Not everyone knows that gas itself has no scent. This substance is odorless, which is why manufacturers started to add a special component to it to make gas smell.
This way, it is easier to define when there is a gas leak, for example, and avoid a health and life hazard.
However, this smelly additive may cause you another trouble.
Once gas ends up on your hands, they will start smelling quite significantly and unpleasantly. In addition, gas is considered one of the toughest household smells to get rid of.
But don’t worry, this is not the end of the world! We know a few well-working methods and tricks that will help you to get that pesky gasoline smell off your hands and destroy this odor effectively. With those in mind, you will not have to carry this smell with you all around the house for the rest of the day!
How to Remove the Gas Smell From Your Hands?
Gasoline may end up on your hands because of multiple reasons. You can spill it by accident when filling your car’s tank at the gas station, for example. Or you might be doing something at home, for example, any home renovation project.
Also, gasoline may get spilled on your hands if you are cleaning different household parts with it (which is quite seldomly done, but still).
No matter the reason, you have the fact: a gasoline spill on your hands that stinks! And what are you supposed to do about it, you may wonder?
Well, you can opt for one of the following gas cleaning remedies that can help you to fix the issue.
- use freshly squeezed lemon juice
- use distilled white vinegar
- clean that gasoline odor with the mix of salt and a dish detergent
- get rid of it by using a vanilla extract
As you could already guess from the list of these remedies, all the products can easily be found either in your kitchen or in your laundry room. That means removing gas that sits on your hands is a pretty easy thing to do!
Below, you will find a detailed step by step guideline about removing gasoline smell from hands with the use of the products mentioned above.
Like this, you will learn exactly what to do to get the most out of each of these methods.
How to Get the Gas Smell Off Your Hands With Vinegar?
First of all, you can make use of a regular distilled white vinegar (as well as any other vinegar, in fact) to get rid of the gas smell on your hands. Of course, you need to keep in mind that vinegar also has its own, very pungent smell that can be rather unpleasant to many of us!
However, the vinegar smell dissipates way faster than the heavy gasoline odor, and besides, when dissipating, it will take that gas smell with it.
But why would we make use of this common kitchen ingredient that we usually use for cooking and salad dressings? See, it is all about chemistry, in fact.
There are certain chemical properties within the distilled white vinegar that are able to actually break up those bonds that are present in gasoline. This is why that gasoline residue will eventually fade away from your hands once and for all once you treat them with vinegar!
So How to Get the Smell Of Gas Off Your Hands, you may ask? Pour just enough of the white vinegar (or whatever vinegar you are using instead) on your hands first. Make sure that it covers not only your fingers but also your palms completely. See, the coating must be full and of proper quality in order to combat the bonds of the gasoline.
Now that you submerged your fingers and palms in vinegar completely, make sure you rub the vinegar into your skin for thirty to forty five seconds.
You can do this either by quickly rubbing your hands together or by using a soft sponge in order to not irritate the skin. If you decide to rub your hands, interlock your fingers and massage them with white vinegar.
Continue doing it for another thirty to forty-five seconds or even a bit longer. Like this, you will be sure that there is no heavy gasoline odor left on your hands’ skin.
After you are done with vinegar rubbing, rinse your hands thoroughly by holding them under a running faucet and washing them with soap as you usually do. And remember: your hands must be washed until you stop feeling that vinegar scent!
Vanilla Extract For Removing the Gas Smell From Your Hands
Vanilla extract is another method you can opt for in order to get rid of the gasoline smell on your hands. Besides, vanilla extract will work as a natural deodorizer with quite a pleasant aroma that is definitely way nicer in comparison to that sharp and heavy odor of gasoline that will more likely cause headache!
All you need to do to make the magic work is to mix a few drops of the vanilla extract with water, usually half a cup or so is enough. If you don’t smell the scent of vanilla well enough, feel free to add more of its extract until you get the ideal concentration that suits your sense of smell.
The scheme of actions is the same as the one we have described for the white vinegar. You immerse your hands into this vanilla water and start rubbing them together.
Keep this going for around thirty seconds to a minute to make sure that the mixture soaks your skin completely.
Again, keep on rubbing your hands together until you stop smelling that gas odor. Once it is gone, rinse your hands with water and wash them as you usually do using soap and water.
Getting the Gas Smell Off Your Hands With Lemon Juice
Freshly squeezed lemon juice is another great option you can go for if you need to remove gasoline smell from the skin of your hands quickly. In addition, lemon juice will also work as a slight natural deodorizer, just like vanilla extract!
