The gasoline odor in your car can be quite obnoxious, especially when you're forced to spend long hours inside your car, like on a long trip.
You can even get headaches and dizziness if the fumes have a high concentration, but most people will simply get sick, so here are some of the most common ways to get rid of the gasoline smell in your car.
Getting an air freshener and driving with the windows down seems to be the most obvious thing to do, but most of the times it's not enough to cover the smell and you have to neutralize it. In order to do that, you must find the source. Look in the carpeting in your trunk or inside the passenger space and you're almost certain to find the cause.
After you do that, you can use plenty of shampoo and water to lessen the damage done by the gasoline. Sometimes, if the stain is small, that will be enough to kill the smell, but in bad cases, even after thoroughly washing the carpet, you still get that funky scent that some people actually enjoy.
A good tip, one that truckers have been using for a while, is to add a ground coffee mix directly on the spot and leave it there for a week or so. The reason for that is that coffee contains a series of oils that absorb odors in general, not just gasoline. There is no need for expensive coffee, even the cheapest brand will do and it won't even leave a stain on the carpet, so there is no danger.
Another odor-neutralizing substance is baking soda, and lots of it too. Sprinkle some on the spot and leave it overnight. The next day, brush it off and you can then vacuum the rest. The smell should be gone, and you're free to drive around all day without feeling sick to your stomach after just a few miles.
Since gasoline is an oily product, you can also try out some dishwashing liquid. This has the chemical composition to break down the oil and it should work like a charm in eliminating the odor as well. For better results, apply directly on the stain and let it soak.
You might even try an older “recipe,” which involves some apple cider vinegar and a spray bottle. After you combine the two, the method requires you to spray a fine mist on the carpet and also on other adjacent parts of the car's interior and leave it overnight with the windows open. It's not a foolproof method, but it might work for you.
If you're too busy or don't have enough faith in these old-fashion methods, you can always go for a specialized car interior cleaning substance. Make sure you read the instructions before you go headlong into spraying that all over the inside of your car. See what kind of materials you can use it on and if it stains.
By far the most commonly used method remains ventilation, though. This means leaving your car with door-open for at least 24 hours. If you're going to consider this, make sure you remove all valuables from the car and also that you don't leave it unattended, even if it's parked in your garage. The steady air flow in the interior will evaporate the fumes in the car, or, at least that's the general idea.
Since not all car carpets are made from the same materials, only some of the methods above will probably work for you, so it's best to try each one before giving out and going to a profesional interior detailer, which is obviously the best but also the most expensive solution.
