[Elecktra]

HELP!!!!!!! Im DESPERATE for advice!

Purchased a brand new x3 last Friday.. on Saturday went to the store, bought milk and forgot about it in the trunk. It was in the left trunk panel flap, milk went sour and started leaking thru to storage compartment underneath it. I have literally taken the trunk apart and washed down everything but some of that sour milk smell still remains. Any one have advice on where else I can clean or look to see if the milk spilt. Should I take the car in and have them replace the cabin filter , would that help ? This has been going on for a week and every time I get in my new car, it smells still HELP, I'm beyond annoyed I did this and have to deal with my own stupidity in brand new car!

[paquet]

Sour milk stink bomb - forever unclean!

Leaving open boxes of baking soda should help too

[///M Power-Belgium]

•Vinegar for the sour milk smell !

[overcoil]

I'd research charcoal, activated charcoal.
Supposedly very good at odor control.

[conmar]

Coffee powder ( on small plates at different positions in the car) may also help.
Good luck anyway.

[tranquility]

This sounds really ridiculous...how exactly did the milk container leak? You forgot food items immediately after purchasing a new vehicle?

Regrets if you're legit, it's just very odd esp for a first post.

[///MPhatic]

Oh man, such bad memories.

I was coming home one day in my new Honda S2000 and the milk got a small hole in the jug moving around in the trunk. About a quarter of the gallon leaked out. I cleaned it pretty good and thought it'd be ok (trunk has no pass-through), but it certainly wasn't. A few days later the smell was unbearable.

I ended up removing literally everything from the trunk (and I mean everything), coating it down with some stuff I got from the dealership, and leaving it all open for a weekend. Thank goodness that did the trick.

I'd take it to your local HUGE new/used car dealer and ask their detail dept what they currently use with regards to products, then it's just a matter of taking it all apart, cleaning it again, and letting it sit open for a weekend.

[freakystyly]

Should've bought milk in a bag, those never leak...



It looks like there is a plastic tray under the carpet, so once the carpet and tray are clean the residue should be gone.

[BIGW0RM]

Originally Posted by Caravaggio

I'd research charcoal, activated charcoal.
Supposedly very good at odor control.

This! It works!

[eleven11]

Good suggestions given.

First, remove/clean as much as possible. Personally, I'd begin with something natural like diluted vinegar. Next, keep an absorbent in your vehicle for a few weeks - charcoal, baking soda, and/or coffee grounds. If it's persistent, break out a chemical cleaner. Be patient, it will go away.

[Namelss]

Sorry this happened OP! My wife picked up groceries one Friday afternoon. She was disappointed to see that the market didn't include the salmon that we ordered.

I finally found the salmon on Monday morning. With my nose.

[g4ndr1k]

Originally Posted by Namelss

I finally found the salmon on Monday morning. With my nose.

[jmg]

I've had similar disasters in my vehicles. First, soak the area with NATURE'S MIRACLE. Follow the directions and let it sit for the indicated time. It will smell like ammonium. This is normal. Then, soak it all up with some shop towels, then soak it again. Let it sit again until it's evaporated.

Personally, I invested in a Bissell 3624 Spot Clean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner, and it's paid for itself a few times over saving expensive rugs and interiors from my loving pets and kids. You can get one on amazon.

Spray generously with the built-in sprayer, scrub with the built-in brush, then make several passes sucking up the solution. It will lift stains and odors right out. Depending on how bad it it, it does take more than a few passes.

[ky0u]

Bout to share a little known trick here, if you pee on it, it'll actually mask the smell.

But really, +1 on the vinegar

[Fifthtoe]

Everyone recommending activated charcoal is correct. Baking soda works too. You will first have to remove the source of the smell. After that, the charcoal or baking soda will help remove the smells that have infused into the interior.

I left an empty coconut water container in my car for about a week (didn't drive car for a week) and my car smelled for weeks after. Even though nothing spilled. A big pouch of baking soda did the trick.

[G35POPPEDMYCHERRY]

baking soda and time heals all

[Ximian]

It's probably leaked through several places you won't know to look.

Find a detailing shop with an ozone generator or whatever they prefer to clean milk odors. They'll also clean up all the places you won't look.

[whofelt]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Meguiar-s...-2-oz/36448452


Meguiar's Whole Air Re-Fresher Odor Eliminator Mist, follow the instructions, thank me later

[BMWILUVU]

You don't want to replace the sour milk smell with vinegar smell and carbon just filters the smell as its created not getting at the source. Like the other guy said get some enzyme cleaner which targets milk stains like lactose. You may be surprised that some laundry detergents may have enzymes targeting milk. Its the lactose sugar which is feeding the plethora of bacteria and fungi and making the already fermenting milk even worse. After you do that then do antibacterials to kill the residual germs and fungi.

[Wolf 335]

After you thoroughly clean everything, get an ozone machine in the trunk and run it for a few hours.