Some brake fluid was spilled inside the van of a friend. Is there any way to clean this haz. waste up, a green nontoxic way? Or maybe, the carpet where the fluid soaked in can be cut up. The entire van smells awful, and only one window the passenger one works.
Brake fluid is easily dissolved in water. Just keep flushing the area concerned.
I would use cheap kitty litter, the kind that is not made to clump.
Thank you! The kitty litter poured on top of the spot where it soaked in is helping a lot. Plus I have the one window that works rolled down while parked or driving. It turned colder, so that helps decrease the odor. Also I put a couple drops of lavender essential oil onto the carpet behind the driver’s seat and so the smell seems much less. And I burned some Nag Champa incense.
I am not using the flush with water yet because then what do I do with the toxic water? Ethylene glycol is pretty toxic stuff. So the dry litter seems easier to handle.
Do I have to take the kitty litter to hazardous waste for disposal?
Brake fluid is not ethylene glycol (antifreeze). It is composed mainly of glycol ethers, a fact of no interest to anyone except a chemist. But it does raise some disposal issues.
Brake fluid is not considered an environmental hazard. I don’t know if the EPA even has any regulations concerning its disposal. Likely not. You may consider it benign. So, yes, the used kitty litter may be disposed as ordinary household waste.
And if you flush the carpet with water it is environmentally safe to simply let the water run off or be sponged out and soak into the ground. There will be no harm done to the grass, the soil microorganisms, or the water supply. Take my word for it.
Before you flush the carpet with water, I would grind some of the kitty litter into the carpet with my foot and all the weight of my body. Then vacuum up as much as you can. Then when you flush the carpet with water, use a wet-vac to suck up as much water as you can.
I would dispose of the contaminated kitty litter in a plastic shopping bag. Put the kitty litter in the bag and tie a knot in the bag to close it. It should be safe enough to dispose of the bag with your household garbage.