The most insane before-and-after I've ever seen on a car floor
A guy brought in a 2008 Civic last month that smelled like a swamp, said his kid spilled a whole gallon of milk in the back six months ago. We pulled up the carpet and the factory sound deadening was just a solid, fuzzy, green mat of mold. After we ripped it all out, cleaned it with a steamer and some heavy duty cleaner, and let it dry for two days, it was like a different car. Has anyone else had to deal with a biohazard-level spill that just sat for way too long?
Oh man, a gallon of milk left for six months? That's brutal. I had a similar mess with a forgotten fast food bag that leaked milkshake under the passenger seat. The smell was unreal. What finally worked for me was pulling the seats out, using a ton of baking soda on the wet spot after cleaning, and letting a fan blow right on it for a whole weekend. You really have to get all the moisture out or it just comes back, right?
Wait, SIX MONTHS? A whole gallon just sitting there? I can't even IMAGINE the science project you had going on. That's not just a smell, that's a whole new life form. I found a single sippy cup of milk under my kid's car seat after like, three days, and I almost had to sell the whole car. The smell got into the vents and everything. You must have nerves of steel to even open that door.
Yeah, you're totally right about the moisture. I mean, I tried just wiping up a spill once and the smell came back worse after a week. Now I use a wet-dry vac to really pull it out of the carpet, then I do the baking soda thing. Idk, maybe it's just me but I'll even put a dehumidifier in the car if it's really bad. That fan idea is key though, you gotta have air moving over it for days.