How to Get Rid of the Smell of Gas From Your Car

You're driving down the road in your nice smelling car and all of a sudden you notice that the gas can in the backseat has been knocked over. Whether you were carrying a lawn mower or just getting gas for something at home, this experience can be incredibly frustrating. You've scrubbed and scrubbed and nothing seems to remove the smell of gasoline from your car. No worries, I have the ultimate solution!

Step 1: Thoroughly clean the area around where the spill took place. Make sure you have room to work. Vacuum the area out carefully so you get rid of any pieces of grass, leaves, or other debris.

Step 2: Baby oil has been a remedy for removing the smell of gasoline for a long time. Carefully poor a healthy amount of baby oil on all of the areas of the carpet or seats that were spilled on. Why baby oil? Since gas is oil based, we need to use an oil based product to bring the gas to the surface. Baby oil will bind to the gas molecules.

Step 3: Take a washcloth and get it damp with hot water. After this you will rigorously rub the hot washcloth on the areas that were spilled on. Rub each spot for about 15 seconds, ring the washcloth out, dip it in hot water again, and repeat the process until you feel you've removed the majority of the gas.

Step 4: Apply a decent amount of dishwashing soap and laundry detergent onto your hot washcloth and lather it up. Again, rigorously rub the washcloth into the areas that were spilled on. You want to get the seats and carpet nice and lathered up. You are loosening up the gas and baby oil and bringing them to the surface by performing this process.

Step 5: After you believe you have gotten the seats and carpet nice and lathered up it's time to rinse everything out. Carefully ring out all of the soap with hot water. You want to just have a hot damp wash cloth again. Rub all of the soap, baby oil, and gasoline out of your carpet and seats. You will have to keep rinsing and repeating until everything is completely removed.

Step 6: Let everything dry out. If you have a fan, place it in your car and leave the windows open for a night if you can place your vehicle in a secure location. Make sure the carpet is completely dry before moving on to the next step.

Step 7: Go to your local automotive store and purchase a bottle of carpet powder. Carpet powder gives your car that fresh new smell. Pour it all over your seats and carpet and let it absorb into everything. The goal with this is to cover up any smell left by the gas. Wait about 30 minutes and vacuum out the powder. This should completely eliminate the gas smell. However, if there is any hint of gas smell still remaining then repeat this step until it's gone!

Step 8: Let the car air out another night. Leave the windows open. You may even consider buying an air freshener to hang on your rear-view mirror to finish it off.