How to Get Diesel Smell Out of Clothes? 12 Best Ways

It’s not unusual for your hands and clothes to get drenched in diesel during the regular car or RV maintenance. Diesel is a very repulsive smell, and it is difficult to remove it from clothes.

However, some methods can be used to get the diesel smell out of clothes completely. In this article, we’ll discuss methods that can be used to remove the smell of diesel from your clothes and hands. So, let’s start!

How to Get Diesel Smell Out of Clothes? The best way to remove the diesel smell from clothes is to use dish detergent, ammonia, mouthwash, and vinegar/baking soda mixture. To remove the smell of diesel from your hands, use a mechanic hand cleaner, lemon juice, or toothpaste.

For those who don’t know, diesel has a horrible rotten egg smell that is repulsive to everyone. The reason is that diesel contains 15 milligrams of sulfur per liter. Therefore, it is not surprising that it is a fragrance that everyone avoids.

However, we have researched how to easily remove the smell of diesel from clothes and hands with the help of substances you probably already have in your home.

What Is Diesel?

Diesel is a type of fuel that is commonly used in diesel engines. It is made from a mixture of crude oil and other chemicals, is typically more efficient, and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline. Diesel engines are commonly used in vehicles such as trucks, buses, and some cars, as well as in some power generators and other machinery.

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6 Tips to Remove The Diesel Smell From Clothes

When diesel ends up on your clothes, either by accident or due to the nature of the work, you will realize that putting clothes in the washing machine will not solve the problem.

Detergents usually used to wash clothes cannot remove the smell of diesel. So, what is the best solution to get rid of diesel from clothes? Let’s look together!

1. Mix Of Vinegar And Baking Soda

Mixing vinegar and baking soda can easily remove any smelly diesel stain from your clothes. Make the paste with which you will treat the stain by mixing 1/3 cup of baking soda and an equal amount of vinegar in a bowl.

Rub the paste well into the stain, and then the clothes stained with diesel fuel wash with the help of clothes detergent. You must wash the clothes several times for the stain to be gone.

2. Mix Of Baking Soda and Alcohol

If you have baking soda and alcohol, which you normally use for disinfection at home, try a combination of these two substances to remove diesel stains. Put dirty clothes in the washer, fill the drum halfway with cold water, and then put one cup of alcohol and one cup of baking soda inside. Turn on the washer and wait.

3. Fast Orange

When you need to remove a diesel smell quickly from your clothes, you can try Fast Orange soap, which is often used to remove grease from your hands. Just be careful not to ruin the clothes. Read the manual on soap and study the composition of your clothes.

Fast orange contains aloe, glycerin, and lanolin, but other ingredients can badly affect the fabric. Usage is simple. Put the clothes stained with diesel into the washer, fill the washer with water and then put 1 tbs of Fast Orange inside. Continue washing your clothes as you normally do. And that’s it.

4. Add Listerine

Although many do not know, Listerine can also be used to remove the smell of diesel from your clothes. If you have a diesel stain on your pants that smells bad, put it in a cold water bucket and add Listerine.

After that, put the pants in the washer with a standard detergent. Interestingly, Listerine also removes other unpleasant odors, such as the smell of smoke. That’s why firefighters wash their uniforms by using Listerine!

5. Use a Heavy Duty Detergent

The heavy-duty detergent will, in most cases, successfully remove any diesel stain from clothing. These mixtures have been made specifically to help us eliminate stains that other detergents cannot remove. However, they are not cheap, and not everyone always has a bottle at hand.

Diesel stains can be removed with the help of heavy-duty detergent by rubbing it dry into the smelly area and leaving the piece of clothing to soak in cold water for a few hours. Afterward, put the clothes in the washer and run on the usual program.

6. Ammonia

Ammonia is a chemical compound made up of nitrogen and hydrogen. It is a colorless gas with a strong, pungent odor and is commonly used in various industrial and household products. By using it, you can easily remove diesel stains. However, be careful when using it. In combination with some substances, ammonia can be very dangerous for human health.

How to get rid of diesel stains from clothes with the help of ammonia?

Prepare a bucket that you normally use for soaking clothes. Fill a bucket with warm water and then pour ¼ cup of ammonia into it. Stir well to dissolve the ammonia in the water.

