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If a skunk has sprayed you, your pet, your car, or your house, you will undoubtedly be asking yourself, "How do I get rid of this smell!" It isn't an easy task, but skunk smell can be removed. It may take a few trials and you may have to work to get rid of it, but you can indeed get rid of skunk smell.
Step 1:

Remove the source of the odor. If your pet has been sprayed, then don't let him in the house until you have gotten rid of the odor. If you do let him or her in the house, you will have to work on getting the smell out of the house. If it is you that has been sprayed, then carefully go in without touching a bunch of things. If your house itself is where the skunk sprayed, then try and get the things that have been damaged out of the house and into lots of open air. It is also a good idea to open the windows.

Step 2:

Clean the source. This part gets a little difficult. However, the best course of action is to work on neutralizing and cleaning the smell. If it is you, jump in the shower and start there. If it is the dog, then start with a mix of one quart peroxide and 1/4 cup of baking soda with two teaspoons of liquid dish soap in it. This is safe for your dog and will help clean the smell out of the fur. If you have a large dog, you will need to make a larger batch. Wet down the dog, scrub the mix as deeply as you can into the fur (avoiding the eyes, nose and mouth) and let sit for about five minutes. Rinse clean with lots of water. For fabrics, use 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup vinegar, and the standard amount of laundry detergent. Line drying can also help as the sun will aid in getting rid of smells and fresh air is always good. You can also clean your car to try and get rid of the smell there.

Step 3:

Air it all out. You may find that fresh air can be a lot of help. It is always a good idea to air it all out in this case and let that fresh air come in. You may find that you smell it every now and again. This is because we can smell even the smallest amount of it.

Step 4:

Repeat washing. If you still smell skunk odor after the above steps, repeat washing the source. This can be done in a similar manner or with just detergent if you wish. Make sure you clean as deeply as possible.

Step 5:

Change the air filter on the furnace and/or the air conditioner. You may find that you are still smelling it and that is because small amounts are stuck in the air filter of your furnace or air conditioner. You can remove this by changing that filter which will stop the filter from recirculating that smell back into the house.

With time and effort, you should be able to be free of skunk odor within a week or two. With larger pets, this may be a little harder, but it can be done.

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