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How to remove smell of gasoline from clothing?

I helped my roommate put some gas in her car early this morning, and I got a little bit on my gloves.

I tossed them in the washing machine, along with a few pieces of clothing that I had in the hamper. I've run it through 3 cycles so far, and I can still smell the gas. Even worse, the smell has transferred to the clothing, and I can't get it out. Even the machine still smells like gasoline.

I'm using Arm & Hammer fragrance-free detergent. First two cycles were in cold water. Then I let it sit all day in hot water while I went to work. Now, its going through cycle #4 in hot water, with detergent and baking soda.

I doubt I spilled even a teaspoonful, about 5ml, on the gloves. But that smell won't go away.

What am I doing wrong? Anybody have any tricks or hints or special products that will erase this odor?
 
Coffee grounds is great for taking out smells. Cabbies often is it. Cover the item with grounds, let it sit over night. Should work.
 
Worked all my life as a truck driver. Throw them out or designate them permanently as work gloves.
Yeah, if it was just the gloves, I'd throw them away. But I've also got a few days worth of underwear and socks that are now infected. I'll probably just throw them out, although I hate to lose the Thorlos socks. Those are expensive and hard to find.
 
Yeah, if it was just the gloves, I'd throw them away. But I've also got a few days worth of underwear and socks that are now infected. I'll probably just throw them out, although I hate to lose the Thorlos socks. Those are expensive and hard to find.

Thorlos loss hurts for sure. You can make it bearable by continuing to soak and wash(maybe even the coffee ground thing) but they will never be the same.
 
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Try washing the clothes without the gloves. As a farmer we never wash anything with our gloves except gloves. Same with our work clothes.
 
Try washing the clothes without the gloves. As a farmer we never wash anything with our gloves except gloves. Same with our work clothes.
Yeah, I already took the gloves out and put them in the garage. I'm letting the clothes soak overnight in hot water with detergent and baking soda. This is wash #5. I'll repeat at least one more time tomorrow.
 
After wracking my brain I've get a few ideas.

There's a couple things that will neutralize any odor. The first is ozone. Ozone is oxygen gas with a third oxygen molecule. Ozone reacts with just about anything, which is why car detailing companies use an ozone generator to remove odors from car interiors. It even works on cigarette smoke. I think it's sold in cans as "odor bombs".
Vinegar and baking soda would be my next guess. Let everything soak in vinegar for a while, then throw it in hot water and baking soda.
Last idea is activated charcoal. You can buy it at pet stores, comes in bags, its what is using for fish tank filters. Put the charcoal and the clothing in a sealed container for a few days.

Can't guarantee any of these will work, but may be better than throwing stuff away.
 
Hmmm . . . I don't know specifically, but gasoline is a collection of hydrocarbons so you'll need something that solubilizes hydrocarbons/nonpolar compounds (fat-solublizing stuff of some kind).

Clorox's website talks about using a degreaser like Goo Gone (I use the orange based Citra-Solv as a degreaser, though I've never tried it on clothing). Other websites talk about using Coca-Cola (which makes no sense to me from a chemistry perspective), Simple Green, and other random stuff. I'd probably try the orange-based degreaser which makes the most chemistry sense to me (or Simple Green if the cost of the other stuff was prohibitive), and maybe check a hardware store for a big bottle of something like that.

I also read that you don't ever put that in the dryer due to the risk of fires/explosions.

Good luck!
 

Legion

Staff member
Perchloroethylene. That stuff will clean just about anything. Talk to your local dry cleaner. In Australia at least you need a licence to get hold of the stuff, it is a heavy organic solvent, but it is the business for cleaning things. It will strip the oil off a bicycle chain (I know for a fact, did it all the time), it will clean the gas off your clothes, remove tell tale blood stains, and cures what ails ya. Step right up!
 
Vinegar or lemon juice might be worth a shot - if it can strip fish stink from your hands in seconds I'm sure it'll do some good for removing the smell of petrol
 
I think that you missed your real chance here. The clothing and gloves should have been torched whilst they were still damp.....

:sneaky2:


Sorry, but any of the solvents mentioned should be helpful. Good luck!
 
Worked all my life as a truck driver. Throw them out or designate them permanently as work gloves.

Diesel fuel is much worse than gasoline, in my experience.

Yeah I heard using that fast orange plus pumice will remove it

Yup, or any hand cleaner sold for auto repair. They're supposed to be just as good for removing automotive fluids/stains from clothes as they are for hands, and they work great on my hands. I haven't used it but I suspect Oxy-Clean could help too.

But first...why has nobody suggested air? Just let it all air out for a few days or a week, then wash again using whichever stuff you like from the suggestions in this thread. I've found that just letting gasoline air out of clothes works wonders, getting most of the job done such that the rest is easily accomplished. I can't say I've tried it after washing though.

If you want to combine strategies and have a forced-hot-air heating system, air it out next to your furnace. Those circulation motors generate plenty of ozone (don't park your bicycle next to it if you want your tires to last!).

For future reference, if something gets gasoline, oil, or anything particularly nasty on it, wash it in a bucket until it seems clean before you put it in the washing machine.
 
I'll second the degreaser comment. I've taken oil stains out of shirts with a product called Greased Lightning. It can be found at Dollar General, Wal-Mart, etc. It comes in a yellow spray bottle, and works pretty well.

Since gasoline is a petroleum product, this would be my best guess, in addition to letting them air out. I would drench them in the degreaser, let them soak for a few hours, hit them with it again, and throw in the wash.
 

Slash McCoy

I freehand dog rockets
Gojo or Fast Orange. Rub it in good and let it sit overnight. Inside and outside. Wash with a couple of old pairs of tennis shoes. Don't wash work gloves or items with diesel or gasoline on them, with other clothes. As for yoru other clothes that are now tainted, keep them segregated from other clothes. Give them a couple more washings, with plenty of soap. Remember, you now have tainted the washing machine, so use a full load setting for the water level.

Next time you have stuff to wash with gasoline or diesel of other oils on them, presoak and prewash with simple green in a 5 gal bucket. A (new and unused) toilet plunger makes a great agitator. Repeat until you don't smell the bad stuff any more. Then do a regular cycle in the washer.

It is a really good idea to have separate washers for work clothes and leisure/business clothes.
 
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