# How do I rid my car of the smell of cheese? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 2, 2013, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112 "2013-02-02T11:31:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/1 "2013-02-02T11:31:12Z")
My car smells strongly of cheese. I emptied it out and found no cheese so I guess I must have spilt some milk at some point. But I can’t pinpoint the source of the smell. So how do I get rid of the smell? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/2 "2013-02-02T11:57:32Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I guess I must have spilt some milk at some point. There’s no point crying over it. If you can’t pinpoint the smell, and if there’s no obvious staining on the mats anywhere, it may not be a spillage - it could be an item of food tucked into one of the door pockets or something. This might be one of those occasions where it’s worth paying to have the car valeted. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/3 "2013-02-02T13:13:03Z")
A professional cleaning job might be the best option (other than leaving cooked beef in there for awhile and renaming your vehicle The Cheeseburger). I once had a Dodge Colt that got partially flooded in a parking lot during a big rainstorm, and it smelled swampy forever after, despite liberal use of rug shampoo and other cleaning efforts. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/4 "2013-02-02T13:21:43Z")
I’d just like to say that I read this as “How do I rid my _cat_ of the smell of cheese”, which raised many other questions. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/5 "2013-02-02T14:36:50Z")
Check for products like Febreeze or those with baking soda or activated charcoal to control the smell with the windows up. Otherwise, on non-rainy, non-humid days, leave the car outside with the windows down until the stink goes away. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/6 "2013-02-02T15:20:04Z")
Sometimes a prankster will rub or place a piece of aromatic cheese on a friend’s car engine. When it heats up the cut smell is even stronger. So you might check under your hood too and powerwash if there’s evidence of that. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/7 "2013-02-02T19:02:44Z")
Put a drink cup full of coffee grounds in the drink holder and leave it there. Roll up the windows as much as possible and over a few days/weeks the smell will go down and eventually go away. It worked for me when I spilled milk in my car. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/8 "2013-02-02T19:56:39Z")
I’ve found a very thorough cleaning works out well for most of those car smells. Vacuum _everywhere_ you can possibly reach Clean insides of _all_ windows Wipe down appropriate areas with ArmorAll type stuff. Don’t forget the trunk! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/9 "2013-02-02T20:10:43Z")
Have a look inside the vents where the ventilation system sucks in the cabin air (often just below the wipers - maybe some prankster poured milk in there. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/10 "2013-02-02T21:00:27Z")
Leave a dead pig in there all summer. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-rid-my-car-of-the-smell-of-cheese/649112/11 "2013-02-02T23:59:26Z")
I had a body shop do a thorough cleaning of my car once to get rid of a smell. I was taking a tray of baked beans to a food bank after a party, and it…well…leaked all over my trunk. The body shop took a bunch of stuff apart, carefully cleaned it all, and reassembled. Presto Change, no Smello.