Car vomit - cleaning floorboards? Need help!

[Zangetsu57]

Hello everyone,

I was on a cross country move and unfortunately someone got sick and vomited in the passenger seat of the car. It got on the seat, floor mat, and even the floorboard. I did my best to clean it up that night at a hotel using Woolite and a hotel-brand commercial deodorizer. About a week later, the smell has slowly come back. Lysol auto spray hasn't been too effective at eliminating the odor.

The smell mostly is around the floorboard area, not so much the seats or floor mat anymore. I'm wondering if there is an easy way to carefully lift up the floorboard and see if something is under there around the holes where the passenger seat is mounted to the car - any ideas?

I do own a good Hoover steamvac with a scrub brush attachment and am going to try that too. I'm a bit hesitant to use it on the floorboard since it looks cheap, but don't see much of a better option.

Any suggestions to helping get my car to smell better are welcomed!

[ac7ss]

Ozium is the best product for removing odors, I have found it at Wal-Mart, but it can also be found at "Smoke Shops" and at small airport "FBO" stores.

Another tool is to work baking soda into the area really well, and vacuum up what doesn't stay in the rug.

Using carpet cleaners, make sure the area gets dry after. (Shouldn't be too difficult this time of year.)

[Cobb]

I use blue coral myself. I dont thiink it worth removing the carpet. You got to remove the trim, center counscil and seat.

[jonniedee]

I had a dog almost die in the back seat of a Toyota once, between the blood and "other stuff" I thought the car would have to be entirely re-carpeted.
A pro cleaning shop got it all out by adding lots of Oxy-clean to the rinse liquid in a commercial steam cleaner - amazing results.

[WoodyInsight]

Use a garden hose( lots of water). Then use a shop vac/wet dri vac. Make sure it dries completely and then add a dash of baking soda. Should do the trick. Can be done on the seats and floor as well.

[numbness4sound]

Maybe you should get it professionally cleaned if the cost isn't outrageous. That's what I'd do.

[Zangetsu57]

I ended up steam cleaning, using lysol fabric spray (with anti-bacterial agents), using carpet powder freshener followed by a vacuum and a second steam clean. Worked like a charm!