Help cleaning up spilled fixer

Minolta93 · Aug 29, 2022

Hi everyone. I recently had a bottle of (bad) fixer in my car's trunk. The fixer was cloudy and showing separation, but at the time I thought I might still be able to use it. I neglected to consider Murphy's Law and of course the bottle leaked in my trunk. Now my car reeks of sulfur. Not much was spilled, but it soaked through a small spot on the carpet inside of the trunk, and was stopped by a sort of compressed fiberboard which the carpeting goes over.

I used water and a towel to get the stain out, for the most part, but there is a lingering smell. Are there any chemicals I might use to neutralize the remaining bad fixer?

I'm not sure if this is the right forum to ask this but I thought maybe someone here might have some advice.

Rick A · Aug 29, 2022

Dump fresh ground coffee (dry not used)on the spot and leave it for a couple of days, then vacuum it up. It should absorb the smell(and the cause). Repeat if necessary.

Sirius Glass · Aug 29, 2022

Rick A said:
Dump fresh ground coffee (dry not used)on the spot and leave it for a couple of days, then vacuum it up. It should absorb the smell(and the cause). Repeat if necessary.

Alternate: Replace "fresh ground coffee" with "bicarbonate soda"

MattKing · Aug 29, 2022

I'm wondering whether some Hypo Clearing agent for two minutes, followed by another water rinse would be useful as well.

cramej · Aug 29, 2022

As with other spills, neutralize with the opposite. For alkaline, neutralize with an acid and vice versa. As fur sulfur specifically, not sure.

nmp · Aug 29, 2022

Hypoclear probably won't do anything to the sulfur. If the above more benign remedies don't work, copper sulfate (if you have any) solution should react with sulfur and thiosulfate to form insoluble compounds. As long as it does not run-off and does not come in contact with any metal from the car.

:Niranjan.

Minolta93 · Aug 29, 2022

cramej said:
As with other spills, neutralize with the opposite. For alkaline, neutralize with an acid and vice versa. As fur sulfur specifically, not sure.

As far as I know, I have (or rather, had) and acidic fixer. It was KodaFix. I also seem to smell a hint of acetic acid as well. I don't know if this is something in the fixer.

I think coffee grounds might help absorb the smell but I may just try a solution of baking soda as a first step and see if that doesn't fix the problem.

As for copper sulfate, I'm not sure where I'd get it. But if I were to use it, the area in question is far away from any metal surfaces, so that may be an option. Thanks for the replies, everyone. I may pick up some baking soda today and see if that does the trick.

Rick A · Aug 29, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
Alternate: Replace "fresh ground coffee" with "bicarbonate soda"

Coffee smells better.

Minolta93 · Aug 29, 2022

Rick A said:
Coffee smells better.

I wouldn't mind the car smelling like coffee. As it is it goes between smelling like rotting chicken or like the mud pits at Yellowstone. On a hot day it makes me gag.

john_s · Aug 29, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
Alternate: Replace "fresh ground coffee" with "bicarbonate soda"

Bicarb of soda is miraculous with such problems. I used it after a possum died in the wall of a bedroom: it was there for months over summer.

Sirius Glass · Aug 29, 2022

john_s said:
Bicarb of soda is miraculous with such problems. I used it after a possum died in the wall of a bedroom: it was there for months over summer.

What was the possum doing in your bedroom? I would have thought that you would have been more attracted to another human?

john_s · Aug 29, 2022

Sirius Glass said:
What was the possum doing in your bedroom? I would have thought that you would have been more attracted to another human?

in the wall, via the roof space.

Minolta93 · Aug 29, 2022

I poured baking soda liberally over the problem area. Then I poured water over that to facilitate a reaction between the baking soda and whatever may be stuck in the fibers of the upholstery. I didn't see any fizzing but I will check back later and see if it's gotten any better.

Two23 · Aug 29, 2022

Copper sulfate is available from any wet plate supplier. I could send you a small amount if you want to try it after you've tried everything else.

Kent in SD

AsdaFan · Aug 30, 2022

If it's a problem use a wet vac and wash it.

Nikola Dulgiarov · Aug 30, 2022

Sodium bicarbonate should do the trick, and if it doesn't fully neutralize the smell, mix it in solution with some hydrogen peroxide (perhaps 1 part 3% peroxide to 2-3 parts water and a tablespoon of soda to that). Spray on the contact surfaces and leave overnight. Peroxides are very good at oxidizing smelly sulfur compounds, in both liquid and gas phases.

AgX · Aug 30, 2022

Peroxides might bleach the dye at the carpet fibres. (I once had a similar case with a spray bottle with Hypochloric acid, which spray-gun cap had deteriorated (wrong material choice by the manufacturer) and the fibers of the car carpet had been completely bleached.

randyB · Aug 30, 2022

Can you remove the carpet and fiberboard panel from the trunk? If you can, saturate the area with spray foam carpet cleaner and hose it down with a garden hose, then let it dry for a few days.

Minolta93 · Aug 30, 2022

Appreciate all the replies! I left the wet slurry of sodium bicarbonate overnight. I bought one that also had an OxyClean label on it, and I don't know if that made any difference. When I opened the trunk today, I was not met with a sulfuric smell. Maybe a hint of it if I really tried to find it, but it seems like the soda might have done the trick. I'm going to vacuum it up and see if the smell was just masked or if it was really neutralized.

Help cleaning up spilled fixer

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