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Diesel fuel smell

B

bc

Well-known Member
Hello guys. Since I got that diesel tractor and also using a diesel/kerosene mix in my home made parts washer, I can't seem to get rid of the smell before walking into the house where my wife has a sensitive nose. I use Fast Orange with pumice and then dawn dish soap to wash up with but that doesn't get rid of it. Also been using the kerosene space heater which puts out a little odor as well. Just wondering if anyone has any helpful hints. Thanks.
 
Wear nitrile gloves if
you can get them and as
one reply said, use
coveralls if possible.
I've been a Diesel
mechanic going on 44
years and the smell never
seems to go away.
 
I have yet to come across a solution to that problem as far as
a soap to get rid of the smell.I am guessing your talking about
the smell on your hands ? How about wearing some type of
gloves when washing parts ? If on your clothes good luck. I
have a pair of work pants I spilled diesel on last summer. I
have no idea how many times they went through the wash,
but it was a lot and they still smell !
 
You don't wash off diesel smell, you wear it off. My first 8 years as a mechanic, I worked on diesels, I avoided getting it on me, every
chance I got. Heavy, elbow length fuel resistant gloves really help when washing parts.
 
Dump the diesel/kero parts cleaning mix and get regular parts cleaning fluid. Get disposable nitrile
gloves to wear when cleaning parts or working with diesel or gas. Gets rid of most all of the smell.
 
Try some shaving cream. The foamy type.
Worked for me once before I got smart.
If its on your clothes then you need to launder them outside.
 
To me its the smell of money. I finish almost everyday smelling like this. I have a water softener here, so a hot shower and dial
soap will make squeaky clean. Hands never stink after this drill. Soft water makes the difference. If we run low on salt I can
tell. Al
 
My german mechanic washes his hands with diesel fuel and then wipes them dry with old newspapers and then we go and eat shrimp for lunch. Eat them with our fingers. Wash
down with mugs of beer and then go back to work. Germans have diesel fuel running in their bloodstreams. His friend was a panzer commander on the eastern front during
WWII (The Big One). Kept those diesel engines running from November through March. Never shut them down. Just poured in fuel and oil.
 
just the nature of being a mechanic. you work in the stuff and smell like the stuff. nothing you can do. its gets right in the coveralls,
clothes and skin.
 
I found this about 8 years ago,, works better than the liquid Fast Orange I think and a lot better on odor killing
cnt
cvphoto72372.jpg

I buy it at Tractor supply here
 
I use the orange hand cleaner and once my
hands are dry use some shaving cream from
a can.Keeping coveralls outside to air out
helps.When washing parts in diesel try and
use some type of rubber gloves to keep
your hands dry.
 
It is just the nature of Diesel fuel If I walk past a can of diesel fuel I will smell of it for hours. Kind of like looking at a can of never seize it will be all over ya.
 
I have started using the black vinyl gloves from harbor freight. Cheap and I turn them inside out as
I take them off and in the trash they go. The only way I ll use diesel for cleaning is if it is
coming off with a steam cleaner. Parts washer fluid works a lot better.
 
Just working in the same room with the kerosene heater will make you stink, rep;ace it with propane.

And get rid of the diesel in the parts washer. I gave up on a home parts cleaner, it was too expensive! Put in $50 worth of solvent, use it once and it's evaporated. A real Safety Kleen machine is only available to corporations and the ultra rich!

Now I get by with Purple Power, oven cleaner, spray carb and brake cleaner.

I haven't found a way to neutralize diesel smell. It just has to wear off. And no way to avoid it completely, especially working overhead with it pouring down your arms and splattering off the floor.

It seems to wash out of my clothes though. At least I never notice it when I get them out of the closet. To me diesel is no where near as disgusting as cigarettes! When my ex smoked it was in everything, especially the clothes and towels. Nothing like getting out of the shower and drying with a towel that smelled like cigarettes!
 
Drastic measures. Trade wives. My wife never minded it much unless it was
really overwhelming . My daughter still says she liked the smell of her old dad
when he came home from work with diesel fumes. Lord knows there were very few
days I didn't carry that smell.

Years ago I was working, outside, on son's walk behind snow blower. Freezing cold. When I came
into the house , daughter in law claimed instant headache from gasoline smell. Town kids.
 
I was a kid in 1957, we had a 75th celebration in town, most floats that went buy were gas powered, until some body pulled a float with a Diesel Tractor, oh the women and girls commented right away, what is that smell, well i could hear that 44 Massey knock, i didn't say a thing,But females have a better nose!
 
Before starting work for the day (and while still clean), use a small amount of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) as a hand creme. Work it in well and it'll fill all the nooks, crannies, and pores so the shop grime can't get in.
 
Thinking out of the box here : I use Colgate tooth paste to remove the smell after eating boiled crabs or crawfish. Just wondering if washing hands with
tooth paste after handling disel would be effective for removing smell?? Wingnut
 

Thanks. Got some good pointers here. Here is my homemade parts washer. Drilled a bunch of quarter inch holes in the bottom of the top bucket. Was pounding on the bench yesterday trying to straighten a pin and my box of drill bits bounced off into the bucket.


mvphoto68844.jpg
 
That seems odd , you said it evaporates after you use it once. I have had the same parts cleaner since 2005 or 06, still has the original parts cleaning fluid in it, might have gone down a little but not enough to notice. I keep the lid closed when I'm not using it.
 

I mix 4 gallons of kerosene with one gallon of mineral spirits to go in my part washer, holds 10 gallon. Diesel has to much oil in it and doesn't clean as well.
We use Shout spray pre wash on grease and fuel stains before washing, takes out the stain and smell.
Kerosene heater fumes puts more fuel oil smells in your cloths than a small fuel spill will.
Some type of rubber or latex gloves will help keep the parts cleaner or fuel from soaking into your skin.
For wash up I use Dawn dishwashing liquid.
Wife doesn't complain about fuel smells often as she knows I'm making money fixing someone else tractor or saving shop labor when I'm fixing mine.
 
I would not use diesel in a parts washer. There's nothing you can do about getting diesel on you when you work on your tractor, but using nitrile gloves when you know you're going to get diesel on you is a good idea. And if your kerosene heater stinks, something is wrong. Change the wick or change fuel suppliers.
 

Mine is like bc's. No spatter, just drop the part in, give the diesel time to penetrate and soften the tough stuff, then brush. No spatter, no smell.
 
Use ammonia in the washer to get smell out of clothes. Use it to wash your hands also. Works for me. Get yourself some parts cleaner. Diesel is not the answer.
 
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