My Stinky House

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For the past two days I couldn't figure out why my house smelled like sour milk. As I'm sure you know, that is not a pleasant smell. I emptied the garbarge, poured bleach down the garbage disposal and cleaned out the fridge.

Finally, I remembered the other night when I opened the fridge, milk was all over the inside and went all over the carpet. I tried to clean it up the best I could (it was after midnight and I was tired). I smelled the carpet today and woohoo! That was it.

The only reason our fridge is in the dining area on the carpet is because we're in the process of remodeling the kitchen (the wall came down, but the real renovations won't start til July). I tried carpet cleaner today but it still stinks in here:(

I'm thinking we're going to have to tear up the carpet a lot sooner than we originally planned. Anyone know how to get the smell out in the mean time?

Comments

Unknown said…
I sure don't, aside from steam cleaning the area. That's a terrible smell -- one I remember having every now and again, in the car when the kids were little and a sippy cup would roll under the seat. Chunky chocolate milk -- yuck!

Good luck with it, and with the renovations!
May 25, 2010 at 5:37 PM
Janna Leadbetter said…
We've had good luck doing this: Pour scalding soapy (dish soap) water onto the spot, then immediately suck up with a Shop Vac. A time or two might do the trick. Good luck!
May 25, 2010 at 5:38 PM
A said…
Stanley Steamers?
May 25, 2010 at 5:44 PM
Natalie said…
We just had a milk on the carpet disaster last week (my daughter spilled a full gallon on the dining room floor!) It stunk bad! I called professional cleaners since it was such a huge area, but for a smaller area I think you could probably just use regular carpet cleaner. Nature's Miracle (you buy it at pet stores) works really well for stuff like this. Good luck!
May 25, 2010 at 6:34 PM
Stephanie said…
I was thinking a sprayable carpet cleaner. Good luck!! My FIL once spilled coffee in his truck- with milk in it. That smell never left.
May 25, 2010 at 6:47 PM
Bossy Betty said…
I once left a gallon of milk in my car for about a week. Not good. Not good at all.

Sorry I don't have any good solutions! Have you Googled for one?
May 25, 2010 at 10:14 PM
Sharon K. Mayhew said…
Boy, I have no idea how to clean it other than calling in a carpet cleaning service. I've seen on Clean House that they take baking soda and sprinkle it on dry carpet, brush it in and then let it sit for a few hours and then vaccum. But I think you probably have more than just odor in it...you have milk in the fibers...
May 25, 2010 at 10:38 PM
Rhonda said…
I second or third the steam cleaning idea. My sis has 6 kids under the age of 7. Milk spillage on her carpets is a constant issue. Blech. She rents a carpet cleaner from a local store every few months and it seems to work quite well for her. Good luck!
May 26, 2010 at 12:06 AM
Lillian Robinson said…
A strong solution of dish soap is a terrific carpet cleaner for stains, but you must get down deep for spills. I'd try squishing a dish soap solution in, vacuum, repeat until the water coming up smells OK. After it drys, use baking soda or a commercial carpet deodorant to keep it in check.
May 26, 2010 at 3:23 PM
Lisa Miles said…
Thanks for all of the terrific advice! I was going to steam clean it, but since we're pulling it up anyway in July when we do the kitchen, I thought we'd just take it up now. I ripped a section of it this morning and, so far the wood looks great. I'm waiting for my dad to come over tonight with a little crow bar to get the tacks up, then we'll take the rest up.
May 26, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Unknown said…
I've learned a lot because of this post. The comments are very useful too. Our house was so stinky the other day because our dog, Alpha, peed and pooped in the living room carpet. I suspect Alpha's tummy isn't in good condition that his poop is really stinky. That made us hire carpet cleaners to do the carpet cleaning (Kansas) task. I'm so confident of booking their services since carpet cleaners for carpet cleaning in Kansas City are really dependable. Next time the said situation happens, I might opt using the solutions mentioned in the comments section. Thanks for sharing!
January 6, 2011 at 11:31 PM
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