Smell free sprays/ideas?

[pontoon]

Hi everyone.

I’m moving to a place where I’ll have a tiny 1 car garage where I can work on my dirt bikes and maybe truck.

It’s a place where the neighbors may complain just about the sight of a dirt bike (!!) let alone the smell of fuel, brake kleen, etc. The complaints would stem from an environmental concern/health concern/pseudo science/mysticism/too many drugs in the 70s—valid or not.

So my goal is to avoid smells when possible. Some ideas I have:

- If I have to drain fuel, drain it into a fuel can ideally. Some carbs make this possible, some not so much.
- Small fuel and oil spills (e.g. out of petcock hose) ideally into a rag which goes into a metal safety can locking in the smell.
- Big spills cleaned up fast.

Questions I haven’t figured out:

- How to replace brake kleen?
- How to replace carb cleaner?
- Is it possible to do an oil change straight into a sealed/almost sealed container rather than a catch pan?
- How can I avoid gassing myself in this tiny garage besides using a respirator?

Do you have any other tips on ways to work on a motorcycle/truck that avoids smells, maybe keeps the garage “out of sight, out of mind”, avoids spills, and ensures spills will never touch the unsealed concrete?

Thanks! I’m super excited to have a real garage for the first time in my entire adult life (over 10 years working out of parking lots or underground parking lots/garages. I just will need to be careful with keeping the neighbors happy.

 

[Enigma]

can you just do it when they are at work? watch their comings and goings and learn their schedule then do it when you know they wont be home for a few hours. Or is it all the neighbors you are concerned about and not just one house.

 

[Dumber than lumber]

Ever hear of Liquid A-S-S?
Check it out on Amazon. I figure if you give them a couple of days of LA they will be much pleased to have it replaced by petrochemical and solvent smells.


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=liquid+***&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

 

[laser3kw]

get a grill and burn some redwood in it. they will enjoy the outdoors smell of a camp fire

 

[pontoon]

can you just do it when they are at work? watch their comings and goings and learn their schedule then do it when you know they wont be home for a few hours. Or is it all the neighbors you are concerned about and not just one house.

I haven’t moved there yet so I’m not sure. The building residents will be the number one priority, plus some neighbors/random sidewalk users.

 

[rburke65]

Myself....I wouldn’t care what they smell.

 

[BillK]

I personally wouldn't worry about it. I bet it would be hard to smell anything more than a few feet from your work area anyway. I didnt think you could buy any of those chemicals in Ca anymore anyway

 

[orangeblood]

in response to the OP questions: (my $0.02)

- How to replace brake kleen? - dont know of a good/cost effective low smell alternative
- How to replace carb cleaner? - same as above
- Is it possible to do an oil change straight into a sealed/almost sealed container rather than a catch pan? - oil changes shouldnt be a "smell" problem?
- How can I avoid gassing myself in this tiny garage besides using a respirator? - always work with the door open if you are using anything that has ventilation warnings or starting the engine and worried about trapped exhaust

unless there are HOA covenants AGAINST non commercial, homeowner auto/mechanical work your neighbors shouldnt have an issue with the work you have described

 

[ItsNemo]

The moment I step out of my garage I can't smell a thing from inside...what the hell kind of drugs are you actually cooking up in your "garage"?

 

[DHCrocks]

how about an air filter with charcoal filter, this should absorb the odors. just leave it running continuously in the garage and it should minimize the smells when you open the door.

 

[sberry]

Be neat and not a slob and it wort be a problem. I don't like using Brakclean inside anyway and you don't have to use a full can at a time. Don't make it all a problem before you even move in.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Work over cardboard. The soiled cardboard, rags, used liquids etc. Get rid of them ASAP.
I burn most but you may not have that option.
Let them air out. Putting them in a can will only reduce the odors until you open the lid.

 

[bwringer]

Very interesting question.

I use WD-40 quite a bit as a parts cleaner, mainly because it doesn't smell bad, and isn't harsh on my hands, paint, plastic, rubber, etc.

As far as carb cleaner, I've found you can minimize this by using a torch tip cleaner and compressed air to gently physically deal with deposits. In other words, only bring out the strong solvents as needed at the very end of proceedings.

There are also quite a few folks reporting great success with ultrasonic cleaners and non-solvent cleaning solutions like Pine-Sol and Simple Green. Haven't tried this myself, but it's worth consideration.

You can also greatly minimize your use of solvents by using detergents and water. I've cleaned many parts in the kitchen sink with Simple Green or even dish soap. Out of sight of the neighbors, too. (Not sure how your spouse might feel about that...) There are also dedicated parts cleaning solutions along the same lines formulated to be "greener" and far less offensive.

You could also rethink your approach. For example, you could make it your general policy to always replace the petcock when you take in a new project bike just to help ensure no gas leaks.

Working with the door closed would do a lot of good, too, just by keeping the nosy Nellies at bay. Maybe add a window out of sight of the neighbors for light and ventilation.

And as mentioned above, maybe explore filtered ventilation. Even just some sort of vent fan that exhausts out the side would really keep things a lot fresher in there.

Lots of facets to this...

 

[bochnak]

I do all sorts of things in my garage and it doesn't smell.

 

[Bretny]

Myself....I wouldn’t care what they smell.

F them if there going to comain about every little smell and noise...make sure you test the bikes top end real good. Just make sure your within the law.

 

[Falcon67]

Most of that stuff will dissipate quickly - carb cleaner, Brake Kleen. At any rate, in CA I'd bet you can get "real" Brake Kleen anyway LOL. As for the rest - whatever. If their nose is that sensitive, better cut Mexican food, meat an such out of your diet. Note - I use PSC1000 in my 20 gallon wash tub, it has very little smell to it and works good. My wife has one of the "somebody farted next door" noses and she has no problem being in the shop.

 

[Boilerhouse]

My shop is 50 feet from the house. My chief olfactory inspector, aka "the wife" is not shy about voicing any concerns regarding pungent odours. And if she doesn't complain about the aroma of all the things I use in the shop, and there are plenty of them, then I am certainly not even remotely concerned that there may be some impact on the neighbours.