My Shop Stinks

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rnwilliams
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First Name: Ricky
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My Shop Stinks

Post by rnwilliams » Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:20 pm

I know a lot of you have said in the past that you love that old car smell that comes from gas and oil and old cars. Personally I don't and my shop just down right stinks of old car smell. If I'm in there any length of time My cloths smell too.
I have read about spraying it down with vinegar and water. Anyone tried this?
What about any kind of air purifier or other air filter?
Just opening the doors doesn't help.
Any suggestions? The shop area is about 1500 feet.
Richard Williams, Humboldt, TN
President, Tennessee T's inc.


HPetrino
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by HPetrino » Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:28 pm

It might be hard to get an answer here. Most of us tend to encourage that smell, not defeat it. :lol:

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Henry K. Lee
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Henry K. Lee » Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:39 pm

I wet the floor in mine about twice a year, take some degreaser like Simple Green and pour it around adding more water. Let sit for awhile and scrub with a broom, let sit and then rinse out. Stays fresh and absorbs those odors.

Hank


Wayne Sheldon
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Wayne Sheldon » Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:41 pm

If you could bottle that wonderful aroma and sell it, you might make enough to build a whole new nice shop?

I hesitate to endorse products, but find that some of the Febreze air freshening products do seem to work well. I suspect they may not be up to that Herculan task however.

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rnwilliams
Posts: 193
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by rnwilliams » Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:42 pm

I got to do something, My wife has always said it but now my dad says I smell like a homeless person.
Richard Williams, Humboldt, TN
President, Tennessee T's inc.


Dallas Landers
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Dallas Landers » Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:01 pm

Ya, but a homeless person with a cool old car. :D

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Rich Eagle
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Rich Eagle » Mon Jun 08, 2020 9:03 pm

Wayne's "bottle that wonderful aroma and sell it" came to my mind first.
Rich
When did I do that?


mtntee20
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by mtntee20 » Mon Jun 08, 2020 10:08 pm

You might try an Ozone generator. I believe you can rent them. Close up the garage with the car inside, car doors open, hood open, and anything else that needs to be aired out. Run the generator for the recommended time, open the garage door to air it out, and see how much that helps. I know ozone generators do wonders for inside of houses, I'm sure it would help in the garage as well.

Good Luck,
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Roz » Mon Jun 08, 2020 10:43 pm

Tell them to social distance. End of problem.

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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by TRDxB2 » Tue Jun 09, 2020 12:50 am

I would recommend an "ionizer" over an "ozone generator", sometimes the names are used interchangeably but they shouldn't be. This link explains the difference https://pevgrow.com/blog/en/differences ... ozonators/
The negatively charged ions they emit are attached to dust, orders etc weighting them down an the fall to the ground. But you should also try to eliminate the the source of the order, which may be caused by mildew, mouse feces, old fabric, cat urine, pet dander, etc.
The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or to regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either.
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DHort
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by DHort » Tue Jun 09, 2020 2:34 am

A hot tub might do wonders, or an old claw foot bath tub with scented oils and candles.


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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Chad_Marcheese » Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:17 am

It might help to narrow down what the odor is. I have three cars in my garage, and nobody has ever mentioned anything, nor do I ever smell anything. I can tell you if I fire up a vehicle in the garage for more than just pulling it out, then yes, it will stick of exhaust for a day or two after.....I don't drive my cars alot though, and quite frankly, the T stinks the most. If you are getting a fuel smell, then start checking...something is either leaking or rubber hoses are permeating fuel vapors through the hose. They make different grades of rubber hose, Gates Barricade hose is the best I've found. If it is coming from the interior (not uncommon at all), try your best to clean it, but sometimes vermin like to get into seats and that can expotentiate the issue, and make it hard to get rid of. There are some decent suggestions above, your climate zone may also have effects too. When it gets humid and stagnate here in the summer, it can bring oders out that seem to last awhile sometimes. I have a dead mouse somewhere in the garage and it has stunk for over two months now but is finally dissipating as it is deteriorating.....I can not find where it is for the life of me.

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RustyFords
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by RustyFords » Tue Jun 09, 2020 7:54 am

I like the shop smell but my wife doesn’t. And since my shop is my garage and attached to my house, I try to minimize the shop smell by completely emptying it out twice a year (of everything except the workbenches and cabinets) and giving it a thorough cleaning.
1924 Touring

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Mark Nunn
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Mark Nunn » Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:24 am

A skunk got into my barn through a cat door. My dutiful barn cat chased him out but not before said skunk had released his full arsenal. It was nasty in that barn and on the cat. My solution to getting rid of the smell was to boil a quart of vinegar on the wood stove. My stove had a flat cooktop making it easy to heat the pan. I took the steaming pan around the building to let the vapors waft over my tools and workbench, which took a direct hit. Then I closed up the building and let the rest of the vinegar evaporate.

Amazingly, I went into the barn the next day and never smelled even a hint of skunk odor. Boiling vinegar was not kind to my cast iron stove but I consider the effort to be a success. Now, washing an old tomcat in vinegar, followed by a trip to the ER, is a story for another day.


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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by John kuehn » Tue Jun 09, 2020 9:27 am

I had a rat issue and that did give out a bad odor. Put some poison and some of the rats died and then it was a problem! I found them and out they went.
The actual source of the problem came from a bag of dog food that was in the corner and that was what was drawing the rats in to begin with. No more dog food in the garage.


