O/T: Oil spills

[EdisonSquirrel]

The sealing mechanism on my container of "3-in-1" oil broke and the container fell, spilling oil onto the wooden bottom of the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink. I'm not concerned about the wood, as it's pretty shabby, but I would like to get rid of the smell. I tried soap and water, but this didn't do the trick. Any suggestions?




Rocky

[gramophoneshane]

Bicarbonate of soda is supposed to soak up the smell of stuff. I've never tried it myself though.
You'll probably have to remove as much oil as possible first I think. I usually remove oil from wood by putting a thick coat of talc powder over the oil, put a sheet of news paper over it, then hit it with a warm iron. That should draw most of the oil out of the wood.

[estott]

I'll second the talcum powder- it was what they used in Italy on marble sculptures that had been soaked with oil during a flood. A light dusting is also good if you have old books printed on coated paper that is starting to get sticky.

[frankt]

try plain ole cat litter, the clay kind.

[Henry]

If you have an oil-fired furnace, or a fuel oil dealer in your town, find out what they use for oil spills. The maintenance man who services my furnace uses a special product which is quite effective; sorry I didn't register the product name, but it came in a bag and was a powdery substance of some kind. Your dealer might even give you some if you've been a good customer.

[JohnM]

try plain ole cat litter, the clay kind.

Clay is best absorptive poultice for oil.

[Discman]

Rocky,
Have you checked with Mr.Peabody? He knows the answer to everything

Dave