Vacuuming in the Car AKA: It's What You Don't See That Matters

Here's what the seat, center console, and the shifter in our RAV4 looked like this morning. You might not think that's a big deal, but it is. 

Sunday was the first day without rain for a week. I took the family for a drive around the neighborhood with the windows down. Ellie seemed to enjoy it as much as we did. Then, about three miles from home, our dog got sick.

What you don't see in that above picture is the two full cups of partially digested food that our dog threw up on my seat, arm rest, and shifter. She filled the space between the car seat and the console. It was all over the parking brake lever and my shorts. There isn't a good place in a car for a dog to vomit, but this might have been the worst place for me.

When we got home I changed my clothes and grabbed the shop vacuum. I tried moving the car seat forward and backwards, but there was no way to get to all of the mess. I disconnected the car's battery, disconnected the airbag sensor wires under the seat, and then removed the seat from the car.

We bought a SpotBot Portable Carpet Cleaner about ten years ago, and that has been one of our best investments.

After using our hands to scoop, the wet/dry vacuum, and spray cleaners with paper towels, Daphne used the SpotBot's hose attachment to clean the carpet and the seat's upholstery. I left the seat to dry in the sun for an hour before bolting the seat back in its place.

I have heard that charcoal absorbs odors, so I placed an open bag of Kingsford briquettes in the car. I used this same trick when Char got sick in the back seat after a night at Chuck E. Cheese. I couldn't smell anything except cleaner this morning. I think charcoal helps. 

That wasn't how we wanted to spend our Sunday afternoon, but in the end, Ellie is fine and the car is fine. 

But here's the kicker. It's the one thing I'm proud of. I did get mad. I did get frustrated. But I didn't swear in front the girls. Instead, I broke out into short bursts of language, "Ahhh!" "You have got to be... " "C'mon!" and "Well! That happened!"

Sometimes what you don't hear also matters.