What's the best way to get the smell of gasoline off your hands? My son spilled some on his hands while filling the lawn mower and even after washing several times he still smells like a gas can. I also have trouble with fishy hands after cleaning fish to fry. Mona

-- Mona (monalea@hotmail.com), September 01, 2000

Answers

We used to use toothpaste to clean our hands in biology class. I don't know if it will get rid of the gasoline, but I know it works on fish, we were dissecting sharks.

-- Connie (Connie@lunehaven.com), September 01, 2000.

Try using a plain metal spoon, rubbing the wet hands with it as you would soap. Another method that works, at least to remove fish smell, is to sprinkle plain table salt on your wet hands and wash with that. Jan

-- Jan in Colorado (Janice12@aol.com), September 01, 2000.

wash the area with a baking soda & water paste. let it stay on the area for several seconds!

-- Debbie T in N.C. (rdtyner@mindspring.com), September 01, 2000.

Try various kinds of detergent instead of soap. Start with something mild like shampoo, then work your way up through dish soap and laundry detergent. Laundry detergent is strong and will sting if you get it into any cuts or wounds. Or if you have some of that citrus hand cleaner. I use it to clean my hands after working on greasy stuff and it removes any odor.

I do believe some people are more sensitive to gas fumes. My ex used to complain after I worked on the vehicles. Told her it would be great if she could tell me how to fix them without touching them. May even have read that women tend to have a keener sense of smell than men. Also make sure gas hasnt just gotten onto his clothing. You can scrub him raw and not get rid of gas smell in his clothing.

-- Hermit John (ozarkhermit@pleasedontspamme.com), September 01, 2000.

Lemon juice works to cut many odors including onions.

-- Notforprint (Not@thekeyboard.com), September 01, 2000.

Go-Jo followed with soap and water will cut the odor. Also, Go-Jo rubbed into grease stains on clothing during washing does wonders.

-- Jay Blair (jayblair678@yahoo.com), September 01, 2000.

You may want to try those new scent removing-sprays (Febreeze, et al); the commercials say they are safe for pets, so I can't see the harm. By the way, if you're unsure if you have any unseen cuts or injuries, the lemon juice will sure help you pinpoint them!!

-- Soni (thomkilroy@hotmail.com), September 01, 2000.

Thanks for all the responses! I am going to write all of them down for future reference. Baking soda followed by a lemon dishwashing liquid seemed to help quite a bit. Mona

-- Mona (monalea@hotmail.com), September 02, 2000.

I use a Orange Citrus hand cleaner, I have a gallon pump bottle in the shop, it has pumice in it to help get the grease off too.

-- Hendo (OR) (redgate@echoweb.net), September 02, 2000.

I used washing soda followed by Murphy's Oil Soap. Smell completely gone - although it might have been just the soap.

-- William Morrison (wmorri@usol.com), August 02, 2001.

I work on a fish counter, so thanks for the advice on lemon juice and salt - they helped to get rid of the smell!

-- Rachel (rachel_monkey@hotmail.com), April 04, 2002.