I'm soaping tonight and had a mishap and really spilled essential oils. It spilled on my scale and is 'eating' the plastic on it. I'm going to put it in rice. It's on the counter and floor too. Can I neutralize it somehow? Thank you.
help now - spilled essential oil!
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Unfortunately it doesn't get neutralized as much as washed off ... warm, very soapy water to wipe down the benches and floor (multiple times).
Sometimes wiping over with a slightly oiled (with vegetable oil) cloth first can dilute the essential oil, which can wipe up the excess and give you a little bit of extra time to clean it all off, but your post has been up for a while so your probably past that point.
You might need to take the unplugged scale apart a bit, if the essential oil has got inside. A solvent might work, but it could make it worse as well, so if you aren't sure, just stick to the hot, soapy water (using synthetic dishwashing liquid and a cloth only very slightly damp) and repeat until all of the oil has been lifted up.
Good luck!
Sometimes wiping over with a slightly oiled (with vegetable oil) cloth first can dilute the essential oil, which can wipe up the excess and give you a little bit of extra time to clean it all off, but your post has been up for a while so your probably past that point.
You might need to take the unplugged scale apart a bit, if the essential oil has got inside. A solvent might work, but it could make it worse as well, so if you aren't sure, just stick to the hot, soapy water (using synthetic dishwashing liquid and a cloth only very slightly damp) and repeat until all of the oil has been lifted up.
Good luck!
NsMar42111
Well-Known Member
My scale has scarring from FO's from the one time I forgot to put the saran wrap back on the weighing platform. Soap and water and I used a little vinegar. It didn't hurt the scale function since I managed to throw papertowels on it in time before it got to the buttons. Ugh I feel you on this one!
Magic7M
Active Member
Please try Benzine. I have used it on all electronics and it cleans sticky mess and grease off. Also it evaporates quickly and does not leave a film on the surface nor does it remove any writing. Please try it and let us know.
I ruined my first small scale when I spilled EO on it. Either I wasn't fast enough with the clean-up or it just got into the insides so fast that it would never have survived anyway. It sure was a lesson on how important it is to be careful. It wasn't my first EO mishap either. EO eats right through plastic table coverings I discovered. Luckily I also cover the work table with towels that soaked most of it up before it got to the plastic and it never reached the painted surface below.
At least it caused no damage to my formica kitchen counters after I switched to measuring EO's on the kitchen counter (but spilled on the scale that was ruined). So now I make sure I am not shaky or having a klutzy day before starting to soap, because I sure don't want to ruin anything else with such an accident.
At least it caused no damage to my formica kitchen counters after I switched to measuring EO's on the kitchen counter (but spilled on the scale that was ruined). So now I make sure I am not shaky or having a klutzy day before starting to soap, because I sure don't want to ruin anything else with such an accident.
dixiedragon
Well-Known Member
FYI, I keep my soap scale in a large ziplock bag - even when I am using it.
Good idea, dixiedragon. I should start doing that with my small scale that I use for fragrances & smaller measurements. I do cover my soaping scale with plastic at all times, though.
Not Benzine!
Magic7M, Benzine is highly toxic (it can poison you by consumption, inhalation and skin absorption) and is a known carcinogen.
Benzine has commonly been used as a solvent in the past (it's cheap and easy to make), but it's dangers are known now - this one is one solvent you don't want to be using.
From CDC: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
(ppm is parts per million)
See also:
Public Health Statement: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/PHS/PHS.asp?id=37&tid=14
Toxicology Profile for Benzene: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/TP.asp?id=40&tid=14
Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene
PS. The original post was about the essential oil "eating" the plastic ... Benzene is a brilliant plastic eater (it is able to dissolve polyethelene, plastic #2, which is resistant to lye and other chemical solvents, and polystyrene products dissolve into mush almost immediately liquid Benzene is applied
).
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Well said, @SaltedFig! Also benzene is highly flammable and the vapors are explosive at low levels in air. Benzene really shouldn't be used for routine degreasing and cleaning -- there are much safer solvents out there.
