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Worst smell ever! Eggnog spilled on car carpet.

butterflywi
17 years ago

Last Christmas, a glass bottle of eggnog broke in my car--spilled eggnog was everywhere. I cleaned up the glass and washed the carpet, even though it was freezing. Thought I'd gotten it all until summer came. Obviously the eggnog was still there and it stinks to high heaven. I've tried Febreez, carpet cleaners (with and without enzymes), vinegar, soapy water, baking soda and Oust. During the day, I leave the windows and garage door open so the car can air out. I've taken out the carpeting in the trunk and imagine it needs to be replaced. Yet, the odor persists, and in our summer heat and humidity, I don't want to drive with all the windows open -- not that open windows help much anyway. Please help -- I'm desperate! Thanks.

Comments (32)

  • jules_y2kok
    17 years ago

    try 20 mule team borax leave it on there for a few days hope it works

  • jannie
    17 years ago

    I spilled a half gallon of milk in my car maybe three years ago. It was also in a fire. Not touched by fire,only smoke. My kids insist they can still smell the spooiled milk.

  • centralcacyclist
    17 years ago

    It's still in the fibers or in the cracks and crevices. You might have to take things apart.

    I did a search and those with the most consistent success removing sour milk odor used a pet accident enzyme product such as Nature's Miracle. The enzymes will digest the remaining proteins.

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for your suggestions. I did tear the trunk apart, wheel well and all. Yuk! No wonder it stank. I scrubbed first to try and get all the sludge out then sprayed with Nature's Miracle, which I have on hand in case one of our two darling cats has an accident. We'll see what happens. I imagine I'll be going through this routine several times. 20 Muleteam Borax is a great product -- after Nature's Miracle does its stuff (I have to believe in Miracles), I think I'll sprinkle on the Borax just for its wonderfully clean fresh smell. Actually, I think the Febreez smells almost as bad as the rotten eggnog. Thanks again.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    Did you ever get this solved? I did the same except on my passenger side of my truck. It's in the carpet/pad and who knows where else. I put some Natures Miracle down and it's helped some but I can still smell it.

    Has anyone found anything that worked outside of replacing the carpet or buying a new vehicle?

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi Motrockguy -- Alas, I wish I could say NM has done the trick, but the stench is still there. For one thing a lot of the eggnog leaked into the spare tire well and other crevises and has turned to slime, and some of the slime has hardened and seems impervious to a wire scrub brush. I've taken everything that's removable out of the trunk and keep scrubbing and flooding the area with NM in the hope the smell will eventually go away. My car is going in for service this week, and maybe the service guys can recommend a product or process. Will let you know.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    Did you try a professional detailer? I was thinking of trying that or taking it to for and just saying gut it and replace all the carpet and padding.

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi Again, Motruckguy -- I just did another search and read a comment from someone who recommended a product called DooDoo VooDoo (really). She'd used it on sour milk with excellent results. I just emailed the company and asked them what I might expect from this product, given what I've already done. Of course, I know they'll say their product is better but I'm interested in their comments. I expect to have to replace the carpet, but this won't remove the odor since the eggnog went everywhere. I'll let you know how this latest inquiry goes -- it's getting really hot in Wisconsin and the smell just keeps getting worse.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    Update on my end: I figured out the milk's path of destruction. Apparently my capret has a rubber material underneath it so spills don't leak through. It looks like what happened is the milk leaked and found a way underneath my carpet seaping into the pad under the passenger side.

    Last night I got out the latex gloves, Heavy duty breathing mask:), and went to work. I pulled up all the passenger area carpet and man it was almost too much to look at. It'll be hard to drink milk for awhile.

    I ripped out all the padding underneath my carpet and washed the area with soap/water then dried it and let it sit with a fan blowing on it for a few hours. I ended with a little NM hoping it would work better with less of a mess.

    So far so good for the most part. I can't tell if it's the nasty fragrance auto magic used when they cleaned my carpet or the milk. But's it's not as strong.

