Clean gas smell off hands?

[Jon]

I've Googled this and not happy with what I found. I don't remember this being a problem 40-50 years ago when I was into it every day at work. But now I have a heck of a time getting rid of the smell. Just wondered what you guys have used successfully? I've tried dish washing soap, Go-Jo, detergent, and mineral spirits. The mineral spirits seems to work the best of these.

[hotrodA]

AutoZone cheapo carb cleaner or Windex

[Rock Hornbuckle]

Gasoline contains benzene, an extremely harmful chemical when inhaled or absorbed throught the skin. The best way to get gas smell off your hands, is to not get it on your hands. Go to OSHA site and read about benzene. You can say, " I've done this for years with no harmful effect", but it WILL catch up with you!

[1crosscut]

I use the disposable blue nitrile gloves. You can get them in boxes of 100 in the $15 range. If your careful you can sometimes get 2 or 3 uses out of them. I haven't found any of my shop chemicals that affect them.
Dave

[Barry B./ Ma.]

WD-40 works the best for me, absorbs the odor and doesn't evaporate too fast making for easy cleanup.

[MikeK]

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Lobby for E85. That way your hands will smell more like politicians than gas. I also agree with the 'use nitrile gloves' logic.

[Rock Hornbuckle]

www.oshacfr.com. 1910.1028 Appendix A, Permissible exposure; 1 part of benzene vapor per million parts of air. All skin exposure is harmful, and should be avoided.

Long term chronic exposure; Repeated or prolonged exposure to benzene, even at relatively low concentrations, may result in various blood disorders, ranging from enemia to lukemia. Many blood disorders may occur without symtoms.

This is qouted from the OSHA manual.

[tudoor]

Wear rubber gloves, that is the only way. take it from me who has been sensitized to fuels and oils. I wish I wore them 30 years ago. All parts stores sells them they are very flexible. The chemicals in gasoline are absorbed into your skin in a matter of seconds and go straight to your kidneys and liver!

[Mike V. Florida]

Originally Posted by MikeK

Lobby for E85. That way your hands will smell more like politicians than gas. I also agree with the 'use nitrile gloves' logic.

politicians, gas samething! Lemons work for me.

[luckyal]

I have the best luck with vinegar. Things like carb cleaner may be harmful to your skin or may absorb by your body. There used to be a sandy cream cleaner ( don't know the name ) and it worked well.
Al

[roccaas]

Gritty toothpaste and a "Wonder Bar" (aluminum). Also works for fishy hands. Then something to mosturize, or the cracks in your dry skin will hold the smell.

[Ed in Maine]

We have a club member who is a doctor. When he heads out to his Model As, he is wearing white surgical gloves. I can't imagine what his patients would think if smelled like a garage! Ed

[TinCup]

Vanilla from the kitchen works great to eliminate the smell on your hands.

[jimvette59]

Rub your hands with fresh lemons. JMHO.

[Aok]

Originally Posted by Mike V. Florida

politicians, gas samething! Lemons work for me.

A fisherman I knew many years back told me he used lemons to clean the smell of fish from his hands and like you I have found they do work for gas also

[Tom Wesenberg]

I've used gas to clean parts since I was about 10 years old. The old days good gas never bothered me, but today's corn crap gas is really tough on the hands and I have to wear nitrile gloves. If I get today's gas on my hands then I use dishsoap and wash my hands 3 times, but still have to suffer the smell and sting for a day or so. This crap gas leaves a smell on my hands just from removing the gas cap.

[Ross/Kzoo]

If you're looking for very good latex or non latex gloves go to Center Medical Supply. They're better and cheaper than Harbor Freight.

[Don/WI]

I have always used "Goop" for cleaning my hands that are dirty from old grease or oil and when I occasionally get gas on my hands. I will always use the blue nitril gloves if I'm using any type of cleaner (mineral spirits, carb cleaner, gunk engine cleaner, etc.) other than water-based cleaners. Some mentioned using mineral spirits to get rid of the gas smell. I think that the smell of mineral spirits is almost as bad as gas. My wife makes me undress in the garage if I have been using mineral spirits for cleaning parts.

