[ascertain]

Dear friends- a family member of mine suffered very very serious injuries today. The saddest part of this is - this was in turn brought about by another family member - who will definitely be feeling like a heel at the moment.

The events unfolded as follows - My wife, who may be compared to "Jane's defence weekly" when it comes to getting her facts right, decided to take a chance and transport milk from our farm to the house in a milk can, placed on the rear passenger floor (right) of our darling "Sxi Fiesta" (You can check the other posts by me - ' cool fiesta Sxi' under SO&SO section-ICE) , thereby breaking the first cardinal rule of our 'car happy' family viz.-- "Thou shalt not partake or transport foodstuff which have the probability of stinking up the car, inside the car".

When I got back home from shopping, I saw a slinky figure entering the garage with a sponge and bucket.. open the door of the fiesta, and hurriedly mopping up some stuff from the floor.
On closer inspection, the slinky figure turned oout to be my wife, who had a "Oh my god!- Busted!" look on her face. I was asked very sweetly whether I wanted tea, and this immediately roused my suspicions. I can understand the kind gesture of asking me if I needed beverages, but the guilty expression coupled with it was too much. She had broken the second rule (Set by herself of course) - "Thou shalt not make up dumb excuses to lie"
Umpteen attempts were made to get me into the house- far away from the car. I decided to stick on.

Ten minutes later, and after around 12 different reasons WHY she was carrying milk inside the car, and how it spilt all over the floor, I was standing shellshocked! - the nerve!, the guts!, the absurd defence! - I gave my wife the " I hope you'll admit your buffoonery- and REMEMBER it" look, and have to admit feeling a bit of pleasure at being on the right side of the law for once.

Anyway- I hauled up my numb body to the bathroom- got a bottle of phenyl and soap, and trudged down to the car- the massacre was fresh- only 25 minutes had passed, so there was hope of damage control.I cleaned the floor carpet (which of course is stuck firmly to the base) as much as possible, with water, phenyl and soap, and mopped and vaccumed, and blow dried the area, but it still had the faint odour of milk. Satisfied that I'd done enough, I left the doors open, and closed it after another 30 minutes, as it was about to rain.

Next morning, My mother in law had to go someplace out of the state, and she took the car along with her driver, and I'd instructed the chap to let the doors open whenever possible, and park in sunny areas- well.. I really don't know if all that happened.What I DO know however is that the car has come back, and it is STINKY!!, It reeks of "old socks + Sour curd" (chemistry at work) and I simply HAVE to let down all the windows while driving- which in turn means lots of smoke while in the city.

Today morning I opened the door and found an "ODONIL" bar on the floor, on enquiring as to which brilliant soul put it there- Professor Moriarty's name cropped up again (read- my wife) . Now it has a very very strange stink (Old socks+Sour curd + jasmine)
My dear fellow BHP-ians - please please guide me out of this precarious situation- eventhough I am getting extra nicities from the wife, the thought of having my car stink like this really cuts deep.

I need suggestions on HOW TO GET RID OF THE STINK from the spilt milk.

Do keep in mind that it's now 8 days from the unfortunate event.

Contrary to the age old saying - I AM crying over spilt milk!

[Spitfire]

Where is that thread on cats?

Soak the affected carpet in water mixed with a SURF or some clothes detergent. Then dry it by using a sponge. Repeat this twice and leave it in the sun with the doors open. Give 24 hours for the smell to totally dissappear. Dont keep carpets on the wet area and dont let people stamp on that area either.

I tried this when instead of milk i had Barley water poured on the carpets of my dad's ANHC.

[hillram]

My friend..I sympathise with you.
Instead of an Odonil,i suggest you put a Odour Neutraliser (Odonil themselves make them).These are different from regular Odonils that we hang in the bath rooms.
This worked in my Tata Sierra.
Other trick is that leave a nice fragrant Soap bar,like Lux in open under the seat and with in few days the odour should get neutralised.
Good Luck.

[Sam Kapasi]

Absolutely brilliant thread and you'll excuse me at laughing at your predicament which has been so humourously put.

I know that smell. Jenny collects some strange cheeses in our fridge and I'd hate my car smelling like that.

You need something mildly acidic to neutralize the milk (which is basic in nature) - I would strongly recommend soaking the carpet with some lemon juice (acidic in nature) and then washing the carpet with some clean, fresh smelling (lemon-based?) shampoo.

After this, park the car in the sun with all the windows down for a few days and I think you should be fine.

[khan_sultan]

.. can't stop laughing man. Sorry for that but it is hilarious. I can understand your predicament here.

BTW, what milk it was? cow, buffalo, sheep, camel etc??? I mean what do you have at your farm??

One way to get rid of it could be HOT water?? Never tried it though.!!

[null]

Try adding other stuff? Mustard? dry fish? etc.. one at a time.. after a couple of days each time.. that way you can enjoy new flavors in your car daily. Man, you are really making your wife quilty of it just because you are right for once this time.

Get it shampoo washed in a carwash shop. Instruct them clearly that it should not smell after the wash. My car too had a foul smell on the rear floor mats & it went away after the service wash.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

After this, park the car in the sun with all the windows down for a few days and I think you should be fine.

I think if he does that and the smell goes away - he will get a car with all the paint peeled off !!

Man that was funnily put - enjoyed reading it but sorry I can't help you !! LOL

[rkbharat]

men will always be men .

you can try something I tried once and it worked. Clean every portion on the floor with Colin spray and towel.

Then prepare a bundle of neem twigs with leafs and leave in the car overnight.

[ajmat]

Keep a saucer of vinegar in the car when it is standing for a while. Remember to remove when driving

[unni.ak]

I've no clue on how to get the smell out, but need to hand it to you for the way you have written it. Real good.

[Rotorhead]

It sure must have given u a great deal of pleasure when u caught ur wife red handed and for once you are not on the recieving end. In order to remove the odor, probably u can spray some cocoa powder and u will get a nice aroma insider your car. On a serious note maybe time would be the only healer for this .

[quicksilver]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Keep a saucer of vinegar in the car when it is standing for a while. Remember to remove when driving

+1 to that, it had worked for me on umpteen occasions when I was hesitant to use some perfume to remove the odor from my car.

You can also try camphor. Place lumps of camphor underneath the seat and it may absorb most of the bad odor.

[MuraliR]

we are laughing at your expense - sorry.

Lemon Juice and Vinegar will mostly be of help - even in rooms which have foul odour.
Just pour it into a cup and keep it in the car - for a few hours.

Also, after you remove it, try keeping a cube of camphor - it helps.

[pranava999]

sorry mate can't stop laughing. There are some wise worldly suggestions here ty them. BTW had to mail my wife this...waiting for her response!

[tsk1979]

If you want a permanent solution, get the carpet removed and cleaned. Whatever you clean will be from near the surface. Vinegar etc., will just neutralize the odor, but milk has seeped to the metal. So take off the carpet and get the carped washed. Its stuck using adhesives.
Specialist car cleaners who do dry cleaning can fix it.
Remember, you can get pest infestation if you let milk rot at the bottom.