I Was "Skunked"

Updated on June 23, 2009
C.M. asks from Reseda, CA
15 answers

One night last week I opened my sliding back door only to be sprayed by a skunk. I slammed the door shut and it sprayed the glass. I was able to get the smell off of me and my clothes but my house reeks. I have scrubbed and cleaned and sprayed and washed with no improvement. My husband immediately washed the spray off the door but it's still there. I air out the house every chance I get and turn all the fans on. I find the odor in the most unexpected places, like a closed jar of vaseline. The internet said tomato juice doesn't work and the suggested combo of baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and dish washing liquid was only marginally successful. How do I get it out of the air in the house? Help!

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V.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hello C.. I don't know if this will work on skunk smells, but it works wonders for me on all other smells. Place bowls of vinegar around the house and it should instantly absorb the odor. If that doesn't work, then I'm at a loss. :(

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J.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

We had a skunk do almost the same thing! We discovered the Alpine machine and within the day, our house was clean again. I was shocked. We've since then, used it on a new crib mattress, to neutralize the chemicals and chemical smell, for smoke from a pesky smoking neighbor, when we left our windows open, to keep our air clean inside the hosue when there was a grass fire outside and no one could breathe (we could), for allergies when the Santa Anas blow, etc.
They are a bit costly you can find different prices, but here's some more info on it. We bought the classic Living Air.

http://www.alpineairproducts.com/

1 mom found this helpful
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T.P.

answers from Los Angeles on

If yo can find someone who has a living air purifier that you can borrow or you can find a dealer to purchase one from it will get rid of it. You will need to put it on purify for 8 hours or so with all of the doors and widows closed. Make sure that you do it on a day that you can be out of the house. It will be producing high levels of purifying ozone. It will also take care of the bacteria and some viruses that float around. Once it is done open all of the windows and let it air out for an additional hour before you stay in the house. Here is the website with info about the purifiers http://ecoquest.com/ We couldn't live without one. I have 3 cats and people who are allergic can visit us.

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L.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hey C. I had this happen last year to us! We had just moved and my little chihuahuas got skunked then rubbed it into the carpet before I realized what was going on!

What worked for me was to take Arm and Hammer Pet Fresh carpet cleaner and spread it all over my floor and leave it for an hour, then vacuum it up. You may have to do it a couple of times but it works like a charm! They should have the carpet cleaner at your local grocery store in the aisle with the cleaning supplies.

Also the charcoal brick, a few in each room, will help grab any left over odors. Most the smell in the air is coming from the fabrics that the scent has gotten into so use some oxy clean in your laundry for the next few weeks and that should help. Also wash all fabrics you can in your home. What you can't wash (like the couch ect.) cover in baking soda or the carpet cleaner and allow to sit for at least an hour before vacuuming it up.

I hope that helps! Living with the skunk smell is horrible!

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D.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

I was skunked once as well. Tomato juice worked on getting the scent off my skin, hair and clothes but there were certain things that never got clean. You say the vaseline (a petroleum product) still smells. So did the rubber lining of my converse sneakers and the tires of the bike I was riding when the skunk got me. Those things had to be thrown away. Good luck.

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P.A.

answers from Los Angeles on

move! just kidding I would call the animal control center and ask their suggestion good luck

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L.T.

answers from San Diego on

hmmm...if it's really bad perhaps consider professional Ozone treatment for your house. When we have smoke damage throughout our home from a fire in the attic, the ozone treatment from the restoration company literally removed the odor from EVERYTHING! carpet, drapes, clothes...I wonder if it would work for Skunk? Also, this MAY be covered under your homeowners insurance. Good luck!

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S.H.

answers from Los Angeles on

It must be still on something, it doesn't really just linger in the air. If you can figure out what it is on, maybe the porch and door, you can try Nature's Miracle skunk remedy. We use it on our dog pretty frequently and it works better than the peroxide, baking soda dish soap combo.

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T.F.

answers from San Diego on

I have always used tomato juice on my dog, it seems like she gets sprayed at least once a year if not more. It is the only thing that gets to smell off her fur sometimes she has to get a bath more then once but it works. Also try vinger and water in a spray bottle and just spray it in the air or clean areas that smell.

Good luck
Tina

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T.H.

answers from San Diego on

mix douche in a spray bottle. A vet told my family about this years ago and we always kept it under the kitchen sink.

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C.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

THe combo you found on the internet works well because the dish soap gets the oils from the skunk spray out. However, since it's in your furniature, carpet... Place boxes of baking soda around the house AND a piece of bbq charcoal. It sounds weird, but it absorbs ANY smell, even smoke dammage after a fire...

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K.S.

answers from San Diego on

Hi - OK, this is just a suggestions, and I have no idea if it will really work or not, but when our dog gets "skunked", the vet suggested that we bathe him with apple cider vinegar. It works really well on him & actually smells pretty good. :o) I'm wondering if you can heat some on the stove or run it through a humidifier or something to get the smell in the atmosphere around your place. I know that it's vinegar, but it will still smell better than skunk, right? Just a thought. Good luck!!!

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S.O.

answers from Los Angeles on

Time heals all wounds! My dog gets skunked at least once a year. The last time was right at the crawl space under my kitchen. The only thing that will get rid of the smell is time and a good airing out. The smell is absolutely nauseating, so maybe a vacation is in order.

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J.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hi C., try "Scoe 10X" this stuff is supossed to get rid of all faul oders even skunk. Oder it on line. J. L.

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