spilled milk in car

[Pdk Pdk]

Won't go into HOW it happened, but today I broke a half-gallon glass jar of milk on the front passenger floor of my car. Got up most of the glass, but what's my next step to get the milk out of the carpet? I'd like to avoid smells, stains, mold...whatever else comes with spilled milk in the carpet. (The passenger area is lower than door edge so I can't just squeegee it out, and I don't see me removing the entire freekin' carpet from the car either). Thanks for any help on this.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'd start with a steam type carpet cleaner. They make a small one (Bissell) for upholstery and auto carpets. I'd also do it quickly.

I'd also rinse it well and suck out the water a few times.

[Mark]

Use a wet-r-dry vac and some water. Pour the water on and vacuum it out. repeat several times until you have extracted all the milk. Use a non-foaming detergent to further clean the area.

[willshak]

on 3/8/2008 5:58 PM Pdk Pdk said the following:

Power rug cleaner/vacuum.

[S. Barker]

Get you a nice big wet vac, lots of hot water, some dish soap and a stiff brush. Go to town with all 4. don't be afraid to get it wet. a. it's already wet with milk and b. the wet vac will suck it up.

s

[Phisherman]

Remove carpet! You can either wash the carpet (washing on a concrete driveway works well) or replace the carpeting with new.

[Nate Nagel]

That's too bad, because the entire carpet needs to come out, be shampooed, and dried in the sun. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. My mom had a similar incident with a gallon of cider and that's what the fix was. Fortunately it's not as difficult as you think to remove, unless you have a center console or similar.

nate

[HeyBub]

Where do you get milk glass containers?

Are you in Bolivia or Khazaktan?

If so, where'd you get a car in Bolivia or Khazaktan that has carpet?

[aemeijers]

BTDT. Major PITA. You usually have to pull the seats, seatbelts, and most of the lower interior trim, and the screwholes never line back up correctly on old plastic. Plus, new carpet costs a bunch, unless you are lucky enough to finding matching carpet at a junkyard in a car where the interior isn't open to the weather, and just as smelly.

I'd try washing in place first, and only resort to removal and washing or replacement, if the stink does not go away. Detail shops wash carpet in place all the time, and floorpans and carpet get wet all the time from wet or snow-covered feet.

Least painful solution, if cost is no object, may be to have the interior detailed by the same shop the local car lots use.

aem sends...

aem sends...

[Norminn]

Take it to a carwash in the am, before the milk hardens and/or sours. Dump some warm water on the carpet, suck it up with the vacuum. The casein in milk can get hard, like glue - I have seen instructions to use amonia solution for removing milk PAINT; same might apply to plain milk if it is set. Got a shop vac? They sure come in handy.

[kanon22]

Thanks for all the help! I'm going to try the cleaning fixes first before looking at carpet removal which I'll probably NEVER do. In the Scranton PA area there are a number of local dairies that sell milk in glass bottles. Tastes much better than the waxy cardboard containers and cost is the same. Then return the bottles the next time you go to the dairy.

[buffalobill]

coin operated carwash's wetvac. hand carwash's interior cleaning package. kil-oder from grainger.com

[hallerb]

i am stunned milk is still available in glass jars..........

its all plastic around here

[Ronald']

Been there. A whole gallon. No matter how many times I cleaned and rinsed, it wasn't enough. When the car sat out in the sun, the smell was there. Just ventilate for a week.