I think there may be a way to sand it using a continuous water drip that will keep it cool (sort of like what a dentist does with the drill), but I don't actually know for sure and please don't try anything til you're sure.

Kerosene is considered a light fuel. It will dry up eventually. For now spread some kitty litter to absorb it.

if you just want it cut out, then cut out a square larger than the stain, but make sure you center the cuts on the supports below so that both the patch and the original sub floor are fully supported.

personally i would let it dry up and not worry. kero will totally evaporate in a few days/couple weeks. it may still leave a stain, but it will be safe. keep in mind this is a SUB floor, therefore it won't ever be seen again.

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!

New carpet out-gasses formaldehyde, that is the distinct odor you smell in a newly carpeted room. It will probably cover the odor of any kerosene residue that has not yet evaporated. And since carpet is porous, the kerosene vapors can continue to dry out. I am pretty sure you'll be fine.

You might try scrubbing some lemon juice on the stain to take out the smell.

Depending on how big the area is and how much odor remains, I recommend using a product with oil eating microbes. Unfortunately, the product we use is sold in 30 lb bags and costs $75.00 a bag. IÂm not sure if someone sells this in smaller quantities but Google "oil eating microbes" and you will find a number of different suppliers out there. We have cleaned up many oil spills with this type of product.

Being itÂs only plywood, I recommend just replacing the plywood because itÂs faster and cheaper.

You can also put naphtha on the kerosene spill and than absorb it with kitty litter (the clay kind).

paint some naphtha on the spill, let it soak in, then cover with litter.
The naphtha is much more volatile than the kerosene and will help pull it out into the litter.

Only a complete idiot would think that vacuuming could make a spark. The dumbing down of the American public is disgusting

Not searching dumbass

just reading and if you need to spend your days on a computer asking how to fix simple common sense problems you don’t have much to work with to start with Who cares how old the comment was it’s still made by an idiot

Its a post from 2009, how do you stumble across that without searching dumbass.

Settle down tough guy you key board warrior you.