Okay gals - I usually post questions about my girl, but this has nothing to do with my family. This time I have a cleaning question. So, I had half and half in my car, in a bag (one of those recycled bags that you use over and over again - so it leaks since it's not plastic) and it sat in there for about 45 minutes, leaking! It was nice and soaked into the backseat. I sopped up the liquid with a towel and sprayed it with carpet cleaner and scrubbed it, but not super well (my daughter was sleeping in the house and hubby was at school). The next day, we shampooed my seat with an electric carpet cleaner. Now, almost a week later, the stain is totally gone. BUT THE SMELL!! It's not too bad... until the weather gets warm and the car heats up. Ugh... it's nauseating. I've spilled milk in there before, but it was NOTHING like this. Apparently, I don't check the seals of my dairy products properly before leaving the grocery store... :-) Anyway, I sprayed Febreeze just so that we could stand to ride in the car - I know it's not going to clean it. What do I do!? How do I get rid of the nasty smell?!
Thanks in advance!
Go to PetSmart or Petco and get a bottle of enzymes. Follow the directions and wait. Repeat if need be. This should work wonders!
There are a few options like sprinkle baking soda and leave it for some hours to absorb as much as possible, then vacuum it up. Vinegar to neutralize. Febreeze, but I don't put that top of the list. It sounds like the half&half might be deeper into the seat. Try calling some car detailing places and see if they will recommend anything. You might want to consider getting a waterproof blanket or something to put down under the bags for future possible spills/leaks with those bags. I use the recycled bags (plastic) they sell ($5 for set of 4) from Costco which are just awesome! Never fun when it comes to that sour smell... Good Luck!
We had an incident similar to this back in October. My husband went shopping at Costco and loaded everything into the backseat of the truck (why he didn't just do the bed of the truck, I don't know). Anyway, as I was helping him unload I kept getting these whiffs of something rancid. Turns out, a can in a soup pack had been damaged and was sloshing all over the back seat. It was nasty! It smelled someone had a vomit fest in the backseat, but worse, I know that doesn't seem possible (who would have ever guessed that chicken noodle soup could smell so bad). How my husband didn't notice when putting it on the cart I don't know.
It was so bad, we tried cleaning it right away and took the pack back to Costco (they were really nice, even told us to go get the truck cleaned and they would cover the cleaning cost). Sad thing was I had a conference I had to get to...that day and I was already running late. I threw baking soda in there and that didn't even touch it. I drove with my head half out the window and spraying lysol.
Anyway, we took the truck into a professional cleaner and they had it for a few days. They'd clean and let it dry, reclean, let it dry. All told, they cleaned it 4 times and they got most of it, but there was still a faint odor. When we got the truck back I put some coffee beans in a mesh baggie and dropped it behind the seat. That seemed to help and within a few months the odor was gone. The cleaning cost around $130. I've been nervous about hot days, but so far the warm days we've had, I still haven't smelled anything.
You may want to take your car in for prefessional cleaning. Coffee beans helped with the last of the odor, so you may want to try that.
Good luck, hope you find something that works.
it won't slove the problem but help witht the smell. leave a couple of dryer sheets under the driver and passenger seats to have nice smell in car
You might want to have the seats pulled out of your car.... because liquid can seep through down into crevices, which you cannot reach and which nothing can reach... and it will rank and smell and "age" in there. Like fine wine...
You can go perhaps to your car dealer/repair place, tell them briefly that something smelly spilled in there and want to get it cleaned out.... they may even pull the seats out free etc. Then you can see if there is a puddle down there...
all the best,
Susan
If the half n half has seeped into the foam of the seat, it's going to ferment in there for a long time (bet it's making a very interesting but smelly cheese). You might try washing it with a carpet cleaner again, then use a strong wet dry vac to suck as much moisture out as possible. After that it's just a matter of drying it out as much as possible, and keeping baking soda in the car to absorb the smell till it's gone. If you can get an ozone generator (like car dealers use to clean used cars with) it might help.
Been there, it is nauseating when the milk rots inside the car seat foam. What I will recommend is that you get steam cleaning http://www.detailxperts.net/services_locations_mobile_det... done on it, as steam can get through as much as water/milk can I think it will help clear/disperse it and un-contaminate it.
Oh boy. I don't envy you. I used to have a cleaner called Mother's Miracle, which was an enzyme-based cleaner. If I could find that now, that's what I'd use - it cleaned everything like vomit and other things when my daughters were really little. If you can't find that, look for pet cleaners or other cleaners that use enzymes to break down whatever is spilled. I think you'll have better luck with those than Febreeze (that only masks smells), although since it's soaked into the seat, you may have to do it many times to get it to soak in deeply. Good luck. When I was a baby, I spilled a bottle in my parents' car and they eventually had to get rid of the car, because it was so impossible to get the smell out. But that was back when the dinosaurs roamed, so they probably didn't have the cleaners we do today :)
Nature's Miracle, Stain and Odor Remover. It is an enzyme cleaner and I have used it for years. Gotten barf out of car-seats, cat spray from carpets, food stains from carpet and car..., everything!!! (read directions):-)
Happy Cleaning!
I'm another proponent of Nature's Miracle, in the liquid form, which is available at any pet store. I have used it to get out all kinds of stinky smells. The person who first told me about it used it when a tomcat got into her car and sprayed everywhere in her car. She said it took the gallon size, but she got the smell out. I've tried the super market brands of enzymes, and they weren't anything compared to Nature's Miracle, so don't waste your money on them. You may have to douse the spot a few times to finally take care of the smell. The enzymes have to really get in there and re-wet the area and then work on the smell. It is amazing stuff, though.
Only a natural enzyme product will remove the smell that milk makes...YUCK! I've had the same thing happen and it IS disgusting. You may have to saturate the area. Febreze is not an odor eliminator. It actually works on the olfactory glands so your body can't smell it. You need something that will actually remove it once and for all. I use Melaleuca products and they work with things like this. Shaklee or Seventh Generation may work too.
M.
Professionally clean your car, Sorry for the mess.
I think this is one of those times when it's worth it to spring for an interior detail on your car! It's probably around $100, but you'll feel so much better and it's good for your car's longevity anyway. I just got my car detailed, and wow, what a relief. I feel so much better in it! I went to ace car reconditioning, worth the drive and the money. The owner was really great, and my car looked like a showcar.
