Oil Spill Clean-Up????

OK fellas, I really need your help w/ this one.

A few months ago a gallon jug of 2-stroke outboard oil dumped over in the back of my '00 XJ. I did the best I could to clean it up at the time but it soaked into the carpet pretty fast. Since then I have scrubbed it a few times but can't seem to get all the oil out. When something sits back there for any length of time, the parts contacting the carpet get covered w/ oil.

What woud be the best way to get this cleaned up?????

What a friggin' mess!!!!

Thanks.

Brian

Sorry, the only way I can think of is rip it out. You could try a steam type cleaner or a call to Servicemaster and ask if they can do it....but thats all.

Rip it out.

Rev

Be thankful it wasn't gear oil

If you don't want to rip it out you might experiment...

Maybe go to the supermarket and buy a LOT of baking soda. Spread it around there REALLY havily and let it sit for a day or three. That should soak up at least some of it. Anyway, after you do that, first vacuum it up with a wet/dry shop vac, then hit it with a steam cleaner vac (at least around here you can rent those from grocery stores or hardware stores for about $25). It'll take awhile to do this, and I'm not sure how sucessful it will be. It might actually help to remove the carpet from the vehicle too (you don't have to remove it all, just the cargo area).

Sequoia

This might be a PIA but should work. Kitchen dishwashing detergent breaks down oil, it also makes alot of suds Make up a mix and pour it on, let it sit then use either a rental steam cleaner or good shop vac and start vacing it out. May have to repeat several times.
Cat litter also soaks up spills pretty well. I guess you could also pull the carpet, hang it up and use a pressure washer with dishwashing soap then just spend the next day or so rinsing it out with a garden hose. Bet it is in the underlayment too
Be happy it wasn't gear oil with limited slip additive that would have really stunk

The problem is probably in the underlying lining.... IIRC my carper in the cargo area has some sort of a felt type material lying underneath it so anyting that I would spill on the carpet would eventually soak into the lining thus no matter how hard I'd clean the carpet it's the lining that would need to get cleaned...

Kejtar