How to Get Rid of Gasoline Smell in a Car, House, or Clothes

Safety first: fumes burn

Gasoline vapor catches fire easily, and it’s heavier than air, so it collects near the floor and spreads toward pilot lights, water heaters, and sparks. The CDC’s toxic substances agency (ATSDR) says breathing a lot of it irritates the lungs and can cause dizziness and headaches.

• If a strong gas smell fills a room and you don’t know where it’s from, get everyone out. Don’t flip light switches, light anything, or start a car in an attached garage. Call the fire department from outside.
• If it smells like rotten eggs, it’s probably natural gas, not gasoline. Utilities add a sulfur-smelling chemical (mercaptan) to natural gas so you notice leaks. Leave and call your gas company or 911 from outside, as the Kansas Corporation Commission advises.
• Ventilate before you clean. Open doors and windows, and point a box fan out of a window or the garage door.
• Wear nitrile gloves. Gasoline dries out and irritates skin.

Find where the smell comes from

Gas smell almost never hangs in the air on its own. Something has liquid gasoline on it.

Where you smell it	Likely source	What to do
Car, right after filling up	Spilled gas on the paint, your shoes, or the floor mat; loose gas cap	Wipe the filler area, check the cap clicks, clean the mat
Car, while driving or parked	Leaking fuel line, injector, or evaporative emissions part; gas can in the trunk	Look under the car for drips; see a mechanic
Trunk	A gas can that tipped or seeps at the cap	Clean the liner (below), store the can elsewhere
Garage or shed	Mower, gas can, a spill on the floor, a leaking car	Clean the spill, check cans and equipment
Inside the house	Shoes, gloves, or clothes worn while fueling; fumes from an attached garage	Put them outside; seal the door to the garage
Clothes and laundry	A spill while fueling or working on an engine	Air outside, then wash (below)

The EPA lists stored fuels as a source of indoor air pollution, and says fumes can escape even closed containers. If your garage is attached, keep gas cans in a detached shed, or at least far from the house door, with the caps tight.

1. Clean a gas spill in your car

Soak it up first. Blot any wet spot with paper towels, then cover it with plain clay cat litter or a thick layer of baking soda. Leave it an hour or more so it can soak up what’s left, then vacuum or sweep it up. Bag it, and put it outside, away from the house, until you can take it to a household hazardous waste drop-off.

Wash the carpet or trunk liner. Mix a teaspoon of dish soap in a quart of warm water. Scrub the spot with a cloth, then blot with clean water. A portable carpet and upholstery cleaner works well here because it rinses and pulls the dirty water back out. Take floor mats out and wash them outside.

Dry it with air. Leave the doors or windows open in a safe spot outdoors. Then put a couple of activated charcoal bags in the car for a few days to soak up the traces.

If the smell is in the cabin and there’s no spill, it’s probably coming from the car. Check that the gas cap is tight (many cars warn with a check-engine light when it isn’t), and look under the car for wet spots or drips. A fuel leak is a fire risk: get it fixed instead of covering the smell. For other car smells, see how to get rid of a bad smell in your car.

2. Clean a spill in the garage

• Cover it with cat litter, sand, or sawdust, and give it a few hours.
• Sweep it into a metal can with a lid and leave it outside until you can drop it off at a hazardous waste site.
• Scrub the stain with dish soap and hot water, then rinse.
• Don’t hose gasoline into a storm drain or down a drain in the house.
• Keep the garage door open until the smell is gone, and don’t run anything with a flame or spark nearby in the meantime.

3. Get gasoline smell out of clothes

Gas on fabric is a fire risk until it evaporates. The National Fire Protection Association says never to put items in the dryer if they’ve touched flammable liquids like gasoline. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue in Maryland explains why: the fumes can catch fire from the dryer’s heat.

1. Hang them outside for a day or so, until the smell is faint.
2. Pretreat the spots with dish soap, work it in, and leave it 10 minutes.
3. Wash them separately from other laundry in the hottest water the care label allows, with your normal detergent and half a cup of baking soda.
4. Smell before you dry. If you can still smell gas, wash again and hang them to dry. Only use the dryer once the smell is completely gone.
5. Run an empty rinse cycle afterward so the next load doesn’t pick up the smell.

If clothes were soaked through, as in a big spill, throwing them out is often safer than trying to clean them. Shoes can sit outside for a few days; wash the soles with dish soap. For other laundry smells, see how to get odor out of clothes.

4. Get gas smell off your hands

Wash with dish soap and warm water, scrubbing under your nails, and repeat. Rubbing your hands with a paste of baking soda and water first can help with the last bit. Don’t use more gasoline, paint thinner, or other solvents on skin. If the skin is red or blistered, rinse it with water for 15 minutes and call a doctor.

5. Clear what’s left in the air

Once the source is gone, fresh air does most of the work. Leave windows open for a day or run a fan blowing out. Activated charcoal soaks up the remaining traces in a car or closet; baking soda helps less. An air purifier with a carbon filter helps in a room. See what absorbs odors for how these compare.

What not to do

• Don’t put gas-soaked clothes in the dryer, even on low.
• Don’t mask it with air freshener and leave the source. A fuel leak needs fixing.
• Don’t light candles or use a space heater to dry a spill.
• Don’t pour gasoline down a drain or into the ground.