Spilt milk, literally....
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Spilt milk, literally....
1/2 gallon container of milk broke in the back seat of my C2. Quickly vac'd out what I could and gave it a shampoo, but to no avail. It smells like a French Cheese convention in there.
Please, for the love of god, give me the name of a product, or a technique of cleaning to rid my '01 of it's funkiness.
keith
Please, for the love of god, give me the name of a product, or a technique of cleaning to rid my '01 of it's funkiness.
keith
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,431
Likes: 14
From: Gator Nation
Been there myself and it's gonna be a mess. First is to get as much out as you can like it sounds like you have done .Rent a carpet extractor from Lowes or somewhere if you didn't use an extractor when you shampooed it. Rent the hand wand with it. Get as much out of the carpet under the seat as you can.
Milk has enzymes which are little gifts that keep on giving.
Next will be the odor. It's gonna get real smelly real quick. After you have cleaned everything, set a dish of white vinegar in the car. Change it out often. This may take a few days of use. If that doesn't do it, an odor removal product called SO2Pure (www.autogeek.net) works very well and I use it on a lot of my detailing clients cars.
If there is a high end Detailer in your area see if they have the Drive Pur system. If they do, get it done!
Milk has enzymes which are little gifts that keep on giving.
Next will be the odor. It's gonna get real smelly real quick. After you have cleaned everything, set a dish of white vinegar in the car. Change it out often. This may take a few days of use. If that doesn't do it, an odor removal product called SO2Pure (www.autogeek.net) works very well and I use it on a lot of my detailing clients cars.
If there is a high end Detailer in your area see if they have the Drive Pur system. If they do, get it done!
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,708
Likes: 78
From: Delaware, USA
Ouch. This happened to a friend, and even after thorough cleaning, warm days would make the car smell like old cheese. I'd seriously consider removing any carpeting touched by the spill and taking it to a professional carpet cleaner. I wouldn't want to risk the "funk" permeating other parts of the interior.
good luck.
good luck.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 432
Likes: 1
From: Stockholm, Sweden
If it's only the rear-seat and not the carpet, I would remove the rear-seats completely and you will both get rid of the smell and have easier access while cleaning it.
It's only attached with velcro and pulls right up.
It's only attached with velcro and pulls right up.
Parts Specialist
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 16,326
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bad memories for me - in the early 70's my sister broke a gallon glass jar full of milk in the back of my dad's 72' Plymouth...we owned that car well into the 80's and EVERY SINGLE TIME you got in that car (esp on a nice hot summer day when the windows had been rolled up)
EVERY TIME
EVERY EVERY EVERY TIME
It smelled like...well, throw up spoiled fricken milk!
now my dad had removed the entire interior and cleaned the chit out of it more than once, and either he sucked at cleaning or that stuff just doesnt come out - I can smell that car even now 25 years later - good lord !!!
best of luck man.....the very best of luck
EVERY TIME
EVERY EVERY EVERY TIME
It smelled like...well, throw up spoiled fricken milk!
now my dad had removed the entire interior and cleaned the chit out of it more than once, and either he sucked at cleaning or that stuff just doesnt come out - I can smell that car even now 25 years later - good lord !!!
best of luck man.....the very best of luck
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: SoCal
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,138
Likes: 8
From: Richmond, VA
Also, go to a pet store and get yourself a bottle of Natures Miracle or equal. It is an enzymatic cleaner that literally eats any organics. It works well at getting cat & dog urine odor out, so it should work with milk as well. Saturate well after you clean up what you can, then extract with whatever method you want, wet/dry vac, tons of paper towels, etc. Don't use a steam extractor after treatment. May need to apply more than once.
Pro
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 726
Likes: 2
From: Austin,Tx
oh man my wife had a casserole full of hot sweet potatoes in my Tacoma years ago. It spilled yam juice all into my cloth seats.
It took 3 central Texas summers before the smell was gone
If it happened to me today it would be a good excuse to pull all the carpet. That is something I've wanted to do in the last 3 vehicles I've had but haven't had the ***** to go for it. I'm just not a fan of carpet.
It took 3 central Texas summers before the smell was gone
If it happened to me today it would be a good excuse to pull all the carpet. That is something I've wanted to do in the last 3 vehicles I've had but haven't had the ***** to go for it. I'm just not a fan of carpet.
Drifting
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,636
Likes: 16
From: Apex, NC
Professionals use some sort of ionization treatment. My mother-in-law's Subaru required two treatments to get rid of a spilled milk smell. But then it was gone completely. Whatever you use, make sure to park the car in the shade afterwards and leave the windows down, preferably for a day or two.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 173
Likes: 18
From: Stillwater, MN
In college I left the windows of my '76 Monte Carlo open in the rain on two occasions. The carpet quickly smelled moldy and terrible. I doused it with Lysol spray, which had the effect of changing the mold smell into a Lysol smell that eventually changed back into no smell. The carpet looked fine (well not fine it was a '76 Monte Carlo)...
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 1,431
Likes: 14
From: Gator Nation
Ozone generators work extremely well but if you do choose that option beware. The ozone will seriously damage interior plastics. You only want to run it for about 10 minutes at a time between sessions.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,138
Likes: 8
From: Richmond, VA
Do not use an ozone generator in the car. It can do all sorts of things to leather and wire insulation. If you use an ozone generator, pull out the affected carpet and run it in a large sealed cardboard box.
