Spilled Milk in the Car

Dear Miss Mota Mouth,

Help! An entire gallon of milk exploded on the way home from the grocery store and is all over the carpet in the back of my mini van! It is starting to really smell and we were going to sell this and get a new van. What can I do?

Judy C., San Ramon, CA

Dear Sad in San Ramon,

You must be one of those mini van drivers I see cornering on 2 wheels! Don’t despair though. You can be back on the racetrack road and odor free in no time.

The first thing that you should do when you discover spilled milk is get to a car wash and grab the high powered vacuum. Suck up as much moisture as possible. Do not add any water to the mix because that will cause the milk to penetrate further into the fibers (especially on upholstery) and you will have an even more difficult time escaping the stench.

Once you are confident that you have gotten as much moisture out as possible, head to the pet supply store and buy a protein-based enzyme cleaner. Follow the directions and if necessary, repeat the process a couple of times.

Your buyer should be able to breath freely in the mini van during the summer months. If there is any chance that it still might smell even a little, you should be honest with the buyer. Also, for your next mini van you may want to consider getting a cargo net to hold your grocery bags upright or at the very least, use an old (ahem) milk crate.

Better days,

M

Stumble It!