Spilled milk on carpet is one of those spills that need to be taken care of as soon as possible. The milk may not leave much of a stain, but the real worry is the smell. Spilled milk on carpet has the potential to smell terrible–especially if you don’t notice it for a while. Here are some hacks to help you get all the spilled milk out of your carpet and treat or prevent any remaining smells.

Hacks For Cleaning Freshly Spilled Milk on Carpet

If you spill some milk on your carpet and don’t wait to clean it up, you’re much less likely to have any stinky smells pop up later. Here’s what to do if you spill milk on the carpet or rug:

• Grab a clean towel and use blotting motions to soak up as much of the spilled milk as possible. Don’t scrub, because that will push more of the milk into the carpet fibers.
• Mix 1 cup of warm water with 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn dishwashing liquid. Use a sponge to apply it to the remaining stain.
• Use baking soda to soak up the moisture left in the carpet. Just sprinkle it over the area and then it sit for several hours or overnight.
• In the morning, vacuum up the baking soda.

Cleaning Spilled Milk Smell From Carpet

Sometimes milk gets spilled on the carpet unnoticed–hello toddlers!–and later on you discover that the carpet smells like sour milk. There is a way to clean it up and get rid of that stinky smell.

• Plain white vinegar does wonders on an old milk stain smell. Just pour some white vinegar into a spray bottle.
• Spray the vinegar directly onto the carpet where the milk stain is. Let the vinegar sit on the stain for an hour or so.
• Use a clean cloth to blot up the vinegar.
• As the spot dries, the vinegar smell will evaporate away, along with the sour milk smell.

If vinegar doesn’t work to remove the smell of spilled milk on carpet, you can try using fresh dry coffee grounds {unused}. Sprinkle the dry grounds over the stain. The dry grounds will absorb the smell from the carpet. After awhile, just vacuum up the coffee grounds and the smell should be gone.

Want more carpet cleaning hacks? Check out my homemade carpet cleaner that’s perfect for regular cleanings.