    My carpet bunches up in a few spots now but that's not really a big deal. Anything to get rid of the smell. I might still call a ford dealer and just ask how much it would be to put new carpet in and have it detailed while the carpet is off.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    It still smelled pretty bad when it got hot so I called Ford today and they say they can take everything out and deep clean the carpets for 200.00. I'm going to give that a shot as they seem pretty confident that would work over a replacement. We'll see. Otherwise they said about 600-800 to probably replace the carpets. I guess it's worth the risk to do a cleaning.

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Motruckguy -- DDVD contacted me to suggest I have the dealer do a cleaning extraction then use the DDVD to get rid of the smell. DDVD said even the strong cleaning compounds used by car dealers don't completely get rid of the smell. Thought I'd call my dealer tomorrow before I take the car in to see what an extraction would cost and what would be entailed. With all the work you and I have done, having the dealer take over sounds very appealing. Last night, I flooded the spare tire well with NM again, and this morning a lot more of the yuk had dissolved which I soaked up with an old towel. Smelled much better today. I rarely drink eggnog, and, like you with the milk, may never do so again!

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi Motruckguy -- Talked to my Acura dealer today and a full detailing of the car is only $79.95, so I'm going to have it done tomorrow. I must have spent close to that much already on cleaning supplies. I'll let you know how successful this is. If there's still a noticeable smell, then I may try the DDVD.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    With a car it may be different for you but if I ever get this mess taken care of then I'm for sure building some kind of "grocery" box for the bed of my pickup with a lid on it. Food will never enter my truck again:)

    I'm kind of hung up on the whole cleaning issue. I've heard by reading all over these forums that many clean and clean and never get it out. I'm almost to the point of I'm taking it up there why just just pay $300.00 and have the new carpet put in. Then I know I'm fine. With mine it was just on the bottom of the truck so if I got new carpet and had them detail the crap out of the floor/seats/cracks before putting the new carpet on maybe it would be better.

    I just don't have much faith that a cleaning by them will do the trick and then I'll have spent $200.00 and still replacing the carpet.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    Dropped truck off this morning. They were positive they could get it cleaned so we'll see.

    They said if they don't they'll cut be a deal on the new carpet.

    Should be done this afternoon so I'll post results.

  • gizzy3
    17 years ago

    HELP! I have a brand new minivan (5300 miles) and I spilled a gallon of milk in the car. I have ripped up all of the padding under the carpet but the smell seems to be trapped in the underlining of the carpet. I am desperate. I live in Florida - it is 102 today - and the smell seems to be like vapor and noxious and I think I am poisioning my children. What do I do? Should I pay to have the carpet ripped up and replaced?

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Yesterday I had my dealer do a total detailing of my car, inside and out. It must have been quite a project since it took nearly three hours! I can still smell the eggnog, though the odor is faint, but the carpet is still damp. I expect that once it fully dries the smell will be virtually gone. Based on my trial and error experience, I believe that I should have made my first attempt to clean up the mess by calling the dealer rather than trying a bunch of other remedies. Gizzy3, that's what I would do in your case. For one thing, the eggnog mess in my car was not fully addressed until six months after the spill, when it had turned to slime, and mold and mildew developed. Your spill, at least, is fairly recent, but I know how awful it must smell. While the stink could make you and your children nauseous, the biggest concern would be mold. In my case, replacing the carpet will be my final option should the odor still be apparent after the carpet dries. The problem is not only the carpet but the seepage into all the nooks and crannies of the car. Good luck and let us know what happens.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    I finally got my truck back today after dropping it off on Friday. They don't work over the weekend and they said the carpet needed 8 hours to dry out. I'm assuming they did a pretty good job then.

    Got it back today and I think the truck smells new. Of course the truth will be told in a couple of days as the deodorizer wears off they used.

    If this doesn't work my next/hopefully last step will be a replace of the carpet.

    I hope it doesn't come to that.

    So far so good though. I'm must agree with butterflywi, Gizzy3. Run as fast as you can to your dealer and tell them you want this thing detailed as if they were going to put it on the lot themselves. So far that's the only thing that's worked for me after trying.

    Natures Miracle
    Ripping Out The Padding
    Detail at Automagic

    Again I'm not positive this has worked so we'll see a few days after it sits in the sun for a few days and dries out.