Dr.J
Supporting Member
I think Magic7M was referring to something more like Pet ether or mineral spirits when recommending "benzine". That's not a common term used in the US for this type of product. Search "Petroleum benzine" and find what was likely intended.
Ok then.
Source: https://wikivividly.com/wiki/Petroleum_benzine
"Benzine" is a generic name for the the lighter fraction of distillate spirits; the lighter fraction contains the most toxic of the aromatic compounds.
The
Pet ether is also made using the lighter fraction of petroleum distillate. This is a solvent used in the laboratory and the SDS for it suggests that a ventilation hood is required for use. It is also known to cause peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage starting at the extremities).
There is no way I would recommend the use of either of these laboratory solvents (Benzine or Pet ether) for cleaning up spilled essential oil in the home.
"Mineral spirits" is generally used to describe the heavier fraction of the petroleum distillate. We have a low-odor Mineral Turpentine (as it is called here) in Australia, which is modified to further protect artists and painters from the toxic aromatic compounds.
If any petroleum spirit was to be used, the low-odor Mineral Turpentine would be a better choice, but even then it is possible that it would be harsher on the plastic of the scales that the essential oil itself, so I still do not recommend petroleum based solvents for this particular situation.
*Edited to refine the detail to be more precise in interpretation.
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Dr.J
Supporting Member
Respectfully disagree with your interpretation of the wiki text. Petroleum benzine has a low overall aromatic content <0.2%. The benzene content would be even lower than that, probably in the ppm range (SaltedFig's linked SDS in the post below shows an example having 150 ppm benzene). From the Alan Phenix reference cited in your wiki link:
To all intents and purposes petroleum benzine appears
synonymous with petroleum spirit. ‘Naphtha’ has the CAS
Registry Number 8030-30-6, which also covers petroleum
benzine and petroleum ether: that is, the lower boiling point
non-aromatic hydrocarbon solvents. Applied to solvents,
the terms ‘naphtha’ and ‘benzine’ appear essentially synony-
mous in North American usage. To take a familiar example,
the US laboratory chemicals supplier Fisher Scientific offers
a product ‘Benzine (Petroleum Naphtha)’ which is com-
monly used by conservators. This product is identified by
the CAS Registry No. 64742-89-8 which defines the product
as Solvent naphtha (petroleum), light aliphatic. The boiling
range is quoted as 118.5 – 140.5°C, and it is described as
consisting substantially of aliphatic hydrocarbons, of which
octane and n-heptane make up 1.5% and 1.2% respectively; aromatic-content is very low, less than about 0.2%. As if
to demonstrate perfectly the overlap in the names of these
generic hydrocarbon solvents, Fisher’s ‘Benzine (Petroleum
Naphtha)’ conforms to the specification for a low-aromat-
ics VM&P Naphtha (see below); indeed this is probably a
re-labelled VM&P Naphtha from one of the major US petro-
chemical companies.
To all intents and purposes petroleum benzine appears
synonymous with petroleum spirit. ‘Naphtha’ has the CAS
Registry Number 8030-30-6, which also covers petroleum
benzine and petroleum ether: that is, the lower boiling point
non-aromatic hydrocarbon solvents. Applied to solvents,
the terms ‘naphtha’ and ‘benzine’ appear essentially synony-
mous in North American usage. To take a familiar example,
the US laboratory chemicals supplier Fisher Scientific offers
a product ‘Benzine (Petroleum Naphtha)’ which is com-
monly used by conservators. This product is identified by
the CAS Registry No. 64742-89-8 which defines the product
as Solvent naphtha (petroleum), light aliphatic. The boiling
range is quoted as 118.5 – 140.5°C, and it is described as
consisting substantially of aliphatic hydrocarbons, of which
octane and n-heptane make up 1.5% and 1.2% respectively; aromatic-content is very low, less than about 0.2%. As if
to demonstrate perfectly the overlap in the names of these
generic hydrocarbon solvents, Fisher’s ‘Benzine (Petroleum
Naphtha)’ conforms to the specification for a low-aromat-
ics VM&P Naphtha (see below); indeed this is probably a
re-labelled VM&P Naphtha from one of the major US petro-
chemical companies.
