Spilt oil :'(

[ReloadedSR]

Hi all,

I have been really busy the last couple of months with a job change and my first nephew so have only really poked my nose in the forums for a few minutes here and there.

I thought this worthy of a post though

I bought one of those big bottles of oil from halfrauds, the one with the butterfly top and the plastic nozzle that extends out and had only used about a quarter of it before it got relegated back to the boot until i next had need of it.

I had no need to go in the boot for about a month until today............ Nearly the whole bottle had emptied itself over the carpet and started filling the wheel well

I forgot to take pics until i had started the clean up operation

This is the carpet after i used nearly a bottle of white spirit to break down the oil, and then used detergent to wash the oil and white spirit out and then hose piped it as you can see it to get everything out. Whether or not this worked im not too sure yet.

You can kind of see where the oil line is

I didnt want to waste the oil in the boot and also couldnt think of another way of getting it out, so i used sawdust from our wood shed which i can also burn in the wood burner

I have emptied the sawdust and need to clean the remnants of the oil and few bits of sawdust out. The carpet is drying in the shed and i hope it is sorted but it might need professional cleaning.

Im glad this happened when it did tho, as ive just had an aftermarket head unit fitted and have a vibe 12" sub box coming on monday hopefully! I would of hated getting that all oily!

Well i hope you have all had a really good holiday and havent had too many Celica based problems!

[Kev 16v]

The ST and SR are renowned for using oil :xmas_wink:

[thermoacc]

Xtreme rust prevention

That happened in a car I had years ago. Just went out and got a new boot carpet from a breakers

[threepot]

You'll get all that oil out of the carpet. You can even get black dirty old oil out of carpets.

I use a jet wash, flash multi-surface cleaner and fairy liquid. Take a while though, but the carpet will come up amazing.

[maizey]

Hi, Before you do anything further to the carpet . . . and assuming it's in a worthwhile conditon to save.

1.Allow it to DRY as far is possible - appreciate that the oil will not dry,but get the water/moisture out.

2.Get a tub of Swarfega and apply thoroughly to the oil stains - I mean work it deep into the carpet fibres with your fingers,nail bush.old tooth brush anything you can lay your hands on really.

3.Leave 12 hours or so . . . .if you can keep going back every so often and work the swarfega in then so much the better

Finally with good hot soapy water and fairy liquid ( ie a concentrated washing up liquid not a cheapo) wash the carpet.

You may have to repeat this process to get all the oil out but it will work. BUT always start with a "dry" carpet if possible to get the best results/use/effect from the swarfega.

I used to work in the textile trade and swarfega was our best friend for oil on fabrics or come to that on anything really.

If you think about it,if it's ok to use on your skin then it won't cause damage to other surfaces.

Out of interest if you have spilt oil on your drive/concrete/flagstones use the same process as above.

[threepot]

Swarfega is a bloody brilliant idea! I'll remember that for the future.

Jet wash / steam cleaner works great because it really penetrates deep into the carpet getting all the soapy muck out, but make sure you don't rip the carpet because if the jet is too narrow and you get too close it will destroy it. Works wonders on floor mats and rugs too. You can make an old skanky set of mats found in a scrap yard come back to like brand new.

[ReloadedSR]

The ST and SR are renowned for using oil :xmas_wink:

Lol i never thought it would waste this much so quickly though! But as Thermo says my boot wont rust for a while :rolleyes:

Cheers for all the advice guys,

I have the boot mat drying in the wood shed at the moment. The carpet side has come up very nicely and is dry, however a big area on a corner on the fluffy stuff on the rear of the carpet is still very oily to touch.

Thankfully it is just a corner and not the whole of the back part. I will leave it until tomorrow and see whats what then. I do like the swarfega idea, i had forgot about that stuff. I'm also considering taking it to a jet wash, ill have to put it in a bin bag to bring home again, hopefully it wont leak water all over the place though.

Vibe sub arriving tomorrow hopefully! Gutted about our weather forecast though, gale force winds and torrential rain so prob wont be able to fit it