well I made some awesome baby back ribs last weekend and put them in a bowl and covered them with aluminum foil. I put the bowl on the floor in the front passenger side. After my first turn, the bowl tipped and this bbq style juice spilled on the corner of the floor mat and some on the actual carpet floor. A few hours later when I got home, I used a laundry detergent and hot water and scrubbed it with a brush. That got away anything that looked brown, although you really wouldn't have seen it since I have black interior. Then I used some carpet shampoo...I want to get the smell out, thats my biggest concern. This is the first "blemish" I have had with my tsx in over a year. It still HAD (past tense) the new car smell up until that time. So I kept the window open all night and tried to air it out. bla bla bla, to get to the end, I used febreeze and baking soda, nothing seems to work.

My question is has anybody spilled some horrible smell in their car and been able to get it out? I don't want something that will just cover up the smell with a different one, hopeully eliminate the odor all together. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

All-season floor mats FTW!

And really, why would you think that it would be a good idea to have a bowl of stuff with an unsecured top sitting on the floor of the car? At the very least, you should have put it in a plastic bag and tied it up.

 

Have you ever heard of simple-green? You can buy it at most auto parts stores now, but it's also available (and cheaper) at target/walmart/etc. Look in the household cleaning isle. You will not be disapointed. You can use this for anything. I even use it to keep my tailpipes sparking.

Best of luck!

+1 for all season floor mats

 

Now for something helpful; I'd guess the reason you still have the smell is that the sauce soaked though the carpet (it has a very short nap and not very thick)(read cheap) and actually soaked into the carpet backing (and maybe even beyond that if it sat for a while). I'd try to get under the carpet and make sure there's nothing brewing under there, then try letting something (simple green is a place to start) soak through and hopefully take the smell with it. Let it dry out and do it again if necessary.

 

yes, I know....I'm an idiot for doing this, obviously if I could do it over again, I would have placed the bowl in a box or something different with a secured lid. I was just in a huge rush b/c the PSU game was coming on and had to get over to my friend's place. Shame on me. Well the febreeze I used the first time was pretty much 5 years old, the original febreeze when it first came onto the market. So I went to home depot and walmart to look for something lastnight...walmart really didn't have anything. Home depot had a larger selection, but I want something that won't mask or cover up the smell with another smell. Something that will just neutralize it. So I got some extra strength febreeze and sprayed the hell out of that and I had around the house, a closet type odor absorber, inside its kind of gel/charcoal type of material, and its supposed to absorb odors. I tried this stuff lastnight, left it in overnight with the window down a few inches. This morning, I must say was a litttttle bit better. I don't remember seeing the Simple Green in walmart, but I'll have to take another peak. A lady I work with just said her neighbor had a similiar problem...her kid spilled milk in the car and forgot to tell her and it stunk real bad later. She went to a gas station and they have some sort of powdery soap at the vacuum area that you sprinkle on and scrub with a brush and then come back a few hrs later and vacuum it up with the shop vac. She said it worked great. I might have to give that a try, too. I'll keep you guys updated, in case any of you have some spills in the future.


Glad I have a motorcycle that I can drive to/from work, so I don't have to smell that terrible scent!

 

Sorry your lesson was so sorely earned. While you're at Target, will you puh-LEEZE invest in some Pyrex or Rubbermaid food savers for things like this? They are durable, reusable, some can be frozen and microwaved as well as dishwasherable,.... I have a bunch of these things, they rock. And roll. But don't spill.

 

Febreeze doesn't do jack on odours where the source is still present. You need to clean the carpet. Ever considered steam cleaning?

 

you know now that you mention it, I forgot my dad has a steam cleaner vacuum. A large and a small one. I need to give those a shot.

 

Remember to let it dry fully after steam cleaning so you don't end up with a musty smell.

 

I think that steam cleaner should do the trick.

 

I had this happen in one of my previous cars...only it was swedish meatballs in a crockpot. I tried everything I could to get rid of the smell. My last resort was pine sol...it smelled like someone took a dump under a pine tree in my car. I put up with the smell for 7 months and then I had to trade the car. Good luck!!

 

I spilled a cup of coffee on my cloth seat, in my truck, and what I did was, douse the seat with water and took a shop vac and suck it up as best I could. I did this 3 times. Then I gave it a shot of frebreeze. So far so good. With the shop vac, you can see when you got most of it, as the water in the tank will be clear. That coffee smell was awful.

I also left my sunroof opened in the rain and that could have been a diasater as the horn blew till they shorted out. I also shop vac it as best I could, then ran a fan for a week inside. To this day the car never had any musty smell. I dodge a big bullet with that one.