Cleaning Chocolate Milk from Perforated Leather Seats

[pbcsd]

So we just bought a 2018 Audi Q5 a few months ago, which came with perforated leather seats. My son, who enjoys chocolate milk apparently, managed to spill it on himself and naturally, the car seat.

Of course, my lovely wife, being my lovely wife, neglected to tell me about this and simply wiped it with a cloth to dry it. A few weeks later, I notice this lovely brown stain there. Googled it, and the suggestion was to use dish soap with warm water. Well, that did what I thought it would do, which is pretty much nothing.

Is there anything I can use that will get this horrible stain out of my wife's new Q5?

Thanks!View attachment 66294

 

[pbcsd]

Oh, btw, I live in Canada if that matters (some products are harder to find up here depending on what is recommended!).

Thx

 

[vincec]

You might want to try a diluted APC, but first test in an inconspicuous spot to make sure it doesn't damage the leather or pull up the seat color. There are multiple leather cleaners available you could try but in the case of the perforated leather seats you may need to use a steam or hot water extractor to remove the stain and get the milk out of the seat cushion. Follow up with a good quality leather conditioner.

 

[pbcsd]

Thx.. Think I have a Bissell Steam cleaner vacuum in my shed.. Not sure if it still works. If it does, do I use it on the leather first with a solution of some sort?

 

[Coopers ST]

I have tackled a job like this before. I would start with steam see if that does anything. For me I ended up with steam, a needle and cleaning out the holes. Warm it and break some up with steam and carefully clean out the hole with the needle. Be careful not to push too deep, don’t know what’s there in regards to heating elements or anything.

 

[vincec]

I would try a solution of diluted APC in the steamer. Again, test the APC solution on an area of the leather that won't show. If it's too aggressive it may pull color out of the leather or remove the top protective layer and make it look dull. Guys have used an APC solution in an extractor to remove cigarette smoke stains from headliners with great success.

 

[rlmccarty2000]

The dish soap and warm water is actually not a bad place to start. Leather is difficult to clean because the stain maybe gone but it still will look stained since it is damp.

 

[sudsmobile]

You need to address the issue, which is that it's milk and it's in the cushion. You need to rehydrate the stain/spill with a combination of water and an enzyme based cleaner to eat the proteins that will eventually cause it to smell. Once you get the spill rehydrated, to removing as much as possible with a wet vac. Do this several times until it looks like it's pulling clean water. You can then address the staining if this hasn't done it. This is how I would do it. YMMV.

 

[oneheadlite]

Thank you Susdsmobile. From my reading here, I had thought that something formulated to address that it’s a protein based stain would be needed, but I couldn’t remember what that would be. Would hate to just let the milk ferment and get funky. I was hoping someone would chime in with the right info.

That’s what I love about this place - there’s super knowledgeable advise on every topic. Cleaning interiors is it’s own art due to the different natures of different kinds of stains.

 

[DETAILROOKIE]

You need to address the issue, which is that it's milk and it's in the cushion. You need to rehydrate the stain/spill with a combination of water and an enzyme based cleaner to eat the proteins that will eventually cause it to smell. Once you get the spill rehydrated, to removing as much as possible with a wet vac. Do this several times until it looks like it's pulling clean water. You can then address the staining if this hasn't done it. This is how I would do it. YMMV.

What enzyme cleaner do you recommend?

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[conman1395]

You need to address the issue, which is that it's milk and it's in the cushion. You need to rehydrate the stain/spill with a combination of water and an enzyme based cleaner to eat the proteins that will eventually cause it to smell. Once you get the spill rehydrated, to removing as much as possible with a wet vac. Do this several times until it looks like it's pulling clean water. You can then address the staining if this hasn't done it. This is how I would do it. YMMV.

Yeah the fact that its milk and in the cushion makes this a potentially more annoying problem than just a stain. Everything this guy said is what I would have done.

Regarding the stain though, you could also try something like the leatherique system. I know it's not made for treating stains, but I've seen it help with getting ballpoint pen stains out. I doubt it'll do much with this though.