OilyBill
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by OilyBill » Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:25 am

Many good answers.
As someone who has savored mechanical odors for many years. (Steam locomotives have their own scent, from the steam and the oils they use. Same thing with radial aircraft engines. Get near one of those, and they have a sweetish oily scent to them. I can tell I am near an aircraft radial engine with my eyes closed. The same thing applies to old automotive engines.)(Even the huge gear driven road bridges that raise and lower, if you are ever in their powerplant room, they have their own smell as well.)
What you may have is a combination of small dead, mummified rodents and bacteria that live on oil, and some of them can be pretty nasty (Ford Motor Co.. had several machinists die from infection from the oil they used in machining, in the 1920's. The coolant oils used had developed a bacterial infection of the actual cutting oils themselves. It wasn't the oils or coolant fluids themselves, it was the bacteria living in the oils that caused the problem.)
Besides the excellent suggestions to spray the area down with "Simple Green", Krud-Cutter" etc, and then washing it all out with water, you might also want to check your solvent tanks, if you have any, and see about draining them and cleaning them out, and refilling with fresh solvent. Same thing with any old oil that is just standing around. Some people have a tank they drain their used oil into, and then use that as a dunk or soak tank for rusty parts.
(Just like changing engine oil at least once every 10 years, whether it needs it or not (That's a joke!), it's a good thing to clean out old oils and solvents, and replace them with fresh stuff.)
Old auto smell is distinctive, but it shouldn't bring complaints. You have something else going on.

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RichardG
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by RichardG » Tue Jun 09, 2020 10:51 am

oily Bill, i get the same from my other half, YOU STINK, MY SHOP IS MY TOY BOX, AND I GO THERE SOME TIMES TO JUST SET AND ENJOY THINKING OF WHAT HAS TAKEN PLACE THERE, THE SMELL, AFTER NOT GOING THERE FOR A FEW DAYS I MUST SAY IS A BIT ON THE RANK SIDE, SO I SEE WHERE SHE IS COMING FROM, WHEN I WORKED FOR THE OIL CO, THEY HAD A POWDER THAT WOULD REMOVE THE ODER OF FUEL OIL AFTER A SPILL OF HEATING OIL, IT REAL'Y DID WORK, YOU MIGHT CHECK WITH THE DELIVERY DRIVER AND SEE IF HE CAN TELL YOU WHAT THEY USE. GOOD LUCK.

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Topic author
rnwilliams
Posts: 193
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:31 pm
First Name: Ricky
Last Name: Williams
* REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 11 Torpedo, 12 Com. Rdstr, 12 Delivery, 2-12 Tou, 15 Tou, 21 Cpe, 25 Cpe 25 TT, 26 TT, 27TT, 26 PU, 26 Tou, 2-26 4dr, 26 Del, 27 4dr
Location: Humboldt, TN
MTFCA Number: 28991
MTFCI Number: 23852
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by rnwilliams » Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:39 am

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I*m going to try some different things to see what works. Guess cleaning out my parts washer wouldn't hurt a thing either. Always had an old car smell but its a lot worse for some reason.
Richard Williams, Humboldt, TN
President, Tennessee T's inc.


Jeff Hood
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Jeff Hood » Tue Jun 09, 2020 12:44 pm

I love the gas/oil/grease odor in an old garage or shop. However old stale rotten gasoline stinks and the smell will permeate your clothing. If you get some on your hands, they will stink for days and almost nothing will wash it off. If you have old rotten gas in a car and are able to start it, the exhaust will also stink and permeate everything. Diesel fuel will also go bad over time. I use diesel in my parts washer and after a few years it turns brown and has an odor that is kind of sweet, not like diesel anymore. It still cleans but is more oily feeling and has that smell, so I change it for new fuel and less stink. Your parts washer may be a source for some of your stink, but also get rid of any old gasoline in storage and in the cars and yard equipment in your shop.

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RustyFords
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by RustyFords » Tue Jun 09, 2020 2:05 pm

When I got my engine back from Ross Lilleker, it smelled like Kerosene or some other similar hydrocarbon...just glorious.

That went away fairly quickly, but I was running it initially with no radiator for very brief intervals and when I did, the radiator hose neck attached to the head would let out that same Kerosene smell and I'd bend down and take a good whiff of it and just revel in it.

My wife caught me doing this and said I needed to seek professional psychiatric treatment.
1924 Touring


Chad_Marcheese
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by Chad_Marcheese » Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:01 pm

rnwilliams wrote:
Tue Jun 09, 2020 11:39 am
Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I*m going to try some different things to see what works. Guess cleaning out my parts washer wouldn't hurt a thing either. Always had an old car smell but its a lot worse for some reason.
That right there is a big source. Anything like that is going to create odors.

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Topic author
rnwilliams
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Location: Humboldt, TN
MTFCA Number: 28991
MTFCI Number: 23852
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Re: My Shop Stinks

Post by rnwilliams » Tue Jun 09, 2020 5:54 pm

Can't believe I haven't thought of all the open containers of stinking stuff setting around in there. It's time for a good cleaning out. Went to Walmart and bought some Febreze and white vinegar. I'm going to mix it together and if it doesn't cause an explosion I'm going to spray the place down once I get rid of anything that smells. I wish I knew what strippers wear. It sure smells good. I would spray it down with that :oops:
Richard Williams, Humboldt, TN
President, Tennessee T's inc.

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