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Thank you for the engaging delve into solvents ...
To take the example used in your quote, I checked the Material Data Safety Sheet for the Fisher Scientific Benzine, and the Benzene content comes in at 0.015 percent. Reference: https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/16105.htm
So yes, the highest quality (and most expensive) low-odor Benzine has a reduced content.
Not all Benzine is going to be to the standard of Fisher for one, and even at that standard, I would still consider the risk in a non-hooded (enclosed home) environment to be too high for this purpose. It would only take a slightly heavy hand or leaving the lid off to exceed safe limits.
(See section 8, specifically Exposure controls, Personal Protection)
...To take the example used in your quote, I checked the Material Data Safety Sheet for the Fisher Scientific Benzine, and the Benzene content comes in at 0.015 percent. Reference: https://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/16105.htm
So yes, the highest quality (and most expensive) low-odor Benzine has a reduced content.
Not all Benzine is going to be to the standard of Fisher for one, and even at that standard, I would still consider the risk in a non-hooded (enclosed home) environment to be too high for this purpose. It would only take a slightly heavy hand or leaving the lid off to exceed safe limits.
(See section 8, specifically Exposure controls, Personal Protection)
Dr.J
Supporting Member
Again I will respectfully disagree. The main point being that there is no such petroleum benzine product that contains 10% or more benzene (that composition you quoted was in reference to a raw distillation cut before further refinement and hydrogenation, and furthermore was in reference to total aromatics, not just benzene). A 10 minute use of petroleum benzine to clean a scale in an enclosed house, even with a heavy hand, will not cause an excedance of the listed 8 hour TWA PELs for benzene. po129panko.pdf has some useful data (can be found via web search). But by all means, be extra safe and do the operation outside or in a well ventilated area.
A home environment, with no protection, and unknown quality of lighter fractions of petroleum distillate and a near field use of right on top of the product ... no. I don't think it is safe.
The paper you have referenced is published by a scientific consulting firm who also offer their services as expert witnesses for industry.
Furthermore, the paper is geared towards industrial use of the chemical, when the worker is in a professional environment and wearing protective equipment. Representative workers are pictured in full protective gear in a photo on page 14 and diagram of worker on page 18.
The entire paper looks only at the airborne exposure to benzene in petroleum products and contains a significant amount of modelled data (in addition to some real data).
A sub-note suggests that Benzene was present at 3.5% until 1978 (page 7).
Solvents with benzene concentrations in exceeding >1% are mentioned on page 11.
A reference is made to "spiked mineral spirits" on page 14.
Higher concentrations were mentioned on page 16 "when the benzene content of the product may have exceeded 1%"
No mention is made of the fact that the volatiles are also absorbed through the skin (the carbon chain length is short enough).
Also not mentioned is the fact that a large, single breath of Benzine (irrespective of the level of Benzene) can cause chemical pneumonia and other life-threatening illness.
There are much safer solvents to choose from in this situation, and this industry paper has not convinced me that this solvent is a good choice to recommend to an untrained person using it without protective gear or ventilation, inside their home on a piece of plastic equipment that is already melting from some spilled essential oil.
Thank you for the interesting debate, but I might bow out of this discussion now, and perhaps we can just agree to disagree.
The paper you have referenced is published by a scientific consulting firm who also offer their services as expert witnesses for industry.
Furthermore, the paper is geared towards industrial use of the chemical, when the worker is in a professional environment and wearing protective equipment. Representative workers are pictured in full protective gear in a photo on page 14 and diagram of worker on page 18.
The entire paper looks only at the airborne exposure to benzene in petroleum products and contains a significant amount of modelled data (in addition to some real data).
