Diesel smell

[Daydream believer]

I have had a calamity whilst filling my tank with fuel. I expected to add 5-8 litres of fuel, but when it got to 18 litres I guessed something was wrong. I thought I had miss calculated the hours. Then I decided to look down the filler to see if I could see if the fuel was coming up the pipe. Shock horror! the pipe had come disconnected form the filler & once the pipe had filled the excess had overflowed & gone into the bilges.
I removed soaked ropes & fenders from the locker, then I waited 24 hours to let the fuel drain through to form a puddle somewhere. Today I started to look for the fuel. I have no luck so far so suspect it may have collected under the shower tray. I will try using an oil extractor later to see if it has & if I can remove it.
The reason for my post is that it has not flooded everywhere & it is not a case of pouring bilge cleaner in to the bilges. I will be able to wipe dry any surfaces- when i find where the fuel went. I will probably use brake cleaner from a spray bottle.
My question is- can anyone recommend a suitable product that will help with the odour. A bit like Fabrical on furniture etc.
Or are there any pellets that might sweeten the smell - rather like toilet ones, but obviously not them as I do not want it smelling like a !!!!!!- . The area of the boat that is affected is extremely difficult to ventilate so just opening up is just not a suitable option. My bunk is over the top which does not help much
Would pet odour sprays work?
Any ideas please.

 

[sarabande]

Try oiltechnics.com

They have all kinds of clever ungents and potions to nullify the effects of diesel spill.

No connection, just satisfied customer.


Sudden thought. Brake cleaner IIRC tends to be rather flammable.

 

[Daydream believer]

Try oiltechnics.com

They have all kinds of clever ungents and potions to nullify the effects of diesel spill.

No connection, just satisfied customer.


Sudden thought. Brake cleaner IIRC tends to be rather flammable.

May I ask which one of their products you have used for this & if they are a supplier to the domestic market? Their website suggests a commercial application. ie the spray bottle in multiple packages rather than individual bottles

 

[Nauti Fox]

I know it sounds stupid, but I was told to use Daz (only Daz for some reason) and it does work, at least with what is left of my sense of smell......

 

[Laminar Flow]

There is a device called an ozonator. A friend of mine used one on his boat and it effectively eliminates any odor. A note of caution though: with prolonged use, weeks that is, the ozone can degrade rubber hoses. Run some form of forced ventilation, such as an industrial fan to move the evaporating diesel fumes out of the boat and before they can settle in your upholstery etc. Regardless, you will need to find your missing ten litres of diesel and flush it out.

 

[sarabande]

They were happy to supply me 3 years ago with Sorbo Gold . I had 3 x 5l cans for a commercial use, and also Bio l (?) for use in the hydro-electric station where the Env Agency gets very twitch about us using bio-degradable materials.


Their Tech department was v friendly.

 

[NPMR]

Cat pee pong remover from a pet shop worked really well for us. cheap too.

 

[Minchsailor]

'Simple Solutions' from a pet shop which is used after for clearing up cat and dog mess. The 'cat's seems to be the best

 

[Homer J]

I have an oil fired boiler (similar fuel) and the service engineer swears by domestic bleach for removing the odour and residue. A very cheap and easy option to try first.

 

[Amlov]

Mr Muscle kitchen cleaner worked for me when the tank emptied itself into the bilge. It was the only thing I had around at the time, but after I had bailed 80l of diesel from the bilge it did a good job of cleaning everything and we didn't have problems with any smell.

 

[MoodySabre]

I've got some of this you can have https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Simple-S...nkCode=df0&psc=1&psc=1&tag=googshopuk-21&th=1
If you want it before Saturday PM me and I'll tell where it is on my boat. It seemed to work when I got 10 litres in the bilge after morotoring a long way with the bleed screw not done up properly.

 

[vyv_cox]

Sunsail swear by Toilet Duck for this purpose. We have found it to be very effective. The blue version seems better.

 

[Daydream believer]

I've got some of this you can have Simple Solution Extreme Pet Stain and Odour Remover, 945ml: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies
If you want it before Saturday PM me and I'll tell where it is on my boat. It seemed to work when I got 10 litres in the bilge after morotoring a long way with the bleed screw not done up properly.

Roger. Thanks I might take you up on that . I am doing ferry duties with my launch for the old gaffers at Stone on Saturday, but after the start( not sure what time) I will wander down to the marina & if you are there I will come & have a chat. If not I will order some online.
Cheers
Sam L

 

[MoodySabre]

Roger. Thanks I might take you up on that . I am doing ferry duties with my launch for the old gaffers at Stone on Saturday, but after the start( not sure what time) I will wander down to the marina & if you are there I will come & have a chat. If not I will order some online.
Cheers
Sam L

If my brain is in gear I shall leave it in your cockpit.

 

[Daydream believer]

If my brain is in gear I shall leave it in your cockpit.

Much appreciated

 

[PetiteFleur]

When I bought my boat, it stank of diesel from the leaking diesel tank. I used bilge cleaner with boiling water - well scrubbed and a second application almost cured the problem almost - I did replace all the wooden floor bearers which also helped considerably. I did of course replace the leaking steel tank with a Plastimo plastic tank, much smaller tham the original but I can still get over 24 hrs motoring.

 

[LittleSister]

If all else fails. . .

. . . try taking up pipe smoking!

 

[Slowboat35]

For heaven's sake don't use brake cleaner unless you want to become a fire brigade statistic!

Once upon a time you'd use Gunk and the job would be done in minutes. Sadly bunnyhuggers and their spawn have done away with Gunk along with so many other essential products and we have to improvise. (Don't be duped by cans labelled "Gunk" today. It is no more Gunk than Creo'cote' is Creosote - ie it is costly and utterly useless)
Good old-fashioned dhobey-dust sprinkled lightly throughout the affected area and blown or otherwise persuaded into all the affected cracks and crannies under floorboards, followed by a dampening down with water from a 1 litre conservatory-type pump-up hand sprayer or similar. Repeat spray 2 -3 times several hrs apart each time. Then hose out and pump the bilge - repeat if necessary.
Washing powder - daz, persil, whatever, is the mutt's nuts for degreasing. It sticks so it had a continuous action if kept moist. Knocks the spots off anything except Swarfega for degreasing surfaces, skin or clothing and vastly cheaper too. It's also the best thing there is for cleaning decks of all kinds no matter how filthy with a simple brush or mop. (use it sparingly, a little goes a long way)

 

[Stemar]

My go-to for this is Bio Clean. I had a hard to trace diesel leak that caused a horrible pong. Milady could smell it on my clothes after an hour on board and was not impressed. When I finally found and fixed the leak, I tried all sorts of potions, but this is the one that worked for me.

 

[Charlie Boy]

Disposable nappies are great at removing odours! We leave one under the bilge all the time, soaks up spills and gets rid of smells.