Benzene, a chemical compound with a sweetly scented odor to it, is largely responsible for gasoline’s distinctive scent, which is easily detected, even in small amounts.
When you get gasoline on your skin, clothes, or shoes, the smell of benzene — along with noxious sulfur and nitrogen compounds — is really hard to get out.
So before you toss your stained clothes in the washer for naught, follow these steps for success:
Step 1: Air out the affected item overnight.
Gas evaporates pretty quickly, but the odor tends to cling.
Step 2: Mix enough vinegar with 2 tablespoons of baking soda to form a paste.
Coat the offending item with it, and let it sit for 15 minutes. Baking soda and vinegar are both natural deodorizers, and when combined, they react in a wonderfully sciency way to dig deep into the fibers of your clothes or shoes and break apart the smelly sulfur and nitrogen compounds.
Step 3: Wash and rinse your item separately from your regular laundry.
After you pull it out of the washer, give it a sniff to make sure the smell is gone. If it’s not, repeat step 2, and re-wash until you get rid of the smell.
Step 4: To get gas smell out of shoes or other items that aren’t machine washable…
Toss them in a sealable bag filled with baking soda or clay-based kitty litter to absorb the odors. Leave them for 24 hours, and the smell should be gone.
No? Repeat with new baking soda or kitty litter.