"Goop" can be purchased (in my area at least) at Fleet Farm or Harbor Freight. I have mentioned the use of "Goop" a number of times in the past here on the "Barn" but nobody has ever commented on it. Am I the only one that uses it? Thanks. Don/WI

[Tom Wesenberg]

Goop is good stuff. My friend rubs it into grease stains on his clothing before he sticks it in the washing machine.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

"SHOUT" pre-wash in a spray bottle is a quite good hand cleaner & helps get rid of the gas odor.
Once a looooong time ago, I was gettin' undressed in the garage, I forgot that Cindy had an OPENER!--------EEEEK! Bill W.

[Tinker]

I've heard if you use some hand lotion before you do the work, the hand lotion penetrates the skin before the oil can.

Hey at church everyone knew whom the pig farmer was. Heck I still like the smell of silage.

Seriously though, lotion before working helps. I just use a little high karate afterwords too.

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by Tinker

. . . Heck I still like the smell of silage. . .

City slicker here. What's silage? If it smells like a foundry or machine shop, I like it. The soybean chemical processing plant down the road owned by a paint company, not so much.

[Buz]

This new gas stinks. The only thing I have found that kills the smell is Boraxo hand soap, it works wonders.
Here's a link, you can get it at Walmart. Worth it's weight in gold !
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Boraxo-003...l5=pla&veh=sem

[H. L. Chauvin]

After over 50 years of knowing about removing smell from hands, & after telling so many people in so many states & countries for so many years, I just cannot imagine why this one smell remover never gets metionned.

Anyone ever go to a South Louisiana restaurant and engage in peeling & eating boiled shrimp, boiled crawfish, and/or boiled crabs, then leave the restaurant with a seafood odor on one's hand that could knock out a mule upwind at 100 yards?

For smell on one's hands, the restaurant owners & waitresses offer lemons which barely remove some of the smell; but now your hands have a strong odor of lemon peelings.

Some recommend their scented hand "wipes", or suggest their restroom lavatories liquid soap that smells as bad as cheap perfume from downtown Cairo, Egypt.

Right under everyone's noses, on the restaurant table, is the very best unknown smell remover one ever tried.

Use it first, "then" wash your hands with any soap & water & you can dance all night & not have your partner think you are a commercial fisherman off of the North Sea.

Only one (1) tablespoon of this stuff in one's palm will work just fine.

Get it from the restaurant table, then go to the restaurant lavatory & rub it on fronts & backs of both hands, between fingers, & scratch each hand to work it under your fingernails.

Then wash hands normally with soap & water & dry.

Name of product: Regular tomato Ketchup, (Catsup).

Hope this helps while going to church also.

[Tinker]

Chicago guy huh? Lived in the wheaton area for a bit. Silage is a mix of feed for cattle. Some people don't like the smell much its like the smell of a barn or a oily garage, you like it or you don't.

Lotion before working on your car works though.

[Joe K]

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Fast Orange. Get the "smooth" type. Pumice is good for grimy hands but smooth cleans better (IMHO)

Usually about $12 for a gallon jug with pump top.

Joe K

[steve hackel]

'Avon' makes a product called "silicone Glove" and is just the thing to use on your hands BEFORE you work with grease and dirty parts - cheap $, easy to wash off and smells great, it also helps to soften them. To clean your hands, try looking at this web-site and the product called "Pro-Soap" ; it is used by several medical centers and hospitals that I know of, and I have been using it for about 23 years... or, ever since I had several free samples given to me at a car show and swap meet. I end up buying 1 case of it each year (4 tubs) and for the number of times a day that I wash my hands I am surprised that I don't use more of it!

