spilled tiki torch fluid

pocon1

New member
I just got a call from a woman who needs an emergency detail on her old land cruiser. She needs to haul people instead of the usual hay and horse gear. Also, she just spilled tiki torch oil in the SUV and now it smells. The car is all cloth. So what is the best way to clean out the carpet? I have woolite of course, and also costco's APC which I bought but have not used. I also have oxyclean and castrol's APC. I think the castrol would work well because it should break up the oils, along with lots of water and a lot of vacuuming with the shop vac. I think I should also go down with extra cotton towels to see if I can blot up any extra oil first. What do you think?
 
I would try to get all the oil out that you can before you begin the APC regimen. If you can, take the carpet out of the trunk. I would be willing to bet that there's a puddle of oil under the carpet. Blot out as much oil as you can and then apply the APC/degreaser. Hopefully, with an extractor, you'll be able to get most of it out in a couple of applications.
 
The Castrol will work great, I use it for engine degreasing all the time, so it should burn right through oil. If you can, take the carpet out of the car, then spray it with 1:5 Super Clean in a spray bottle, pour the hottest water you can get on it, let it dwell, than extract. Also try vacuuming it first, to get off all the oil that hasn't soaked in (if its a puddle).
 
It is an old toyota landcruiser so I don't know if I can get the carpet out, but I was going to bring a bunch of old towels over to blot up the carpet first, and then scrub and vac with the ridgid.



BTW, thanks for the advice so far.
 
Carpets ALWAYS come out, its just a matter of how tough it'll be to get out. If its not a removable mat, try looking for where its mounted to. Sometimes, carpets that are seemingly irremovable will come out with some effort. Just remember, they had to get it in somehow, so it will come out somehow. You might find it less trouble just to APC it in place, though.
 
I would try to soak up as much as you can. Usually petrol based stains require a solvent based cleaner. One that comes to mind is a dry cleaning solvent made by Angelus. You can get it from Goodspeedmotoring.com.
 
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