Cleaning gasoline and engine oil - soaked items?

[fuzzybabybunny]

I have a paramotor in my car and the fuel tank developed a bit of a leak overnight at one of its fuel outlets. As a result, my sleeping bag, down jacket, and two backpacks are now soaked in a 50:1 mixture of gasoline and two-stroke motor oil.

Um.... I have them sitting outside for the gasoline to evaporate out. How long do they need to sit for? They're all super-absorbent items.

And how do I clean off the two-stroke motor oil that won't evaporate?

 

[NoTine42]

Simple Green would be my first thought
http://simplegreen.com/cleaning-tips/rooms/laundry/laundry-stain-removal/

 

[twinrider1]

They use Dawn on live critters caught in oil spills. Probably take a few soak/rinse cycles.

 

[crashtech]

I'd ask a professional dry cleaner how to proceed. Not that their processes would be suitable, but they might have some knowledge, being in that business. I'm told that several wash cycles with extra detergent and some ammonia will help cut the film and allow the heavier parts of the hydrocarbon mix to wash away.

 

[Gardener]

Dawn is worth trying, however I keep around a gallon of "Oil Eater" for stains on clothes, for part degreasing, engine degreasing, and the grill. Its the best water based grease remover I've found, I've added it to the wash, and used it as a prespray.

Although I have seen oil stains on synthetics that are married to the fabric and will not be removed. Perhaps taking these items to the dry cleaner where they dunk them in a petrochemical solvent is the way to go. They could steer you in the right direction.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Dry cleaning has my vote. The solvents will do a great job lifting the oils out.

 

[MongGrel]

I'm not a professional as far as dry cleaning.

Dawn was also the first thing I thought of myself.

But that would involve a lot of additional work, talking to a dry cleaner would be your best bet in this case I imagine.

 

[Kaido]

Could always soak your logs in wood...

 

[twinrider1]

I'd ask a professional dry cleaner how to proceed....

Yep, reminds me of a story my dad told me. He was a lead man at North American Aviation. They had tanks of trichloroethylene to degrease airplane parts. Guys would hang greasy shirts above a vat and the vapor from it would clean the shirts. Wicked stuff; even then they'd only let you work around it for 6 months. Not sure if it is even legal any more, but dry cleaners have similar stuff around.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Ah, good idea on the dry cleaning. I'll call around tomorrow.

 

[sdifox]

Just buy new sleeping bag and down jacket. They will lose most of their heat retention the moment you do degreasing on them anyway. You could try refilling I guess but I am not sure how good the down you get and how repairable jacket and sleeping bags are these days.

 

[Spacehead]

If you do end up just washing them i'd go to a laundry mat for the first few washes.

 

[Jimzz]

Just buy new sleeping bag and down jacket. They will lose most of their heat retention the moment you do fegreasing on them anyway. You could try refilling I guess but I am not sure how good the down you get and how repairable jacket and sleeping bags are these days.

Yea unless its a super expensive one just replace it.