Interior : Milk Bomb

ERP

ERP

New member
Joined
May 24, 2019
Messages
35
Reaction score
0
About a week ago I had roughly 6-8 oz of milk spill in my backseat (Macan black interior). My waterproof dog seat cover caught about 1/3rd and the rest spilled off onto the carpet. It was late, I had to be up early for my dissertation defense, and I was pretty brain dead at the time; so I got out some towels, pulled the floor mat, and quickly dried the area. However, I left the seat cover and didn't dry it properly (again brain dead). The next morning, no smell, it hits 99°F that afternoon... The smell was horrendous and has permeated everything: seatbelts, headlining, etc.

I had Porsche shampoo the carpets while I was getting an oil change, but the smell is still in the rest of the car. I'm guessing the bacterias' output got vaporized into a fog in the heat and just milk gas bombed my entire interior. Normally I would just bring it to a professional for hot water extraction but financially that's not viable until the end of August.

I know seat belts should be cleaned by pulling them all the way out and then hit with a cleaner and a detail brush but I don't know what product is necessary and also safe for this sort of olfactory abomination. Has anyone dealt with this before, I'm trying to figure out a budget friendly way to get this smell under control (chlorine dixoxide?) or eliminated until I can afford hot water extraction.
 
See if anyone in your area can hit it with an Ozone machine.
 
You will need an enzyme to get rid of the smell. Go to a janitorial supply store or a pet shop and see what they have.
 
Hit it with a steamer and a shop vac. Cheaper than an extractor
 
Mike Phillips said:
Call around to ESTABLISHED detail shops and kind of interview them to see if they have experience with this and give them a shot at it.


:)
Click to expand...

The last time I spilled milk in my car ( I clearly have a problem, all milk jugs are now transported in sealed buckets until reaching their final destination ) it was about half a gallon and the shop I brought it to did an amazing job. Unfortunately I am between jobs and need a stop gap solution until I can afford a professional solution.
 
Rsurfer said:
You will need an enzyme to get rid of the smell. Go to a janitorial supply store or a pet shop and see what they have.
Click to expand...

Any brands you would say are carpet safe?

bill walsh said:
try poorboys enzyme cleaner works great
Click to expand...

Know if it has any residue dye or staining?

mckobe said:
Hit it with a steamer and a shop vac. Cheaper than an extractor
Click to expand...

Honestly, I'd be worried about separating the glue from the fabric and causing sagging. I don't have enough experience with that method. Last time I did something similar to that it did not end well. For interior stuff, especially on my personal vehicle, I tend to go as Bubba proof as I can get.
 
ERP said:
...
I know seat belts should be cleaned by pulling them all the way out and then hit with a cleaner and a detail brush but I don't know what product is necessary and also safe for this sort of olfactory abomination. ...
Click to expand...

Be sure to leave the seat belts pulled out completely until they are dry. You don't want to retract them still wet.

I'm just a hobbyist/observer here and not a pro, but I can say every time I've seen milk spill topics come up it sounds like you've got to do an enzyme treatment to the spill to fix the problem. That way you're not just chasing the symptoms.
 
The fats in the milk have gone rancid. Enzyme cleaner will break down the fats as already mentioned.
 
Try Nature's Miracle. You can get it at a pet store. If that can get mouse urine smell out of my '68 Camaro, I'm sure it can take care of a little milk. Just do a test section 1st to make sure it will not stain.
 
If you use an enzyme cleaner, do not let it sit too long on suede or leather.
Do you have any updates for this thread? Spoiled milk smells worse than death! It will be interesting to hear how you get this resolved.
 
expdetailing said:
If you use an enzyme cleaner, do not let it sit too long on suede or leather.
Do you have any updates for this thread? Spoiled milk smells worse than death! It will be interesting to hear how you get this resolved.
Click to expand...

Update: I picked up the Poorboy's World Interior Kit and have lightly applying the Enzyme Cleaner to my headliner and seat belt using the $5.99 Synth Brush . I have the Boars Hair Brush, which would probably work better since the Synth Brush doesn't seem to absorb liquids well.

I have applied very little, as in squirting 2 sprays into the synth brush and then lightly brushing the cleaner in, and so far the Enzyme cleaner seems to be working! The cleaners smell is light and pleasant. It hasn't caused any color fading or change in color on any of the areas I've applied it to either.

I still plan on having the interior professionally done, once I can afford it. However, for now I'm very happy with PBW's enzyme cleaner. The cabin air filter needs to be swapped, and I've picked up some GG glass clay to do the windows in case any VOC's have decided to stick to the glass. BUT - it seems that the smell is being slowly but surely decreased (or I'm becoming noseblind to it).

As far as the kit goes; I can't seem to adjust the spray pattern on the sprayer to do anything other than a single stream, so I will be swapping that out later. The 4oz Sample Cherry Air Freshener that came with the kit is also an enzyme cleaner, but it's cherry scent is overpowering so it won't see any use in my vehicle. I haven't used the carpet cleaner (1:32) or the glass cleaner yet, but I'm sure I'll get to those eventually. The carpet cleaner makes 8 gallons, if I did my math right, so to me the kit seems like a good deal, worth checking out while it's on sale.
 
Last edited:
LOL I feel for you but gotta ask... how much milk are you buying????????
 
Another vote for Natures Miracle!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top