    Gizzy: Mine started to smell about 1 day after the spill and 2 days after I got brave enough to tear up the carpet and it was too late. I had a gooey/moldy mess. So I would get it done asap.

    Also a tip a friend of my suggested to me. He said whenever he goes grocery shopping he bought one of those hug plastic tubs from walmart and he always puts his stuff in those. That way if it spills it's contained and they don't move around since their tightly packed. Also when you get home you just grap the tub and take it inside.

    I know we're going back to the store today and my first stop will be for a plastic tub!

    I'll keep you updated if the smell comes back!

    Good Luck ALL!

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    Been about a week now and there is still a slight hint but it's not that nasty spoiled smell. And it's something a trip to walmart get a car odorizer fixed.

    The only bad thing is my AC until really has a bad musty smell to it when you first start it up. After a few seconds when the air turns cold...it goes away.

    So far so good.

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    My car has never been so clean, but I still smell the eggnog mess, though the cleaning helped greatly. My husband says it's just psychological -- he's wrong!-- especially since the heat indexes have been over 100 all week. Since the spill was in the trunk and under the spare tire well, I went ahead and ordered the DooDoo VooDoo concentrate and flooded the wheel well, and I think it's working. I sprayed the carpets and they seem better, too. Whatever, even if I use the whole bottle of DDVD, this is my last effort. Hope that you, Gizzy, and Motruckguy have smelled the last of your milk.

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    Just wanted to say it's been two weeks and the truck is doing good. I bought one of those $3.00 citrus odor eaters from walmart that's suppoosed the last 6 weeks and it's doing a great job keep the truck smelling fresh. However, the smell has also vanished from the A/C unit as well so I think I'm back in business....No more milk in my truck unless it's in the tub I bought.

    Butterflywi: Hope it's gets better and the DDVD works for you!

  • motruckguy
    17 years ago

    I wanted to make another update in case anyone reads this. It's now been about a month and a half and the smell is back. It's not as bad but is more a musty smell now. I called the Ford dealer I went to before and they are going to cut me a deal on ordering new carpet and installing it.

    The carpet was $400 bucks though!!

    But it's worth to have a new smelling truck again. My wife got it yesterday and informed me she didn't think she could ride with my until I got the new carpet installed:)

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi Motruckguy -- It's been OK this summer, but I haven't put all the carpets back in the car yet. I did, however, douse everything with VDDD -- and I think it may have done the trick. Will have the dealer reinstall the carpets correctly, and hopefully all will be well from now on.

  • mayabress
    17 years ago

    Professional carpet cleaning is what you need. I had a good experience with www.carpetcleaningla.com and I hope you won't be disappointed. Good luck!

    Here is a link that might be useful: carpet cleaning

  • wunkie
    17 years ago

    I happened across this site by accident and am so glad. You have given me hope to get that awful smell out of my SUV. It was 3 weeks old and I spilled a Venti Latte on me, the seat, carpet, head liner, center console. Didnt' even get a sip of it. I have been dying trying to figure out how to get rid of that awful smell! Since reading your postings, I will be having it detailed and/or carpet replaced..just wanted to say thanks.

  • goodboyindc
    17 years ago

    Can I join the club?

    I hope all of you have had success in removing your odor from your vehicles.

    When I bought my new car, the second month of ownership, I was running late to work and decided to take some milk in a spill-proof mug with me and have cereal at work. Well, as I got into the garage at work to park my car, the stupid mug got knocked over and the lid came undone, unleashing lots of fresh low-fat milk!!! all over the front passenger side.

    Can I tell you how tortured I was at knowing that I did this in my new car??? And have no one else to blame????

    Anyway, after a week or so of trying pet-odor removers, carpet cleaners, and simply just soaking the area up with damp clothes, I learnt of applying baking soda on the area - just make sure the area is slightly damped before applying. I left the baking soda sit for about 1 week and then vacuumed feverishly.

    Odor gone!

    It was that easy.

    Now forward 3 years.....I was washing my car and I happened to clean my floor mats with some carpet upholstery cleaner. Well, I didn't notice that I left the passenger floor mat too damp.

    For the rest of the week, I didn't drive my car. But on the weekend, when I went to get groceries - I jumped in the car to only be greeted by the smell of dead animal!!!

