How to Clean a Car From Vomit
I have a dog that gets motion sick if the conditions are not ideal. I must refrain from eating if we are going to be in the car for more than fifteen minutes, and assure her that I am not driving her to her fate. However, she often swears, and I often clean her up, so I thought I was an expert in this matter. However, when my daughter experienced heat exhaustion after her first football practice and spit out a bunch of water (and one string of cheese) in a rather uncomfortable part of the minivan, I knew I needed to improve my game. Thus, I have studied and tested several methods – here is the ultimate way to clear your car of vomit.
What to do right after someone throws up in your car
If you don’t have plastic coated seats, you’ll need to clean them as quickly as possible if you want to avoid liquid soaking issues. Stop or return home as soon as possible. Open all the windows until you can stop and blow up the fans. You don’t need sympathy gagging, so you need all the air circulation you can get.
When you get home and/or park, open all vents for airflow and use baby wipes, paper towels, spatulas, scoops, dog poop bags, or whatever you have on hand to remove “solids” (I m, sorry) to the side, and then apply something absorbent to any surfaces that have liquid on them.
Ideally, you should have something disposable in the car, such as paper towels , but if you are on the road, you may need to use a children’s sweatshirt or a towel that you took with you to the beach. Blot, don’t dry, and try not to apply too much pressure because this will push things deeper into the car seat or car upholstery.
What to do after initial vomiting
Once you get home and the perpetrator is put to bed or forced on another adult, examine your resources. Depending on the different interiors of your car that are affected, you will need different things. While there are several stain and odor products on the market, the best solution is a combination of vinegar, baking soda, and dish soap, depending on your surfaces.
Double check that you have handled the “solid matter” situation (again, we apologize) and that any liquids have been wiped off and soaked up to the best of your ability. Sprinkle baking soda on any affected soft surface and leave for thirty minutes. Then vacuum it up. (Your vacuum may never be the same.) If a car seat is involved , remove it, remove the cover, and follow the machine wash instructions. (You may never put the cap back on.)
Then prepare a solution of eight parts warm water, one part white vinegar, and a small amount of dishwashing detergent for any surface (except leather). Spray it on the “affected area”, leave for a while, and then blot with water and a damp cloth. For the skin, make a paste of three parts baking soda to one part warm water; apply the paste and gently wipe the seats with a damp cloth. Try to blot everything dry and then keep the air flowing as long as possible to help it.
Also, this wasn’t in my study, but I did the last round with whitening wipes. It may have been a holdover from the early days of COVID , but it was right.
When it’s too late…
In my case, I thought I had mastered it, although I didn’t do the gentle caress part or the baking soda part because I haven’t researched that yet. The next morning, when I loaded the kids into the car, I was told in no uncertain terms that the car still smelled. We drove down the highway with the windows down, and then I repeated the step with the vinegar.
I left the car parked in the driveway all day with the windows down, obediently watching my Ring camera to make sure no one came and stole my catalytic converter. When I went to school, I was greeted with a pleasant mild smell of brine and dry vinegar, but the smell of vomit was gone.
If the smell persists, you can invest in car air fresheners or put dryers in your car to mask bad smells. If you’ve really tried everything and your car still smells like overcooked cheese because you missed a stain or it seeped into the car’s interior, you might decide to invest in a professional car cleaning with seat and floor shampooing. To offset the cost, try to convince your editor to let you write a how-to article on cleaning your car’s vomit.