need help now! Broke Red dye thermometer?

Question

so i was working on my work desk (which is in my garage) and i accidentally dropped and broke a thermometer recently. it looks like an older one, but thankfully its not a mercury thermometer (it has the red liquid). I'm familiar with what "rubbing" alcohol smells like but this smell its giving off smells more like a strong cough syrup if you will, i can smell the alcohol but there is more to it. why wont the smell go away? ive been venting the garage and i have cleaned up the fluid and glass. is there any dangers to the fumes? is there any fumes or is this just a lingering sent? need help! know nothing of thermometer fluid. thanks

Answer 1

Traces of broken glass are more dangerous than the dye/alcohol mix in the thermometer. Our sense of smell can detect very low levels of certain compounds, which is why the smell is lingering.

I generally disapporive of air freshener sprays, but this seems like a situation where one might be useful, just to cover up a smell you find unpleasant.

Or get some flowers to put on your desk?

Answer 2

First, if it was once red, it was once no longer mercury so which you can overlook about that fear. Actual mercury is a silvery odorless liquid that tends to "ball up" into little liquid beads if spilled. 2d, non-mercury thermometers with purple fluid comparable to yours are/were typically filled with both alcohol or glycol plus a purple dye. They're harmless in the quantities present in a single thermometer. For that reason, my advice is not to be worried about your stain. It must put on off inside per week or two, but is not going to harm you.