Spilled gas

I just spilled about half a gallon of mixed gas on my garage floor. I mopped it up with paper towels, and it evaporated. There's a strong smell of gas present, though. What can I do? Spread some soapy detergent and power wash it?

Help appreciated.

Steve

I wonder if crushing charcoal over the spot and leaving it there would suck up the smell?

Wes

What you smell is the gasoline that remains in the porous concrete. It is dispersed therein and in time will evaporate and the smell lwill go away, slowly. The oil in the gas is another matter. Don't ask me how I know this but: You can heat one of the oily spots with a torch and the vapor driven out will ignite with a small "poof". Not recommended.

Bob Swinney

On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 07:24:12 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, Tom Kendrick quickly quoth:

Premix is only slightly oily, 4oz/gal.

This is a perfect time to remind everyone (who hasn't already sealed their concrete) WHY we seal concrete. Sealed, that would have been a half hour cleanup and no odor the next day.

You might want to clean and seal your garage/shop floors before this happens to you.

- Metaphors Be With You -

I didn't have any grease, just mixed gas for my weeder and chainsaw. I just went out there this morning, and there's not a mark or trace on the concrete, which is not what I expected with the oil in the gas. It does still smell of gas, though. I'll give it a bit and then soap it up and blow it off with the power washer.

I do need to get a bag of kitty litter to keep for messy situations all over the house. That stuff's handy, but one never thinks of buying unless they own a cat.

Steve

I did the same thing with a pint of kerosene a couple weeks ago. 1/2" of kitty litter killed the smell and pulled the kero out of the slab. That spot is now embarrassingly clean.

Half a gallon of gas is a very large amount of gas spilled. It can produce a serious explosion.

First, do NOT use any switches (light switches etc). Do not open the garage door using your automatic opener. Open it manually by disconnecting the chain. Go to your breaker panel, assuming that it is not in the garage, and turn off the garage circuit.

Your cleanup plan makes good sense to me, paper towels, etc.As long as there is a strong smell of gas, there is a possibility of explosion.

i

Speaking of which...

I have a newly-poured shop floor that probably needs to be sealed before I move anything onto it. The contractor suggested painting it, but I'm a little afraid of creating a slip and fall hazard...

Anybody had experiences, good or bad, with various sealers?

Jerry

seal it and then paint it. Depending on how smooth the concrete was finished you can add sand ingredient to the paint so that it will no be slippery when wet. The problem with the sand is that it makes it harder to sweep up since the roughness of the finish holds onto the dirt. Painting any floor is a matter of good prep work. If you dont prep it right the paint will not adhere properly and make a mess.

John

On Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:18:53 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, "Jerry Foster" quickly quoth:

I painted my previously-sealed gar^H^H^Hshop floor and it's not slick at all unless oil or water are spilled on it. Just remember to be careful when it's wet. It doesn't make that much difference in slickness dry. I used a plain porch and floor paint which holds up to anything normal, but dragging things across it takes it up. It was 1/3 the cost and 1/20th the hassle of epoxy.

I've only used grout and tile sealers, but here's the 411:

Don't use any sealer for 4-6 weeks after a slab is poured. Ask your concrete guy what he uses and why.

When it comes to most sealers/adhesives, the solvent-based stuff is head and shoulders above the waterborne stuff for durability.

P.S: Concrete stains are pissy products which are harder than hell to put on well so they don't look mottled. Avoid them if you have some creamy concrete, some etched, and some exposed aggregate like one client of mine did last March. I had her sign a waiver before I did it and she ended up painting it with the same company's concrete paint. I'll use an oil-based (vs. waterborne) stain next time, if at all, and I'll use the best sprayer I can buy.

- Metaphors Be With You -

Leave the garage door open for the day/evening, it'll be gone tomorrow.

I've relied on that method to clean concrete as long as I can remember. I was introduced to Oil-Dri back in '57, when I was hired by Sperry Utah as a trainee machinist. They had containers all around the shop for the machine operators to use as needed to help keep the floor dry. Most of our machines ran coolant.

You can remove oil and grease stains from concrete that have been there for years simply by washing the area well with Stoddard solvent (paint thinner works equally as well), then covering the washed area with Oil-Dri. You should then saturate the OIl-Dri with more solvent, so it stays wet for a prolonged period of time. The fluid slowly penetrates the concrete, liquefying the old oil and grease, then it's dragged to the surface and absorbed by the Oil-Dri as the solvent evaporates. A perfectly clean floor may require a second repetition, but it works, and very well.

Harold

That's what I did, and that's what it did. I was expecting a lingering odor for a while, but today you wouldn't know it even happened. I thought the oil would stain the floor, too, but not so. I'm amazed.

Steve