All that needs to be done is that you have to mix equal parts of freshly squeezed lemon juice and water in a bowl and stir the mixture thoroughly to make it homogeneous and let the components combine.
Just like with the other two solutions, pour this mixture onto your hands while rubbing them together. This way, the solution will be distributed evenly all around your fingers and palms. Keep on rubbing your hands like this for around a minute or so to make sure that you have a full coverage. However, if after a minute you can still smell that gasoline odor, extend the treatment time with no doubt.
Lemon juice is a natural thing, so there will be no harm to your hands or the skin if they are exposed to it somewhat longer.
Finally, finish with rinsing your hands with either only water (if you prefer to leave that citrus scent on your hands’ skin) or with water and soap.
How to Remove Gasoline Smell From Hands Using Salt And Detergent?
You can also remove the gas smell from your hands with the use of regular kitchen salt and a squirt of a dish detergent. Put a spoon or two of salt into a cup or a small bowl and place it near the sink.
Then, squirt a bit of a dish detergent onto your hands and distribute it evenly all around them paying extra attention to the spaces between your fingers where the gas odor can hide easily!
Once your hands are evenly covered with the dish detergent, pour some salt over them so that it covers your palms completely, and start rubbing your hands together just like you do when you wash them. See, this is how it works: salt helps to exfoliate your skin and thus reduce the heavy gas odor that is stuck to it.
At the same time, the dish detergent is used for breaking down the chemical bonds within the gasoline itself.
So, massage your fingers and palms like this for one or two minutes until the gas odor is gone, and then simply wash your hands with warm water. No soap needed since you already applied dish detergent which will also work as a cleanser for your skin.
So, now you have a few easy tricks that will help you to deal with that sticky gasoline smell on the skin of your hands. Use any of them you prefer, and you will easily remove the pungent smell that would otherwise haunt you for hours!
In addition, having these helpful methods in your disposal will allow you to protect yourself and people around you since gas smell is not only unpleasant and annoying, it is also rather harmful for our health! The least dangerous effect it may have is that you will have a headache if inhaling it for too long.
In addition, gasoline is rather harmful for our skin, especially if it sits on it for quite a long time.
So the second you spill some gas on your hands, grab some salt and dish detergent, white vinegar, or fresh lemon juice, and follow several easy steps to cleanse your hands quickly!
Extra Tips On Getting Gasoline Smell Off Hands
Having the gas smell on your hands is annoying: both you and people around you are forced to inhale that heavy and pungent odor for hours until it is gone naturally on its own! However, an unpleasant smell is not the worst that gasoline can cause to you! Its fumes are rather harmful, being able to cause headache, nausea, and other symptoms.
In addition, an extended exposure to gas is definitely not something your skin will say thank you to you!
This is why we would recommend you consider a few additional suggestions if you want to know how to get the gas off your hands quickly and effectively, causing no harm to yourself at the same time.
Remember these easy tips and use them next time you have a gas spill on your hands:
- When washing your hands, try to scrub in water for at least a couple of minutes before you apply any soap or detergent. Also, make sure you get under each nail and into each crevice!
- Try using an anti-grease soap when washing the gas smell off your hands. Start with scrubbing this soap into the skin of your hands with a dry towel first. Also, make use of a toothbrush to get the soap underneath your fingernails. And only after you have scrubbed your hands like this, you can proceed with washing them with water.
- In case you don’t have any heavy degreaser, and scrubbing also hasn’t worked quite well, there is still one option available for you. Try to pour some hydrogen peroxide onto your hands.
Or, if you don’t feel like pouring it onto your hands, you can dip your palms into some common household ingredients, such as baking soda or vinegar. Only remember to wash them off after you remove that smell! - If you don’t have time for squeezing lemon juice to pour it onto your hands, you can simply cut a slice or two from a large lemon, and rub your smelly hands with them! The acid in the lemon will deteriorate the grime and buildup of the oil.
- In case you have a really complicated case, and none of the methods mentioned above worked, you can still give it a try and buy a mechanical hand soap! It is made specifically to eliminate odors and get rid of any grease on your hands.
- Finally, just to make sure you are always protected from any unexpected gas spills, remember to wear gloves whenever you are working with gasoline.
With that in mind, you will always have a couple of extra tips to try when other methods won’t work as they should be.
We told you how to get the smell of gasoline off your hands and shared a few tips on removing gas smell effectively and easily with the use of the basic household products that everyone has in their disposal. Now keeping your hands clean when you work with gas will not be an issue.
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