Vomit makes a terrible mess, and the smell only makes the situation worse. We’ll give you the lowdown on cleaning vomit and eliminating vomit smell, whether you have a big mess or a small one.
Even though we always work to keep our cars in top shape, accidents can still happen and leave us with vomit in the interiors. This could be the result of an overexcited baby or a raucous group of inebriated friends. Either way, the only way out is to learn how to remove vomit and vomit smell from your car, and we will show you how to do that in this article.
How Soon Should I Clean Up Vomit from My Car’s Interior?
As soon as possible, clean up the vomit. In addition to the smell making others want to throw up, once it dries, it is more difficult to clean up. To clean up the solid material, use paper towels, napkins, rags, or cloths. After that, blot (do not scrub) the area to soak up any liquid that has remained.
The clothes or rags should likely be thrown away as soon as you can. This car maintenance gets more difficult the longer the vomit remains in your vehicle.
What You Will Need to Have?
You’ll want to clean vomit from car seats and carpeting as soon as possible, but before you do so, you’ll need to assemble some essential items to make this unpleasant job easier:
- Rubber gloves
- Face mask
- Spatula or spoon
- Plastic bag
- Baking soda
- Warm water
- Paper towels
- Mixing containers
- Several clean rags
- Soft-bristled brush
- White vinegar
- Vacuum cleaner
- Mild soap
You can use hydrogen peroxide, enzymatic cleaner, air freshener, activated charcoal, and coffee grounds to help get rid of lingering odors in your car’s interior.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Clean Vomit and Vimot Smell from a Car
Step 1: Prepping Yourself and the Workplace
Make a list of every vomit you need to clean up first. To know what to address and where to focus your attention, you must have a clear picture in your mind. Put on a pair of rubber gloves to protect your hands. After that, let fresh air in by opening all the doors or closing all the windows.
Step 2: Removing Any Solid Vomit and Discarding It
Utilize a spoon or spatula to scoop up any large vomit chunks. Working with fresh vomit is easier than working with dried and hardened vomit, so get as much out as you can as soon as you can. Additionally, since vomit is acidic, you do not want it to sit in your car for an extended period of time and cause harm.
Check to see if you are not pushing the vomit deeper by using too much force if it is on the upholstery. Put the vomit in a sealable plastic bag and dispose of it properly by placing the bag in the trash.
Step 3: Getting Rid of the Leftover Liquids
You will now take care of the remaining liquids. With paper towels, blot them away. You can remove the moisture from the upholstery by gently dabbing it, but you should take care not to press too firmly lest you further embed the liquid. Blot until you can see that all the liquids have been drawn out.
Step 4: Applying Baking Soda to Neutralize the Odor
Herein lies the role of baking soda. Give the area to be treated a generous coating, and then wait 30 minutes for it to settle. Leave the baking soda on for at least the entire night. Your car’s vomit odor will be eliminated, and moisture will be drawn out.
Use a third mixture, consisting of baking soda and warm water in a 3 to 1 ratio, after that. The mixture must resemble a paste. Utilize a soft-bristle brush or soft rag to thoroughly clean the vomit area. To achieve your goals, you might need to repeat this step several times. Remove any extra baking soda with a vacuum after it has dried.
Step 5: Vomit Smell Removal
Once the messy chunks and extra liquid have been removed, it is time to check for any puke stains or foul odors. After you’ve cleaned up the vomit, cover the affected area with a thick layer of baking soda and let it sit for at least 30 minutes.
By doing this, you’ll be able to reduce the nauseating vomit odor. Any stain that you cannot see now but may emerge later will be helped to neutralize by the baking soda layer. After allowing the baking soda to sit for the required amount of time, vacuum it to remove the baking soda and most of the smell.
Step 6: Using Water, White Vinegar, and Mild Soap for a Deeper Clean
Prepare warm water to distilled white vinegar 8:1 solution before moving to the carpets. In a clean container, combine everything with a few drops of mild soap before moving forward. Your carpets can be cleaned of vomit using this remedy.
Top Tip: If you want, wear a face mask because the smell of vinegar can be quite overpowering.
After some time, use a clean, damp cloth to wipe the mixture away. Make sure you are soaking the cloth in water rather than drenching the area with water. Once you’ve finished, you can pause and wait for the smell to gradually leave through the windows and doors that are open.
Removing Dried Vomit
Dried vomit calls for a slightly different but related technique. Be careful not to scrub any surface too vigorously once more. In order to remove stains where the liquid has already dried, you might need to repeat your method several times.