Then immerse the clothes stained with diesel in the water and leave it to soak up the liquid for approximately 25 minutes. After that, the clothes can be washed in the washer as usual.

For more info, watch this YouTube video:

6 Tips To Remove Diesel Smell From Hands

If you often come into contact with diesel, you cannot avoid that sometimes your hands smell of diesel. Here are some methods that can help you get rid of the stench.

1. Use Toothpaste

Toothpaste has the property of neutralizing the action of bacteria that are responsible for bad odor. However, it can also very well break down diesel grease that makes your hands stink. Squeeze some toothpaste onto your hands and gently rub them together well. Wash your hands, and you will notice that the smell of diesel has disappeared.

2. White Vinegar

Vinegar is an ideal natural cleaning agent used in many homes to remove even the toughest stains. Vinegar is also used by many mechanics who want to remove the greasy stains from diesel and the stench that comes from their hands daily with chemical means.

The procedure is simple. Put some white vinegar on your hands and rub them well. Then rinse off the vinegar, and you’re done!

3. Use Mechanics Hand Cleaner

Using a mechanic hand cleaner can easily get rid of the diesel smell from your hands. It is a washing agent produced to remove the smell of diesel and other similar substances from your skin. Mechanics hand cleaner has excellent degreasing properties, and ordinary soap cannot compete with it.

Basically, any mechanic hand cleaner will help you, the differences between brands are not vast. However, if you want an option that contains only natural ingredients, Grip Clean soap is a good recommendation.

4. Mix Salt and Soap

Simply place the salt and soap in a bowl, and scoop out a certain amount of the paste. Rub your hands well with the paste, rinse, and the smell of diesel should disappear from your hands.

You can achieve a better result by adding one tablespoon of pure lemon juice to this combination. The good thing about this method is that you usually already have all of this at home, so you don’t have to buy it.

5. Vanilla Extract

You can also use a vanilla extract from your kitchen to remove the nasty diesel smell from your hands. But you have to dilute it before usage. Add only a few drops of extract to 100 milliliters of water. Cover your hands with the mixture and rub them well. Repeat the procedure until the smell of diesel disappears.

6. Lemon Juice

Just like vinegar, lemon juice is also widely used for household cleaning. It is also good for removing the smell of diesel from the hands.

Take one lemon, squeeze it on your hands and then rub the juice well into your skin. Leave your hands soaked in lemon juice for 5 minutes, then rinse them with warm water. The smell of diesel will disappear 100 percent.

Here is one great video that shows more tips on how to wash diesel smell off your hands:

Why Does Regular Detergent Not Work on Diesel? 

Detergents normally used to wash clothes will not be able to remove the smell of diesel. A diesel stain remover must have much stronger grease-breaking molecules in it. That’s why the best option is natural substances with degreasing properties or chemical agents produced for that purpose.

For those who want to learn more, be sure to read How To Defog Windshield In Summer? (7 Best Ways).

FAQ: People Also Ask

Will diesel fuel come out of clothes?

You can remove diesel fuel from clothes, but you won’t be able to do that with ordinary washing detergent. For washing, you must use a detergent that has the property of removing greasy stains. It is a good recommendation to use Perils or Tide. However, you can also use natural remedies such as baking soda and vinegar.

Can you wash and dry clothes with diesel fuel on them?

When you have a diesel stain on a piece of clothing, always wash it separately! Otherwise, the smell of diesel will spread to other items of clothing, you certainly don’t need that!

How does vinegar get diesel out of clothes?

Make the mixture with which you will treat the stain by mixing 1/3 cup of baking soda and an equal amount of vinegar in a bowl. Rub the paste well into the stain and then wash the clothes stained with diesel fuel with the help of clothes detergent. You should repeat this process until the stain disappears.

Final Thoughts

No one likes the bad smell of diesel on their clothes or hands. That’s why it’s good to know how you can remove diesel stains with ordinary substances you have at home. Diesel stains on clothes should be removed even if the smell doesn’t bother you.

Such stains are flammable and can endanger you. In this text, we have offered you several ways to get rid of the diesel smell on your clothes and the smell of diesel on your hands. Try them out and let us know which was most helpful.