How to clean up kerosene spill on subfloor?

15 years ago

HELP!! Our drywall mudders have a Salamander heater going to heat and dry their work. It leaked on our plywood subfloor. The shape of the stain makes it hard to cut that section out and replace it, but that's what I think would be the best solution.

Any suggestions? Is there any way to clean it up? I read somewhere not to even vaccuum over it because of possible sparks igniting the wood.

Thanks!

Arlene

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Comments (6)

meldy_nva
15 years ago
Kerosene is very volatile and the defining aroma will dissipate when exposed to fresh air. Mostly. It's an oil, and as such surface spills can be cleaned with techniques for removing oil; there are products made for driveway/concrete cleaning which do work fairly well (basically they are a powder which absorbs the oil; some contain a strong detergent for lifting the oily particles away).

IMO, no matter how awkward, I'd get rid of the oil soaked wood, because it IS oil soaked and there's no way to get all the residue out. Again my opinion, but there isn't a product made that truly gets rid of the smell... there is a small oil-soaked spot on my toolshed's workbench which has been powdered, cleaned, scrubbed, sanded and painted over several times; and -after 8 years- one can still smell the kerosene. Bleh! That's also a warning to be careful when filling oil lamps, lol.
bus_driver
15 years ago
Baking soda on the spill area. The flash point of kerosene is 100 deg or more. 145 is considered to be the typical flash point. Ignition from a spark is just not going to happen. The kerosene has not damaged the strength of the subfloor. Use the soda for a week, then let the area air freely. It will not be a problem if other flooring is to be installed over it. If only carpet over it, then do replace that subfloor area.
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BIOREMEDIATE your soil! Paul Stamets - Bioremediation with Fungi "In 1975, a military jet fuel leaked over 80,000 gallons of kerosene based jet-fuel into a lake in the suburbs of Charleston, SC. Many people tried to manage the oil spill but it was to no avail. It was almost impossible to stop all of the fuel from being soaked up by the very permeable sandy soil and reaching the ground water. Soon all of the ground water became contaminated and had many toxic chemicals in it. The ground water then began to reach all of the residential area and everyone in the surrounding area knew they were faced with a serious environmental hazard. It was almost impossible to remove all of the contaminated soil and ground water so the only other option was to introduce microorganisms and fungi that could consume all of the toxic chemicals and turn them into harmless carbon dioxide. Because of this introduction of the microorganisms it allowed for any further contamination to come to a complete halt. It even helped to remove 75% of the pollutants that harmed the soil and ground water. This introduction of microorganisms and fungi to an ecosystem or specific area is known as Bioremediation. What is Bioremediation? Bioremediation is a process in which indigenous or inoculated micro-organisms (e.g., fungi, bacteria, and other microbes) degrade (metabolize) organic contaminants found in soil and/or ground water, converting them to harmless end products. Nutrients, oxygen, or other amendments may be used to enhance bioremediation and contaminant desorption from subsurface materials. Bioremediation also allows polluted drinking water to become safe enough for humans and animals to drink. It allows for us [humans] to have a safer drinking source and not be too terribly concerned with the toxins that could be potentially be harmful. Bioremediation is usually classified under 2 types of conditions. Those being aerobic and anaerobic..."
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sierraeast
15 years ago
If your subfloor has water repelleant qualities like advantech, i wouldn't worry too much about it, baking soda as the bus mentioned. If typical plywood, i would be concerned about it soaking down through the plies and would go ahead and replace that section.
arleneb
Original Author
15 years ago
Here's what we've decided.

First try: We sprinkled baking soda and kitty litter on the stain and replaced the mudders' protective paper. We'll sweep up and replace those two things every couple of days for the next few weeks and see what effect it has. If the odor persists that long, we'll try sanding and sealing. If it's still there, we'll bite the bullet and replace the plywood; if it's gone, we won't. We have about 6 weeks till carpeting goes in, so in that time we should have a good idea of what's happening.

Thanks for your help!
bus_driver
15 years ago
Good plan.
Eben Baumhover
7 years ago
what was the result??

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How to clean up kerosene spill on subfloor?

Comments (6)

meldy_nva

bus_driver

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arleneb
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How to clean up kerosene spill on subfloor?

Comments (6)

meldy_nva

bus_driver

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sierraeast

arlenebOriginal Author

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Eben Baumhover

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arleneb
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