So we gave our oldest daughter our old 2017 Prius 2 and bought two quarts of vinegar and left them in the trunk but they tipped over and about half a quart came out and dried up....the car must've absorbed the odor because when you open the door the vinegar slaps you in the face. Thankfully, it was on the big, plastic mat in the back so I've removed and cleaned it (with Simple Green). Then, I steam cleaned the carpeting in the back and up on the side walls, where the carpet is. And I also steam cleaned the back seat. I've left huge bowls of new Baking Soda in the car for days. But, still, get the vinegar smell when the door is opened. I have it outside work, today, and it's supposed to be dry and windy so have the windows rolled down. Did the vinegar odor soak into the foam? Any tips on getting rid of it? It's very annoying.
Yep, sounds like it's got down into the padding/foam. You'll need to rip it all out, neutralize the vinegar (light acid) with soap, then dry. That should get rid of the smell. Also check down in the frame wells, there may be a small puddle down there some where. Good Luck.. FWIW; this reminds me of a coworker that broke an old style mercury barometer in his car, that we used for calibration purposes. He cleaned up the mess and went on with his business. For the next 6 months he would start calling in sick every other or 3nd week. This was one of those guys that don't call in sick unless they were dying. Everyone in the office though he had a drug-, drinking- problem or was having an affair. I was tasked with going over expense reports and noticed a line item for a new mercury barometer calibration unit. So I called him up to ask about it. He stated that it broke in the trunk of the service vehicle when something shifted during transport. I told him to take the day and pull everything out of the minivan, including the spare tire. Lo and behold, there was a small puddle of mercury under the spare, he missed during clean-up. It turned out that he was gassing himself every-time he was in that minivan - heavy metal poisoning.
I have tried wrinkling up newspaper and getting it wet then filling the trunk (or old fridge) with it. let it sit until it drys. That might work. Or natures miracle.
