Worst thing spilled in your Prius? (and how you cleaned it)

My wife picks up out of date food at grocery stores once a month for a Good Shepherd ministry to feed the homeless. She likes to use my Prius due to the cargo space. (The people at the ministry are amazed at how much she can put in there.)

She had a container of vegetables that leaked "juices" on to the cargo carpet mat. I tried a carpet stain remover but it seemed to just spread the stain further out.

Reading the fine print on the can it said for stubborn stains to use a soft bristle brush to help remove the stains when they float to the surface of the carpet. Worked like a charm. Stains are gone.

 

Not a spill, but my wife marked the headliner of our new 2011 Prius Three with a ballpoint pen. I became a very unhappy person, but I was hopeful that there was a way to get it out. I tried soap and water at first but it didn't do anything. The dealer had installed the fabric protection before we bought the car and it was the last 3 they had, so even though I didn't want it, I have a 2nd gen without and it's been very stain resistant without, I wanted the Three so we took it with the fabric protection. Anyway, as part of the fabric protection, The Protector gave us some upholstery cleaner that took the ink right off, no trace left. I don't know if it was the fabric protection (doubt it), the material used on the headliner (more likely), or the Protector upholstery cleaner, but my wife is very grateful!

 

My spill wasn't quite as bad as yours, but the story is similar. My wife was driving the car, kids were in the back. My daughter spilled around 20oz. of water. My wife wiped the seat and continued on.

The next day, I went out to the car, was hit by the musty smell (it's summer and very humid here in the northeast). I found the empty bottle. I thoroughly vacuumed the car, including the crevice behind the back seat. Of course, I found no liquid but the smell continues.

I suspect the water has pooled in the battery well. I kind of hate to go through the work of removing the battery just to sop up some water. However, I really don't want mold to form. Perhaps I'll try the dehumidifier trick first.

 

This is a fun thread to revive!

Years ago my son had an "important" date and asked to borrow my 2005 Prius, because it was so much nicer than his hand-me-down Outback. I agreed, and off they went. The next day, when we were leaving on a road trip in my Prius, sonny-boy said, "Mom... I need to tell you something." He and his date had quite an evening, it turned out. The poor girl had a run-in with some red wine, and threw it all back up -- in my car. He'd cleaned up the worst part, but there was quite a red stain left. I'm not sure what they'd been eating to go with the wine, but after sitting in the morning sun, the odor was really, really bad.

We drove to the grocery store with the windows rolled down. I drove, actually, and made him sit on the "bad" side. I ran into the store and bought upholstery cleaner and Febreze. A few minutes quick work in the back corner of the parking lot, and the red stain was gone and the odor neutralized.

I told him that from now on he needed to use his own car.