Spilled an entire gallon of milk....PLEASE HELP!!

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Playa178

New member
OK...9 days ago an entire gallon of milk broke open in my trunk and spilled everywhere.



Not knowing any better I cleaned it up with Tuff Stuff carpet cleaner and figured i was fine.



5 days later I open the door to the most rancid smell Ive ever smelled in my life--worse than a dumpster.



I basically started by spraying fabreeze all over the trunk and interior floor to try to get the smell out and it didnt even dent the smell, it just covered it up temporarily.



Next I took apart the trunk carpet and removed the spare tire etc. and washed the entire metal trunk floor with amonia to try to kill the smell...I also took apart the back seats (since the milk seeped down under them) and cleaned under there with amonia.

Needless to say my entire car smelled so strong I couldnt even put my head in it from the amonia.



The smell went away for a few hours but it came right back last night. Its like an unfightable force that wont stop.



I even went as far as to Cut out some of the carpeting under the back seat that was stinking really badly...about 3'x5' of carpet total has been cut out of the car.



Next, I took some advice and went to Petco and bought an Enzyme based pet odor cleaner and poured that ALL over the trunk floor, carpet, and under the seats. Again the smell was gone for a few hours but it has now come back.



I took the car to a detailer today and he said that the smell would never go away and I should call my insurance company to replace the interior and trunk panels.



I cant believe that Id have to go through all this just for a damn gallon of milk that spilled but Im lost...Ive tried everything I can think of...



Does anyone here have an answer for me?! Im seriously getting sick to my stomach everytime I sit in the car because the smell is so horrid.



Thanks!
 
Steam cleaning with some professional deodorizer is the only thing that will work.



I had a sewer back up in finished basement, real gnarly nasals. Ins had apro carpet cleaning service do it with great results. It's the organics that are the prob. The 'lil bugger microbes are havin' a field day.



You'll probably have to see if service master or somone similar will sell some deodorizer/disinfectant to ya. You can rent the steam cleaner and save a couple of $$.



Good luck
 
I did a car a couple summers ago that was in the same situation. Fabreeze was my savior that day. That stuff takes out any smell. You can get it in the laundry detergent aisle. Try that before you go get it steam cleaned so you can at least endure the smell while you drive it around.



I used Prestone foaming carpet cleaner to get the stain out and Fabreeze to kill the smell. I never got such a big tip in my life! :) It works really well.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Playa178 [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>
I basically started by spraying fabreeze all over the trunk and interior floor to try to get the smell out and it didnt even dent the smell, it just covered it up temporarily.

[/b]</blockquote>
JNGRBRDMAN, he already used febreeze, and it wouldnt work..
 
wow you guys are quick to respond...thanks for the help...I guess Im gonna try to go to another detailer who doesnt wanna jump right into replacing the interior.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by PathfinderGuy [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>

JNGRBRDMAN, he already used febreeze, and it wouldnt work.. [/b]</blockquote>

Hmmmmm..... Now how did I miss that one? :rolleyes: Sorry bout that. It worked for me pretty well though. Maybe yours spilled in a different area or something or maybe your carpet is plusher and retains more of the milk. Hope you get it fixed guy.
 
Definitely try the steam cleaning technique. I can't believe some guy at the dealership told you that the smell would NEVER GO AWAY. That's ridiculous. I'm sure your trunk smells pretty bad. The heat and time (a few days) will undoubtedly contribute to a terrible, terrible smell. Good luck and let us know how things work out. Laters
 
Looks like Im gonna have to bring it to a few different detailers and get their opinions then go with whoever the one that makes the most sense is.
 
One of our many resident chemists can correct me if I'm wrong - but wouldn't you want to use one of those enzymatic odor removers in this case? I would think Fabreze (or Ozium, my favorite odor removing spray) would only cover up the smell, while an enzymatic cleaner would actually work against the agents causing the smell.



Incidentally - the article on odor removal at Autopia is here. It doesn't mention milk specifically, though.
 
<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by JohnN [/i]
One of our many resident chemists can correct me if I'm wrong - but wouldn't you want to use one of those enzymatic odor removers in this case? I would think Fabreze (or Ozium, my favorite odor removing spray) would only cover up the smell, while an enzymatic cleaner would actually work against the agents causing the smell.</blockquote>
Well I went to Petco and bought the enzymatic pet odor cleaner (2 gallons worth) and used it all through the car and carpets.

It doesnt seem to have done anything as the smell remains this morning. I did clean the trunk liner in my garage and it seems to smell better--but the problem lies within the metal under the carpets in the car which wont stop smelling...I dumped baking soda on the metal under the seat last night and it still hasnt worked.

Im truly lost...I cant believe Im going through this because of milk!
 
the metal??? if its the metal, try getting a couple cans of krylon and seal it up with black spraypaint. Might work? :nixweiss
 
rotting milk is caused by bacteria, you have to kill that bacteria before the smell even begins to go away

maybe you should give Ron K. a call, go to his site www.autoint.com and call him up. he can refer you to a product or tell you what to do.

from what you are saying, it sounds like there is trapped milk somewhere.
maybe recarpeting your car shouldn't be tooo bad (I mean not as bad as the smell ;)) maybe you can get to the source take some bleach to kill the germs disenffect the whole area and start anew. Good thing it wasn't on your seats since those are pricier to replace.

otherwise if you can get the trapped milk to evaporate the bacteria will stop repoducing also, :nixweiss sorry I'm not so big a help.
 
Yo! Steve!! you're onto something there, bud........ perhaps he could take his car to maaco, and have them put it in the baking/curing booth......... then any liquids would evaporate and the bacteria would be dead and buried.



not only that, but you could test the durability of Klasse, Zaino, or carnauba under extreme heat situations! :cool:
 
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