Spilt turpentine on stone floor

[legoqueen]

DH has spilt a jar of turps onto a wet stone floor in an outbuilding that is attached to the house. Will it naturally evaporate if ventilated (we can leave the door open) or is that a more effective way of getting rid of it? I'm concerned about its flammability.

do you mean artists' turpentine?

If you mean White Spirit, which is a petroleum distillate, it will slowly evaporate, though you should wipe up what you can with rags or kitchen roll.

(the rags will then be very flammable so I would probably spread them somewhere outdoors to dry. Don't put them in an enclosed bin, and don't roll them into a ball.).

A wet stone floor will be cold so it will take a long time to dry.

If you can get the sun to shine on the floor it will dry quicker.

AFAIK the vapour can still be ignited so you need to ventilate the outbuilding to prevent it collecting. It will tend to lie on the floor. Avoid naked flames, fags, sparks etc.

If you phone the makers (name on the label) they might have more advice. I don't know if your local fire service can advise.

p.s.

forgot to say it does not wash away with water, and any contaminated clothing should be left outside to dry thoroughly, and not put in a washing machine or, especially, tumble drier.

Lots more on assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/567576/white_spirit_incident_management.pdf

Thanks, it is white spirit. No sunlight but most of it seems to have dried already - however, roof leaks so difficult to get completely dry. Not sure what to do with rags/cloths once dry? Need an idiot emoticon ;-)

once fully dry

(this is a "thing" you have to do with oily rags, as they can spontaneously combust)

wet them with water and a bit of WUL

tie them into a plastic bag so the water can't dry out

bin them

I once had the rare privilege of smelling burning, and finding some rags that had been screwed up and stuffed into a painters' cupboard a day or two earlier. It really can happen.

Jeepers. Thanks PigletJohn you truly are a national treasure...

Painter's rags in a cupboard spontaneously combusting was found to be the cause of a massive, skyscraper fire in New York. This seems to be a bigger problem than people realise.