Have you heard of Nilodor? Comes as a concentrate or spray, but may be difficult to find a retailer. Try a pet store. It has been used to eliminate odor from meat that was left in the trunk of a car for several days! Nilodor leaves a slight citrus odor, not unpleasant or medicinal.
Tom & Ray
I had a 200 Ford Ranger pickup a while back,the local dairy sells mill in glass half gallon bottles and I had one break open one August afternoon. I was able to pickup about half with a shop vac,washed the rug out w/carbonna carpet cleaner and it still stunk. Then entered my son w/my new grandson who would routinely emit really foul projectile vomit and the only saving grace for stench control was a product by Johnson & Johnson specifically desisigned foe eliminatting that foul baby puke smell, well it works fine on babies and just as well on milk stink in the car.Its marketed anywhere as a “baby fresh scent” or something like that for about $2.00.
the answer to the odor problem(s) that are in your column is a product called “NOK-OUT”. I am a dealer of the product and a user. It is just being introduced to Virginia now for the last few months. NOK-OUT is not sold in stores, the only way to get it is through a distributor/dealer. I would be happy to give you or anyone curious a demonstration. There is a website www.nokout.com that is very informative it is very hard to believe but the NOK-OUT product does what it says!!! This is not a masking agent and you are not left with a fruity or flowery smell, it just removes the odor! the odor will not come back unless it is reintroduced. Remove animal odors/ cigarette odors etc. There are a lot of uses to many for me to list but feel free to call me at (757)679-3043 for more information. Lanny, Chesapeake, Virginia
See email and chat… I posted my answer to you on how to get rid of the sour milk smell.
Odo Ban… sold at Sam’s Club will instantly get rid of the sour milk smell…It is very economical and will kill the odor and the germs. 100%… I have used it for years for burp-up from babies to sour milk in carpets, to animal fecal and urine messes. ;It works!
The best thing by far that really works is Abzorbit. You can buy it at Lowes Companies on the cleaning isle. Put it to the test, it works great. Sprinkle the aborbent onto spill area on carpet or concrete or upholstery. Push it into the spill if you can with hand or work in circular action as directions show. I have used to remove hot blueberry cobbler from carpet in our van. Vomit from the cloth passenger seat leaving no smell or stain. Green Paint from white carpet. Tacky glue left from removing an old floor. Urine from a mattress (no stain or odor). Please put this to the test with the issues you guys cover and see how it works for any spills related to vechiles and the passengers in them. I can be reached by phone at 828-464-9944. stehanie Setzer www.abzorbit.com
I had the exact same problem. I had a gallon of milk sitting on the back seat of my car, which by the time I arrived home was a 1/2 gallon of milk. The smell was bad enough in summer but strangely enough, was horrendous in winter. I soaked up what I could while it was still wet and even “soaked it with water” to dilute it. After putting up with the smell for several weeks, I put an opened bag of charcoal in the floorboard of the back seat and left it there for several weeks and it worked. (It also works for refrigerators that have been stored with the doors shut.) Good Luck, Robert!
Jeanette in OKC
P.S. I really enjoy your articles. Air pressure in tires answered my questions. Thanks!
Many years ago I spilled a gallon of milk onto the carpeting in my car. When the odor appeared I sprinkled, heavily, plain old baking soda on the carpeting. After awhile the odor disappeared.
I’d try a relatively inexpensive solution first: Add about a half cup of Arm & Hammer washing soda (sodium carbonate, an alkalai) to a gallon of distilled water and apply it liberally to the spill area to neutralize the acid of the soured milk. Leave it fairly wet. Let it soak for about an hour, preferably in the sun. A black plastic trash bag over the area will increase the heat. Blot excess soda water with a sponge and let dry. If the spill was dry before you started, you may have to repeat the process. If you are in a humid climate, blow a fan on the area to speed drying and reduce the likelihood of mold growth.
Place coffee grounds where the milk spilled. might take two or three treatments, but it will get rid of the odor.
I am a dealer for a slick line of air purifiers, and they truly eliminate–not mask the smell. It will even get rid of cat urine! Yuk. Car dealers use these to get rid of smoke, etc. in their used cars quite often…They use these in the “Ground Zero” museum in NYC too. www.ecoquest.com/malarsie Sure it is a bit of a sales pitch, but these machines work very well…thanks!
