Cleaning inside a car door?

spiddy100

Please can anyone help with this?

ON Saturday night someone who shall remain nameless threw up inside my husband's company car. In trying to puke out of the window, they managed to get vomit both inside and outside the car, and down inside the car door where the window goes when its wound down.

_pale_ _pale_ _pale_

I've been out scrubbing with bio washing powder and bicarbonate of soda, the upholstery smells OK now but when you wind the window down it still smells of sick. I've pushed back the trim and washed all the visible parts but I think there may still be some sick further down.

Does anyone *please* have any hints on how I might clean this up to save us having to pay who-knows-what to get it professionally cleaned?

Thanks

merlinormartin

We mixed bicarb soda with warm waster to make a paste.. then put the paste onto the smelly area .. sprinkled with bicarb soda ... left for a few hours untill dry then .. used the vacum cleaner to remove the powder ...after this we then sprayed the area with febreze ... good luck

spiddy100

Thanks Merlinormartin, this is what I am doing with the accessible areas, what worries me is that there may still be some traces of sick stuck down inside the window recess area, which will continue to smell unless I can somehow get them out. I don't know much about cars though and have no idea (a) whether this area is accessible somehow and (b) whether I might do more harm than good trying to get cleaning products or even water down inside the door

When the window is up, the gaps in the trim are inside, so not an area that would be affected by rainwater or a car wash.

ttoli

Take off the door trim panel, there will normally be screws attaching the arm rest, then around the outside edges there will be small clips , carefully insert a flat bladed screw driver and lever the clips off (Halfords sell replacements), there may be a sheet of plastic in place, remove this and you have access to in inside of the door(at this stage put a clothes peg on your nose), putting back is a simple reversal process. Good luck

mioliere

Hi - this is my first post. Having dealt with sick - both human and cat - many times in the past, I have found the best way to get rid of the smell is to wipe over the affected area with alcohol - vodka works really well. I have also been told that white vinegar is effective but have not had to clear up any sick since I heard that so cannot vouch for it. It's probably true because white vinegar has SO many uses. GOOD LUCK!

spiddy100

ttoli wrote:

carefully insert a flat bladed screw driver and lever the clips off (Halfords sell replacements

Thanks so much for this If I remove the clips, are they normally re-useable or will I definitely need to buy replacements?

spiddy100

mioliere wrote:

Hi - this is my first post. Having dealt with sick - both human and cat - many times in the past, I have found the best way to get rid of the smell is to wipe over the affected area with alcohol

Thanks I probably don't need to explain that alcohol was part of the reason for the sick getting there in the first place :rolleyes2

I'll give it a try if the bicarbonate and washing powder don't do the trick

ttoli

spiddy100 wrote:

Thanks so much for this If I remove the clips, are they normally re-useable or will I definitely need to buy replacements?

Normally can be re-used, but can be brittle, cost approx 5p each

spiddy100

Brilliant, thanks.

I got pretty good results by pulling all the trims back (gently!) and cleaning down inside them with a cloth, then putting the window up and down several times and cleaning it, then rinsing around with some bicarbonate of soda (oh, and a few squirts of Febreze on the upholstery). DH is driving the car today, and said it seems OK so fingers crossed. I'm quite nervous of taking the door panel off!