Best spill kit

The SPKU-5 is the spill kit I’d keep on a truck, and I’ve used it. SpillTech’s product page says it’s packed with pads and socks to quickly contain and absorb spills of oils, coolants, solvents and water, and rates it to absorb up to 4.6 gallons per package.

SpillTech lists every piece: ten 15 × 19-inch gray Universal HeavyWeight SonicBonded pads, two 3-inch by 4-foot gray universal socks, two 18 × 30-inch yellow disposal bags with ties, a pair of nitrile gloves, safety goggles, a vinyl spill kit label and six tamperproof seals.

It all rides in a 12 × 16.75-inch white 5-gallon OverPack pail marked 1H2/Y1.5/30, a UN rating for shipping. SpillTech calls the container durable, lightweight, and weather and chemical resistant. The whole kit weighs 11.05 pounds.

SpillTech’s page also lists the federal rules that drive spill kits: OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120(j)(1) on keeping DOT-specified salvage drums and absorbents where spills may occur, EPA rules for waste transporters, and DOT 49 CFR 173.3(c)(1) on salvage containers.

It didn’t lose a point on our checks. The one thing to know: Amazon’s listing says it absorbs 5.2 gallons per package, while SpillTech’s own page says 4.6. I use SpillTech’s number.

SpillTech sells the same pail in other chemistries: an oil-only SPKO-5 that absorbs oil-based liquids but not water, and a HazMat SPKHZ-5 for acids, bases and unknowns. This one is the universal kit.

Only 7 were left on this listing when I checked. The price line shows the current seller.

My call: break the tamperproof seal only for a real spill, and restock it the same week. A raided kit is the one that’s empty when a water heater lets go.

PIG’s KIT213 is the kit I’d pick when a spill might spread across a floor, and I’ve used it. New Pig’s page says it’s for fast response to spills up to 4 gallons, and that the container is UN rated for shipping waste.

New Pig lists the contents: one 3-inch by 10-foot PIG Blue absorbent sock, one 3-inch by 4-foot sock, four 15 × 20-inch PIG absorbent mat pads, six tamperproof seal labels, two 18 × 30-inch polyethylene disposal bags, and a bucket with lid printed 6.5 gallons.

The socks have a polypropylene skin with vermiculite filler, and the mats are polypropylene. PIG lists the fluids absorbed as oils, coolants, solvents and water.

The bucket measures 12.69 inches across by 19.45 inches tall, carries the UN rating 1H2/Y30/S, and the kit weighs 11 pounds. The Amazon listing adds an easy-open screw-on lid and bold caution lettering.

Where it lost points: at up to 4 gallons it has the lowest absorbency here, which scored 8, and New Pig doesn’t list gloves or goggles in it, which scored 7.

The 10-foot sock is what sets it apart. The others use two 4-foot socks; one long sock can ring a puddle around a water heater or under a machine without gaps.

New Pig’s page offers a 100% money-back guarantee on its products. The price line shows the current seller.

New Pig’s spec table also notes what it isn’t: not high-visibility, not see-through and not UV resistant, so store it indoors where people can find it. New Pig’s own range shows where KIT213 sits: its bucket, bag and box kits run from about 3.5 to 9 gallons of absorbency, and KIT213 is the 4-gallon bucket with the long sock.

My call: keep a box of nitrile gloves taped to the lid, since the kit doesn’t include them.

Oil-Dri’s L90435 is the kit I’d pick for raw absorbency, and I’ve used it. Oil-Dri’s page says it’s for emergency cleanup of up to 5 gallons of fluid, with everything packed in a reusable pail.

The kit contains 2 universal socks, 15 universal bonded pads and a disposal bag with tie, per Oil-Dri. The Amazon listing adds detail: the socks are 4 feet long with polypropylene skins and polymeric foam filler, and the pads are perforated, heat-bonded polypropylene.

Oil-Dri’s page lists the kit at 10 × 10 × 15 inches, the smallest footprint here. The listing describes the pail as polyethylene with a locking lid and handle.

The listing also states the limit plainly: it’s for water-based and oil-based nonacid liquids on land. That’s the universal-kit rule; acids need a hazmat kit.

Where it lost points: Oil-Dri’s page and listing don’t mention a UN rating for the pail, gloves or goggles, or tamperproof seals. Each scored 7.

Oil-Dri sells a refill pack for its 20-gallon kit (L90410R) on Amazon, and the L90435’s pail is reusable, so you can restock it with pads and socks.

It was in stock when I checked; the price line shows the current seller.

Oil-Dri files its spill kits under on-the-go cleanup and everyday leaks, which matches how I use the bucket size. Oil-Dri’s spec block lists the case at 10 × 10 × 15 inches and 6 pounds, so it tucks onto a shelf. Oil-Dri also makes a 20-gallon universal kit (L90410) and a 65-gallon oil-only kit (L90865) when a single pail isn’t enough.

My call: it carries the most rated absorbency per kit, so it’s the one I’d keep in a basement mechanical room where a water heater, boiler or softener could leak.