I agree whole heartedly. I always tell people about Nature’s Miracle when it comes to cleaning carpet and upholstery. I used it on a 1965 Impala with grease stained green carpet and upholstery, and it removed the stains like magic. It trully is a miracle. Of course it works wonders on odors because it’s designed for pet odors.
I agree-coffee is a great natural smell neutralizer. I’ve never tried it with carpets and spilled milk, but when a chipmunk died under the hood of my car <gag!> I used my grandmother’s old remedy. Take about a cup of coffee grounds right from the can and heat them in a frying pan until they are smoking. Then, take the pan and set it on the floor of the car. The smoke will neutralize even the strongest of odors and leave a kind of French Roast smell behind. The trick also works for eliminating fishy odors in your kitchen, just give the pan a few shakes as you walk around the room.
The Odor Eliminator ( www.OdorElim.com ) will eliminate the stink! Car odors from cigarette smoke, fast food dinners, food spills, body odor, or car exhaust are no match for The Odor Eliminator! Spray The Odor Eliminator directly on the source of the odor and in the general interior of your car. Within minutes, your car interior is rid of those nasty car odors – including spilled milk!
The Odor Eliminator is not a mask, cover-up, or perfume. Many products claim to eliminate odors, but merely cover-up the odor with their own fragrance, allowing the odor to return a short time later. The Odor Eliminator, eliminates odor at its source – the odor can not return because it no longer exists!
The Odor Eliminator is the best value on the market and there is no risk with this product as Odor Elimination – GUARANTEED! Within the first 30 days after you receive The Odor Eliminator, if you are not completely satisfied, return the unused product for a full refund. Learn more at www.OdorElim.com
My husband’s car had an unholy smell. I thought I had solved it when I found the dried out, moldy canteloupe peel (soccer snack?) stuck in the car door. But, if anything the car smelled even worse. I refused to go anywhere in the car. One day, after a soccer game, I decided to investigate. I lay down on the back seat to peer up under the driver & passenger seats and made a rotten discovery. Someone had had some brownie bites in a plastic bag (again…soccer) and “forgotten” them under the passenger seat. They were liquified stink and some of the “juice” had spilled onto the car mat. I happened to have a bottle of Earth’s Answer Microbial Deodorizer in the house. I followed the directions and sprayed as much under the seat as I could, left the car - windows open - in the warm summer air. There is NO stink now. I think any microbial deodorizer will do…but only know of the one (purchased on Garden’s Alive website).
Send the car to the junk yard if you can find someone to take it. The stink from spilled milk cannot be removed. It seeps into the steel and even invades the engine. I once bet a neighbor with this problem that I could fix the odor in his car (5 gallons of cream in the trunk). After steam cleaning and sand blasting, I trapped a skunk and put it in the trunk. You could still smell the spilt milk. I lost the bet.
I understand that fresh ground coffee might work. Sprinkle the ground coffee on the spill, it not only absorbs the moisture it also absorbs the odor. Of course your car will smell like fresh ground coffee but that is better than sour milk. After several days you vacuum up the ground coffee and hopefully the odor as well. Good Luck!
I agree with the Vinegar approach. When my daughter was young, she managed to drop a gallon of milk down some carpeted stairs in to a carpeted hallway in my parents house. It burst open and milk soaked in everywhere. My wife suggested to them that they use a water and vinegar mix to clean it up. They did not. They rented a carpet cleaner and thought everything was fine. Within a few days, the house stank of sour milk (Vinegar smells much better than sour milk anyway!!!). At that point they tried my wife’s suggestion and it removed the stink of sour milk… and the smell of vinegar disappeared soon afterwards. My wife also liked to use vinegar in the washing machine to get the smell out of really sinky clothes… in fact she used to put it in almost every wash… until it rotted/rusted out our washing machine. She only uses it when really required now.
This happened years ago to me. I went to the dealer to purchase a new floor mat and he suggested I contact my insurance company. I did and they paid for the new floor mat. You might give that a try.
Fresh milk is best absorbed with a single layer of Oreo cookies and plenty of napkins. Dried sour milk can only be removed with a gallon of water, a package of Lipton’s onion soup mix and a large package of Ruffles potato chips. After attempting these methods take your vehicle to a detailer with a professional type carpet cleaner, on the way home stop by your auto parts store and pickup a package of smelly things to hang from the mirror.