    After making sure there was no dead animal in the trunk, engine compartment, below the car, underneath the seats, I came across a heavy dead animal odor beneath the passenger side floor mat! And noticed that it was still damp!!! Instantly, I knew this had to have been the return of the milk I spilled three years ago!!!

    This time around, I tried to treat it with carpet upholstery cleaner with no luck. I also tried using the baking soda. Despite having the baking soda in there overnight, the odor was still active the next morning. However, not as intense as dead animal, but more like a musty, dirty socks smell.

    I left the baking soda in a bit longer and went to Target and got a specific car upholstrey foam cleaner from Prestige for $4.

    I vacuumed the baking soda - really vacuumed it and the whole passenger front side.

    I simply sprayed the foam cleaner and left it in for 2 minutes to soak in. After that, you use the scrubber on the cap to scrub in the foam. And then lift the foam off with a damp clothe. I repeated it one more time. And then let it dry overnight.

    The next day what an improvement.

    By day 2, the odor was contained and I hope the milk residue from 3 years ago is gone.

    Plus, I have a good looking interior passenger carpet!

    I totally recommend this product.

  • goodboyindc
    17 years ago

    Actually the name of the cleaner I got from Target is Prestone's Interior Cleaner with Odor Neutralizer for Carpets, Upholstrey, and Floor Mats.

  • cateyanne
    17 years ago

    Just lurking, but what great posts! I really feel for you all, what a mess and the way you describe the smells makes me want to swear off milk forever! I have not yet spilled milk, eggnog, or a latte in my vehicle, but I will be ready when and if I ever do! These posts were a real eyeopener I will definitely think twice before carrying any milk products in the car with me and I'm going out to buy a plastic bucket to haul the groceries back and forth pronto! Good Luck everyone and thanks for posting all your painstaking research.

  • butterflywi
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi cateyanne -- All the clean-up advice is great, but you're right to ensure you don't have the problem to begin with! My car now smells OK, but I sure would like to have all the money I spent on cleaning supplies and service to use for Christmas shopping. One additional comment -- if you buy dairy products in glass containers (as I did with the eggnog), please make sure the grocery bag is sturdy. My downfall was the flimsy plastic shopping bag from the grocer that split just as I was loading the bag from the cart to my car. Now I only use double paper bags or, if that's all they have, triple plastic bags. Too bad I couldn't bill the grocer for the cleaning expenses but at least I wa given another bottle of eggnog!

  • Peter_marketeam_com_au
    13 years ago

    Just to weigh in I had my wheelie bin in my car with about 5-6 weeks worth of grass clippings in it. Little did I realize that there was about a liter of fermented grass juice inthe bottom of the bin.
    Imagine a smell between cow poo and fish sauce fermented with some dead mice and that's pretty close to the smell that I had in my carpet when I turned a corner and managed to slop a heap of this onto my carpet.

    I took apart every peice I could in the back seats. Scrubbed 5-6 times, used disinfecent etc etc.....still stunk. To the point you want to vomit each time you get in the car.....or sell the damn car.

    Went to my local supermarket and bought some carpet foam sanitizer and deoderisor (it's called no vac) and it seems to have worked pretty well.

    Put it on a few hours ago and the car is still smelling fresh. Will have to wait until tomorrow to really test it out

  • JJHenry2011
    12 years ago

    I highly recommend a product called Auto Shocker. I used this during the summer when my got in the car and unbeknownst to me he got sprayed by a skunk! It was so gross! All that odor got transferred to the upholstery in the car. Auto Shocker got the smell right out and is environmentally friendly so there were no harsh chemicals left behind in the car. If it worked on skunk stink, then it has got to work for you. Buy it at http://www.biocidesystems.com/auto3hslanding.html

    Here is a link that might be useful: Auto Shocker

  • frederickpaul
    12 years ago

    check out doodoovoodoo at dogsaroundtowne cheapest on the internet for spilled milk or pet stains it works on all clear down thru the carpet pad

  • patty_achilles
    8 years ago

    my husband spilled a yogurt meat sauce in my car, I have cleaned the heck out of it with pet cleaners, carpet cleaners, used febreeze , & it still smells like something died in it!