The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

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

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.

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.

try plain ole cat litter, the clay kind.

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.

frankt wrote:try plain ole cat litter, the clay kind.

Clay is best absorptive poultice for oil.

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

Dave