Any dried components should be removed with a wipe or marker. In some cases, you might be able to use a toothbrush or a soft-bristled brush. To gather the scattered pieces, you can use a vacuum if you like. Use the softest yet firmest surface you can because a hard bristled brush will scratch some surfaces, such as leather or vinyl.
Baking soda and warm water or an eight-to-one vinegar solution should be used to moisten the affected area. To the vinegar solution, you can also add a mild dishwashing liquid.
Rewet the vomit stain after letting the solution sit on it for a while to let it dry, then scrub it. By following these instructions, you’ll make sure that the cleaning agent gets inside the stain so that when you scrub, you can get rid of all of the dried vomit.
After cleaning, blot the affected area with a clean cloth dampened in water, then wring it out. Repeat this process until you’ve used up all of the cleaning agent and most of the stain.
Removing Vomit from Your Car’s Carpeting
Any vomit that spills onto the carpet should be cleaned up using the same procedure. Use the same procedures as those outlined above for both dried and fresh vomit. You can also try the following natural carpet cleaner to help remove vomit stains:
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 2 tablespoons fabric softener
- 1/2 tablespoon dishwashing liquid
- 10 to 15 drops of essential oils
Spray the stains with a mixture of these ingredients after mixing them together. After letting the solution sit for a short while, brush the carpeting. If you would like, you can also use this solution on upholstery made of cloth. When rinsing, adhere to the same steps.
Use Steam Cleaning for a More Thorough Job
After all the vomit has been removed, use a steam cleaner to complete the cleaning process for a more thorough job. When detailing vehicles, abide by our cleaning suggestions for leather upholstery or cloth seats. Vomit stains and odors can be more effectively removed as well as any bacteria that may remain after cleaning vomit with a natural upholstery cleaner by using a Fortador commercial steamer.
Cleaning vomit from car seats also has the added benefit of bringing to light any nearby stains that can be cleaned concurrently. To remove nearby stains, use the steamer in conjunction with the cleaning method mentioned earlier.
How to Get Rid of Lingering Bad Odors?
No matter how thoroughly you clean, that odor may occasionally persist. Puke will putrefy on a car seat if it is left there, which is true, especially in the summer. You’ll have to take extra measures to get rid of the smell if that happens. Fortunately, we can suggest a number of natural odor removers to get the air in your car back to normal.
Try performing a second deep clean using a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, by mixing one teaspoon of the latter with one cup of the former. Remove it with a rag and vacuum or steam away the excess after letting it sit for at least an hour.
Using a natural enzymatic cleaner to kill lingering bacteria also eliminates odors. Directly apply the cleaner to the harmed surface, then blot with an absorbent cloth to dry.
Using An Air Freshener for Cars
What happens if you repeatedly rub the affected area but the odor persists? If the air in your car just seems a little bit off, hanging an air freshener can help. Keep in mind that an air freshener only covers up bad smells; it does not eliminate them.
Up until it completely goes away, an air freshener that hangs can help with the smell. If you want to fill the interior with a pleasing scent, you could even try a few drops of essential oil like lemon or orange placed in a diffuser.
Activated Charcoal, Coffee Grounds, Or White Vinegar
Other organic compounds can aid in odor absorption. Coffee grounds, white vinegar, and activated charcoal should be placed in a bowl. Until the smell is gone, leave the substance in the area overnight. Don’t forget to clean the bowl every day. Although these substances will all have lingering smells for a while, it sure beats the smell you had before.
Sprinkle your essential oil and baking soda mixture over the dirty area after wetting it down with water. Before vacuuming, let it sit for approximately ten minutes. Coffee grounds, a powerful deodorizer, can also be added on top of some dryer sheets to cover the stain.
One thing you might forget to do is to keep your car windows open as much as possible both before and after cleaning until the puke odors go away. Nothing gets rid of those odor-causing molecules like a cool breeze blowing through the interior.
How Long Does Vomit Smell Last in Car?
Similar to coffee, many people likely already have some charcoal briquettes lying around their homes as a cheap and effective deodorizer. If you plan to take a long drive the following morning, make sure the charcoal you use has not been chemically treated before leaving it in a confined area overnight like the interior of your car.
You have two options: either you open the charcoal bag and leave it inside, or you place a few briquettes on a metal tray. In either case, depending on how strong the smell is, it will disappear from your car in between 12 and 24 hours.
Conclusion
Your journey through this article is now complete. The smell of vomit and how to remove it from your car are now both known to you. It should have been clear and beneficial. Next time, you can have the perfect solution to clean the vomit and vomit smell out of your car.