The paper lists instances of benzene amounts exceeding this amount in the real examples:
A sub-note suggests that Benzene was present at 3.5% until 1978 (page 7).
Solvents with benzene concentrations in exceeding >1% are mentioned on page 11.
A reference is made to "spiked mineral spirits" on page 14.
Higher concentrations were mentioned on page 16 "when the benzene content of the product may have exceeded 1%"
No mention is made of the fact that the volatiles are also absorbed through the skin (the carbon chain length is short enough).
Also not mentioned is the fact that a large, single breath of Benzine (irrespective of the level of Benzene) can cause chemical pneumonia and other life-threatening illness.
There are much safer solvents to choose from in this situation, and this industry paper has not convinced me that this solvent is a good choice to recommend to an untrained person using it without protective gear or ventilation, inside their home on a piece of plastic equipment that is already melting from some spilled essential oil.
Thank you for the interesting debate, but I might bow out of this discussion now, and perhaps we can just agree to disagree.
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Dr.J
Supporting Member
Reading and following the recommendations the SDS for any product you intend to use is always a good idea. I am not recommending otherwise.
If you have a more reputable and relevant reference to share regarding benzene exposure from petroleum benzine use, by all means please do.
The paper addresses measured and simulated benzene concentrations in the air - PPE of the workers is in no way taken into account as a means of reducing the reported exposures to benzene in the paper.
None of those benzene concentrations are relevant to the use of Petroleum benzine that can be acquired today (benzene content well below 1%).
Yes, in the 70's, before benzene was recognized as a human carcinogen, many solvents contained relatively elevated levels. Back then, chemists used to wash their hands in benzene. That is no longer the case, and the Pet ether, mineral spirits, etc. solvents have evolved to low benzene levels as a result.
Your arguments have seemed to shift from benzene exposure to the dangers of the other components in the benzine. Again I say refer to the SDS for recommendations for safe use (including PPE). Just as we do when handling NaOH. From the SDS you linked above for Benzine it is recommended:
Personal Protective Equipment
Eyes: Wear chemical splash goggles.
Skin: Wear appropriate protective gloves to prevent skin exposure.
Clothing: Wear appropriate protective clothing to prevent skin exposure.
Respirators: Follow the OSHA respirator regulations found in 29 CFR 1910.134 or European Standard EN 149. Use a NIOSH/MSHA or European Standard EN 149 approved respirator if exposure limits are exceeded or if irritation or other symptoms are experienced.
If you have a more reputable and relevant reference to share regarding benzene exposure from petroleum benzine use, by all means please do.
The paper addresses measured and simulated benzene concentrations in the air - PPE of the workers is in no way taken into account as a means of reducing the reported exposures to benzene in the paper.
None of those benzene concentrations are relevant to the use of Petroleum benzine that can be acquired today (benzene content well below 1%).
Yes, in the 70's, before benzene was recognized as a human carcinogen, many solvents contained relatively elevated levels. Back then, chemists used to wash their hands in benzene. That is no longer the case, and the Pet ether, mineral spirits, etc. solvents have evolved to low benzene levels as a result.
Your arguments have seemed to shift from benzene exposure to the dangers of the other components in the benzine. Again I say refer to the SDS for recommendations for safe use (including PPE). Just as we do when handling NaOH. From the SDS you linked above for Benzine it is recommended:
Personal Protective Equipment
Eyes: Wear chemical splash goggles.
Skin: Wear appropriate protective gloves to prevent skin exposure.
Clothing: Wear appropriate protective clothing to prevent skin exposure.
Respirators: Follow the OSHA respirator regulations found in 29 CFR 1910.134 or European Standard EN 149. Use a NIOSH/MSHA or European Standard EN 149 approved respirator if exposure limits are exceeded or if irritation or other symptoms are experienced.
The OP's question has been abundantly and thoroughly answered, and the conversation is turning into an abstruse debate with only 2 people participating. Even I don't want to chime in except to make this request -- kindly allow this debate to die or take it to private messaging.
