How to Get Rid of Vomit Smell in Car with Only 1 Product

This post on how to get rid of vomit smell in a car was sponsored by EnviroKlenz. All opinions are my own.

I still remember the first time my husband and I went to visit my parents after we got married.

We had moved to Indiana a year before and wanted to trek up to Wisconsin to visit them for Christmas with our 20-month-old twin daughters.

Of course, we were running late leaving and had to drop something off at a UPS store on the way out of Indianapolis.

And of course, one of our twins puked a few times during our relatively short 6-7 hour car ride up to my parent’s house.

And of course, she passed her sickness on to her twin and to my husband and I, during our stay with my parents, making it a less than an awesome trip.

Our first time visiting my parents was also our last time visiting them.

I feel like it’s a right of passage as a parent to have kids puke in the car, regardless of them actually suffering from motion sickness. Kids happen to get sick at the worst times, like while they are strapped into a car seat during a long road trip.

Heck, we’ve even had kids puke in the car as we drove home from a church activity and another time as we drove to a Taco Bell in town.

It happens.

Unfortunately. 

Dealing with vomit is one of my least favorite things ever as a parent. It makes me feel sick and I’m just not very lovey dovey as I greatly fear getting puked on (which, yes, has happened to me as a parent already).

As luck would have it, at the beginning of June this year, our family went on a massive family road trip. We drove from Central Texas to Omaha, Nebraska and then from Omaha, Nebraska to Indianapolis, Indiana, and then back home to Central Texas, in a massive 2800 mile road trip with four children over the course of only six days.

This last trip reminded us more than ever, that you need to prepare for emergencies like sick kids in the car. We had three puking kids on the first leg of our trip, which is totally not fun (but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be a real road trip without someone getting sick).

So, today I am sharing how to handle sick kids in the car when you’re stuck on a road trip and a great way to deal with that awful puke smell in your car.

How to Prep for Car Sickness and Limit Vomit Mess

Portable Car Trash Can = Vomit Bowl

A couple years ago, my husband and I came across this smart car trip hack where you use an empty cereal container and line it with a small plastic grocery store bag (with extras underneath) and use it as a trash can during your road trip.

For this long road trip early this summer we made two, one for the back of the car, where the kids were, and one that we put up front, for my husband and I to use.

Well, wouldn’t you know that these awesome portable trash cans also make for great vomit collectors? Our twins, who both got sick quickly of the other, were able to identify that they weren’t feeling well and puke into one of these, thus sparing our car carpet from vomit, and allowing us to throw out that trash bag when we stopped and get rid of the vomit smell in our car right away too.

Vomit Cleanup Supplies

Unfortunately, the third person to get sick on this trip was our toddler daughter, who can’t exactly express to us that her tummy hurts and she thinks she might throw up. This meant that we did not get a car trash can under her mouth in time and instead her vomit ended up all over her, her car seat, her car seat straps.

But, fortunately, we had those spare plastic grocery store bags where we could put her vomit clothes in one, and put all the wipes and cleaning materials into another that could be thrown away at the next stop.

When it came to cleaning up our daughter, we used these great head-to-toe baby cleansing cloths that essentially give your child a bath without the need to rinse. They are perfect for cleaning up baby vomit during a road trip and they smell wonderful too.

For cleaning vomit off car seat, we used paper towels we had in the car for the large messes, and then used baby wipes for cleaning off the straps, chest clip, and bottom push button. (Note that car seat manufacturers tell you not to wash car seat straps in the wash and to only ever wash them with soap and water by hand.)

Clean Clothes

It’s smart to bring extra clean clothes while traveling, and because we were traveling, we already had plenty in our luggage. But, even keeping a spare shirt and pants in your diaper bag is helpful in case your child does get sick in the car.

Now, if you are continuing on a long road trip, and worry your little one will vomit again, you may choose to forgo clothes for a while, or choose to only put a shirt on (so the car seat straps don’t bug her as much) or put her in shorts.

And you may put a bib on them too, over their car seat straps, clips, and buckles. Assuming they leave it on.

How to Get Rid of Vomit Smell in Car

Despite having a cleaned off toddler, thrown out trash made from cleaning up vomit in your car, and a wiped down car seat, there is likely to be a vomit smell in your car.

If your child has vomited onto carpeting or upholstery in your car, and there is a lingering vomit smell, you can use a great product called Odor Neutralizer Granules from EnviroKlenz.

Odor Naturalizer Granules to Remove Vomit Smell in Car

These Odor Neutralizer Granules attach themselves to the spilled materials, absorbing the liquid of the spill so it won’t continue to spread, and then it immediately begins to cause minimal and safe chemical reactions to neutralize the smells without using any sort of perfume or harmful masking agents.

It works effectively and safely to remove the odors, even on the most absorbent fabrics and carpets, as well as on solid surfaces, as it has zero bleaching properties.

The only ingredients in these granules are Titanium Dioxide, Magnesium Oxide (acid buffering), Zinc Oxide (to absorb toxic chemicals), and Vermiculite (for absorption).

Once the vomit mess is absorbed by the Odor Neutralizer Granules, simply pick them up using a paper towel, dustpan and broom, or vacuum. You can repeat the process as necessary.

And that should do it! Easy, effective, and simple.

Keep a bottle of it in your car, as part of your “vomit in car” survival kit, and you’ll never have to suffer through long hours of vomit smell in your car again. Oh, and it works for other chemical and odors too (think spilled milk in the back of your car…)

You can order some Odor Neutralizer Granules from EnviroKlenz and use the discount code FAGANS15 to receive 15% off your order! This is a special code just for my readers!

For more smell-fighting tips, check out the following ways on how to clean away the odors:

• How to remove urine smells from a mattress
• How to remove baby poop smell from carpet
• How to deodorize the garbage disposal
• How to remove fridge odor and smells
• How to remove odor from clothes that smell after washing them
• How to remove mildew smell from towels

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