Function

• Gasoline, as most know, is the fuel for most modern vehicles and machinery. While efforts are in process to attempt to eliminate dependence upon the oil that produces gasoline, it still may be several years before such commodities are available to everyone. In the meantime, it is inevitable that, while transmitting gasoline to fill your lawn mower, or to help your friend who forgot to fill up yesterday, you may spill some gas on the interior of your vehicle, resulting in the pungent gasoline odor.
  
  

Significance

• While the smell of gasoline in your car is most obviously bothersome to the senses, prolonged exposure to the fumes can also be harmful to your health. Inhaling the fumes of gasoline on a daily bases for a long period of time can result in damage to your lungs and other elements of your respiratory system. Excessive fumes can also cause you to hallucinate, which can impede driving, making you dangerous to yourself and others on the road. Therefore, it is important to address a gasoline spill in your car as soon as possible.
  
  

Time Frame

• The longer you wait to address the odor of a gasoline spill in your car, the more difficult it may be to remove it. While the smell may be less noticeable during the colder months of the year, making it somewhat dormant, hotter days will soon reveal the smell again. An additional concern is that gasoline is very flammable and allowing it to remain in your vehicle while outside temperatures in the summer increase your car's internal temperature significantly, can result in a fire. These concerns make it essential for you to address the issue immediately.
  
  

Solutions

• Among the most frequently recommended solutions is the use of a product that will absorb the gasoline, typically baking soda, cat litter or baby powder. Allow the substance to set on the gasoline spill for an extended period of time (sometimes even a month, depending on the amount of the spill) and then vacuum up the substance. Vinegar is also a strong deodorizer. Consider applying a vinegar solution to the spill first, using a shop-vac to vacuum up the solution and then follow with the absorbent substances mentioned to get the remainder of the gasoline up.
  
  

Prevention

• In the future, extra precautions may be necessary prevent gasoline spills in your vehicle. Only use containers approved for the storage of gasoline, and consider purchasing a spill-proof container. Make sure you seal the container properly before putting it in your car. Resist the urge to fill the container to the top, leaving the liquid below openings to help keep access from spilling out. Consider placing a piece of cardboard and rags on the vehicle floor where you plan to transport the container, that way, if there is a spill, the rags and cardboard will soak most of it up.