I pm'ed qbmurderer as it is his forte and he gave me some guidance but I am looking for ANY suggestions as I can't stand it.

I lifted the rear driver-side seat and discovered a quart of milk that we bought over a week ago had rolled underneath the seat, which had spoiled and leaked onto the carpet (not the floor mat) and the car reaks!

So far I soaked up the milk and shampooed, used baking soda, Fabreeze and have now moved onto vinegar which seems to be working. Or could also just be that I am smelling something other that spoiled milk!!

If the vinegar does not work, I will moved onto commercial enzyme cleaners but am curious to hear of any other tips ya'll may have to remove odors.

Thanks!!

 

Try incense but be careful not to set your car on fire. Also, if you get stopped by the cops, avoid having Bob Marley on your radio at all costs or they will haul you in for smoking ganja.

 

Ever tried leaving a small bag of charcoal in the car? That works for cutting food-related smells.

 

I knew about that but didn't think of it. Thanks!

Won't Matchlight briquettes leave the smell of fuel? LOL

 

charcoal in the car? thats a new one but it does have a strong oder so it could work, you need to get a strong carpet cleaner and also let that s@%t air out. windows down (in your garage so you dont get it stolen or someone throw stuff in it.

good luck bro!

try this link for some extra ideas, one guy said he used rubbing alcohol and another doode stated he used this product called auto vaccine and that its backed with a money back guarantee if it does not work.

http://www.ehow.com/how_155790_remove-spoiled-milk.html

 

I've been doing that and honestly? The stench was so strong it stunk up the garage and basement! The vinegar is looking like the most promising thing so far. As of now, I have the windows up and will check it in an hour.

My brother in law swung by and asked him to smell the car (without telling him what happened) and he told me it smelled like some sort of cleaner or something but it wasn't bad.

(keeping fingers crossed)

 

for sure, hope all goes well doode.

 

Baking soda and other odor neutralizing agents aren't going to help much to get rid of the odor until you get rid of the cause of it. In your case the spilled milk is being consumed by bacteria which is then producing waste and by-products that creates the gag inducing smell that you're experiencing.

If you can, take out the liner and wash it well with an antibacterial cleaner such as lysol and be sure to let it dry completely. This would be the best method because there's lots of small nooks and crannies under the floor liner where milk probably puddled. If you can't (or don't want to) then clean the inside with an antibacterial cleaner and hope you got it all. Avoid chlorine or hydrogen peroxide as their bleaching properties can discolor dark materials such as the fit black/gray flooring.

A bag of charcoal will help to a small degree but briquettes are made for burning, not air cleaning and are far too dense and packed with binders and other materials to make them effective. If you do decide to go the charcoal route then be sure to find activated charcoal/carbon that's engineered specifically for air cleaning.

 

That reminds me of the time the gas can for my mower spilled in the trunk of my Civic. It was months before the smell was completely gone.

Sometimes it just takes time...

 

try a product called ozium. all my cig smoking friends use it and works well, i heard they use it in hospitals not sure if its true. and i dont know how it will hold up to milk

 

For 12 years now I have used an ozone generator to eliminate odors in the house and on occasion in my cars... I put it in the car with the engine running and the A/C on in the closed position for 10 minutes and then switch off the ignition and let it sit with the windows closed for an hour and then air it out...I think you can rent them at tool rentals. I got one because I always have a dog and they can smell kind of rank after coming inside after it rains, it also eliminates the odor of anything that you might burn while cooking and the odor of whatever you may care to smoke...Ozone is bad for plastic and rubber so you don't want to over do it.

 

onetime i was driving to dropoff my fully loaded oil pan.. just to get to the place and realize that it had already emptied itself. onto my trunk. it smelled for WEEKS! it was so gross. i wet vaced it and then placed a BUNCH Of newspaper in it. newspaper works wonders. and jsut always drive with the windows open.

 

with AC on full blast, spray febreez into the vent below the windshield wipers.

 

Well, so far the magic ingredient appears to be vinegar. I woke up this morning and I could still smell the spoiled milk albeit it not too bad. I applied another "coat" of vinegar using a spray bottle and went to work (in a company vehicle). When I got back, I checked it again and all I can smell is a very slight tinge of vinegar but that's it.

So if you got a real nasty smell in your car remember that vinegar is your friend! And don't forget a quart of milk can roll under your seat when emptying the groceries from your Fit.

 

If you have seen Myth busters, you will already know what to do. Get a hold of a dead pig, (or rough equivalent) and leave it in the car with the windows rolled up in a hot garage for about a month.

I guarantee that you will not smell spoiled milk when you open up the car after this process...

 

That's good to know. I had much less luck with vinegar when I wanted to remove the smell of paint.

I suppose if I sprayed it around like you did, it would've worked better.

 

A styrofoam container of menudo left undetected has spoiled milk smelling like fresh roses in comparison.

 

Dead cat odour will rid you of that sour milk smell.

This is true story. I had an 88 Plymouth Sundance. Black so it would heat up well in the summer with no A/C.

Anyhow one of my favorite pets must have been injured by the fan. It crawled up behind the block on the tranny parts and started to grow maggots and reek once it died. I could not reach it. I tried a couple of garages and they would not touch it. Called the City and they sent some animal control officer. He said he would take it out if I would jack up the car. Well I would put any NASCAR jackman to shame. I had that car up in no time flat.

Yet after cat was removed the smell stayed with it. Any time the outside temp got really warm you could smell it in the car. I hosed and hosed that engine to no avail. It finally wore off after a couple of years. It still seemed though every time it was warm that I could smell dead cat.

 

Try poreing a little bit of pinesole the floor cleaning stuff on it it will smell like pinesol hard core but it will defently get rid of the milk then it takes about two weeks for the fresh pine smell to go lol I found this out when my mom spilt some in her car lol

 

I heard Ozium works too, try this Odor Exterminator - Griot's Garage
It's from Griots Garage, their stuff is pretty tits.