning industry. They make filters for air handling units as well as oil filters. In the past they only sold to people in the trade but now they sell to general public.
 
UncleDavy said:
They do make filters Paulie. Their products are used for the heating and air conditioning industry. They make filters for air handling units as well as oil filters. In the past they only sold to people in the trade but now they sell to general public.
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Thought I recognized the name.

I used to help an HVAC guy part time when I was a kid fresh out of HS. Circa the '80's.
 
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