[steve hackel]

'Avon' makes a product called "silicone Glove" and is just the thing to use on your hands BEFORE you work with grease and dirty parts - cheap $, easy to wash off and smells great, it also helps to soften them. To clean your hands, try looking at this web-site http://www.prosoap.com/ and the product called "Pro-Soap" ; it is used by several medical centers and hospitals that I know of, and I have been using it for about 23 years... or, ever since I had several free samples given to me at a car show and swap meet. I end up buying 1 case of it each year (4 tubs) and for the number of times a day that I wash my hands I am surprised that I don't use more of it!

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Chief had a gas station about like this pic, small house behind, we never smelled gas, company would come in the house, "You got gas in the house"????----------Bill W. (Didn't have ants, either. Mice? I don't remember??)

[Ross/Kzoo]

Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin

After over 50 years of knowing about removing smell from hands, & after telling so many people in so many states & countries for so many years, I just cannot imagine why this one smell remover never gets metionned.

Anyone ever go to a South Louisiana restaurant and engage in peeling & eating boiled shrimp, boiled crawfish, and/or boiled crabs, then leave the restaurant with a seafood odor on one's hand that could knock out a mule upwind at 100 yards?

For smell on one's hands, the restaurant owners & waitresses offer lemons which barely remove some of the smell; but now your hands have a strong odor of lemon peelings.

Some recommend their scented hand "wipes", or suggest their restroom lavatories liquid soap that smells as bad as cheap perfume from downtown Cairo, Egypt.

Right under everyone's noses, on the restaurant table, is the very best unknown smell remover one ever tried.

Use it first, "then" wash your hands with any soap & water & you can dance all night & not have your partner think you are a commercial fisherman off of the North Sea.

Only one (1) tablespoon of this stuff in one's palm will work just fine.

Get it from the restaurant table, then go to the restaurant lavatory & rub it on fronts & backs of both hands, between fingers, & scratch each hand to work it under your fingernails.

Then wash hands normally with soap & water & dry.

Name of product: Regular tomato Ketchup, (Catsup).

Hope this helps while going to church also.

A fellow worker would go coon hunting with his dogs all night. Sometimes the dogs would get sprayed by skunks. When he got home the next morning he would wash the dogs with tomatoe juice. He said it was the only thing to get the smell out.

[Patrick L.]

I still wash my hands with gas and then use toothpaste.

[marc hildebrant]

Tomato juice is a classic for skunk smell. It should work on gas too.

I use kerosene as a cleaner on my hands if the "orange cleaner" doesn't work.

Marc

[Chris in WNC]

to me the kerosene stink is almost as bad as gasoline.
the catsup cure is one I've never heard but am eager to try.

latex gloves? I love keeping my hands cleaner. Harbor Freight gloves are poor quality as we expect from there. I've used much more expensive gloves from various sources that are almost as bad. best ones yet are the black ones we got recently at O'Reilly Auto Parts. that said, I've never found any that will stand up to kerosene, much less gasoline......

[Ross/Kzoo]

Originally Posted by Chris in WNC

to me the kerosene stink is almost as bad as gasoline.
the catsup cure is one I've never heard but am eager to try.

latex gloves? I love keeping my hands cleaner. Harbor Freight gloves are poor quality as we expect from there. I've used much more expensive gloves from various sources that are almost as bad. best ones yet are the black ones we got recently at O'Reilly Auto Parts. that said, I've never found any that will stand up to kerosene, much less gasoline......

Have you tried the store in your town that supplies wheelchairs, knee braces and other medical supplies? And I'm not talking Walmart. Much cheaper and better than the Harbor Freight gloves.

[Ted Duke]

I agree to avoid getting it on you, BUT:

I find the best handcleaner is the cheapest shampoo you can find. Any brand, get min eat Dollar store. Works better on grease, anything smelly, dirt then hand-cleaners.

IMHO, your results may very

[1942deluxe]

The smell that was worse was the friction modifier we used to get from Ford for the clutch packs on the limited slip differentials.Everyone called it "a bottle of the stinky
s##t",even the Ford people.They have changed the formula when it went to Motorcraft and the smell is milder.Rest assured if you got any on your hands or clothes there was no chance you were going to have a romantic evening.

[gweilbaker]

Pet an old sweaty goat, works every time.

[Tacoma Bob]

Been having good luck with goo gone spray gel.

[Brentwood Bob]

A great attention getter is to snap the gloves when you get them on. Works every time. Bob

[Ross/Kzoo]

Originally Posted by Brentwood Bob

A great attention getter is to snap the gloves when you get them on. Works every time. Bob

Why, what does that remind you of?

[Don S]

Tomato juice worked on my pointer after a skunk encounter,but the next day when she got wet the smell was back. Took several more tries before she smelled ok.

[txturbo]

Gasoline doesn't contain Benzene anymore.....thats the reason it goes bad so fast.

[jmeckel]

As others have said best to not get to much on your hands, I found a product at the local Walmart (back in the area by the automotive stuff, next to the other automotive type hand cleaners) that works great to remove the grease, dirt and smells. It is a green powder called WORX. Comes in a smaller water bottle sized container with a blue flip top 6.5 oz. Works so good I am sure they will find that it is bad for you or harms some small bug someplace and stop selling it!!!

[Doug in NJ]

Harbor Freight often has their 100-count boxes of blue nitrile gloves on sale.
They are more chemical-resistant and less likely to rip than latex, but lacquer thinner will weaken and eventually cause them to fail. But for normal dirty work, I an often get 2 or 3 uses from them.

Doug

[ursus]

I have found that the best nitrile gloves are purple in color and and made by Kimberly-Clark. These will withstand all kinds of solvents, even the nasty carburetor cleaner sold in gallon cans.

Beyond that there are a number of industrial "barrier creams" that are available in lipophilic and lipophobic formulations. A relative worked in a Texaco tanker loading plant for over 40 years. They were sloshing volatile fluids around all day and had tubs of barrier cream available for the workers. The stuff was scooped out and applied liberally up to the forearms and allowed to air dry, resulting in hands that looked like they had been coated with talc. It resisted petroleum products like jet fuel and was all easily washed off with soap and water at the end of a shift, leaving clean odor-free hands. I had a supply of it until a few years ago and appreciated having clean hands and nails even after toiling with old greasy parts all day long. The brand that I use now is called "Invisible Glove" and it is made by Borden Chemical Inc. There is another in a spray can called "Chemco" or something like that. Try it and save your skin (and I mean it literally).

[stainless steve]

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Shampoo

[F.O.G.]

Just wash dishes, gets rid of any grease and eliminates the gas smell, also scores
big points with the better half. I have used this method for 40 years, hands always clean and smell great. Try it.

[kevinmac/toledo]

stick your hands in a mud puddle...rub the mud around like its gojo...rinse .then use a little soap....works like a charm...spray carb cleaner -too many chemicals....good luck...kev

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by stainless steve

Shampoo

Thanks for the idea, Steve, Pat left me a LIFETIME supply! Each does a "SPECIAL" THING! If I mixed them ALL together, folks would say, "GEEZ! look at the poor oooooold UGLY man"!! with the cute Dog---------------"But doesn't he have GREAT HAIR"!!! Bill W.

[stainless steve]

Yes Bill
You would be the cleanest non gas smelling ooooold ugly man with great hair!!!! Buster T could have great hair also!!!!!!!!

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by stainless steve

Yes Bill
You would be the cleanest non gas smelling ooooold ugly man with great hair!!!! Buster T could have great hair also!!!!!!!!

Rat Terriers have very short hollow hair & they're like having a self cleaning oven! They're always beautiful clean. Had buster T. for almost 2 years & NO bath. In the A.M. after sleeping under the covers, he smells like dryer sheets! Had 2 female Rat Terriers in the past and they were always fresh & clean with NO baths. Now, if only someone would make a self cleaning toilet---------------Bill W.