Skunks have to have one of the best natural defence mechanisms in the natural kingdom. One whiff of that rotten stench, and everyone stays away. The smell will carry for miles, and it will attach to multiple items in its path as it travels. There will be no mistaking the fact that a skunk has visited your neighborhood. The stench is a dead giveaway. You will be tempted to hold your nose once you catch a whiff of this particularly pungent aroma. It’s difficult to describe, but once you have smelled it, you will certainly never forget it.
One way that skunk scent can make its way onto your stuff is if a beloved pet gets sprayed and makes his or her way home. If you don’t catch Fluffy or Fido before they get the chance to rub up or lie on your furniture, you will have Eau de Skunk all over it. Once the smell has been transferred to the fabric, it will be challenging to get it out. Your outdoor furniture can also be a target for skunk stank. Since this is an oil based type of reek, putting water on it isn’t going to be an effective way to get the smell out. We have some effective solutions to help you deal with this problem. Keep reading for helpful suggestions to get rid of the skunk issue and help you be able to take a deep breath near the affected furniture again.
How to Get Skunk Smell Out of Furniture
1 Arm & Hammer Carpet Powder Smell Out
Grab some heavy duty Arm & Hammer carpet powder. Sprinkle at least half a box of the product on the stinky furniture. The baking powder in the product will pull the skunk oil out of the furniture and get rid of the stank. Vacuum it up. You will need to repeat the process several times a week until all of the stink is gone.
2 Bleach it Out
If your outdoor furniture has gotten sprayed by Pepe Le Pew, wash it down with bleach. Mix one part bleach with nine parts water. This concentration will work well on most patio furniture. Choose colour-safe bleach to avoid damaging colored furniture and always try a test patch in an unobtrusive spot before you clean the entire piece.
3 Use Dry Cleaning Solution
You can find dry cleaning solution in the laundry aisle at Wal-Mart or in a hardware store. Apply the solvent to the furniture with a clean, white cloth. Make sure the room you are working in is well ventilated. Blot any excess liquid from the furniture with a second cloth. Allow the furniture to air dry.
4 Peroxide-Baking Soda-Dish Soap Recipe
Cook up your own home-made solution to the problem of skunk smell with a few items you may already have around the house. Pour a quart of hydrogen peroxide (3 percent grade) into a bucket. Add one Tablespoon of baking soda and a squirt of non-toxic dish detergent. Scrub down your furniture with a clean rag or old wash cloth. Rinse with a second cloth that has been wrung out in warm water.
5 Spray Down the Fabric
As soon as you notice, the skunk stink, grab some fabric spray and give your furniture a good misting. Even if it hasn’t come directly into contact with the skunk, it is possible for the smell to travel throughout your home and attach to the furniture, carpet, and walls. Be proactive and grab Febreze or a similar product and freshen up your furniture right away.
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Photo credit: Robert Bieber
It is important to treat your dog’s face immediately after the dog has been sprayed in the face with skunk oil. Although many dog owners leave the face for a secondary treatment, it is advisable to deodorize this area at the same time that you are de-skunking the rest of the dog.
Tomato juice is an effective solution that will not have a negative effect upon contacting a dog’s face. Fill a bowl with tomato juice and proceed to dunk an old rag within this mixture. Once the rag is thoroughly soaked within tomato juice, proceed to carefully scrub down the dog’s face. While doing so, pay extra attention while scrubbing the fur around the dog’s eyes. Although it may not be harmful, it certainly will not be a pleasant experience for your dog if the mixture finds it’s way within the dog’s eye.
This household powder is another solution that will cause minimal irritation upon coming into contact with the dog’s eyes. Mix a paste of one part baking soda with three parts water and proceed to dip a old hand towel within the solution. Upon doing this, proceed to scrub the dog’s face lightly while paying extra attention to not to get the solution within the dog’s eyes. Allow this solution to settle in for 3-4 minutes before proceeding to wash the baking soda paste out of the dog’s fur.
There exist a handful of de-skunking shampoos available for removing difficult odors from your dog’s face. Many of these solutions are 
As your first step, you will want to apply a solution of dish detergent to help with breaking apart the skunk oil within the leather’s surface. Mix a solution of three teaspoons of dish detergent with two cups of water within a bowl. Dunk a light hand towel within the solution and proceed to wipe down the affected areas of the leather. Allow this solution to settle in for 15-20 minutes before returning to wipe the moisture away.
The use of this household acid can work well in cutting through any remaining skunk odors within the leather. Mix a solution of one part white vinegar to four parts water and dunk a light hand towel within the solution. Next, wipe down the leather while ensuring that no area is left untouched. Allow the vinegar moisture to sit on the leather for 30-60 minutes before returning to dry the vinegar off the freshened leather with dry towel.
The high alcohol content within the rubbing alcohol can have the effect of neutralizing skunk odors upon contact. Mix a solution of one part rubbing alcohol with three parts water and proceed to wipe down the leather’s surface with a light hand towel. After an hour has passed, any remaining alcohol moisture can be wiped up from the surface to reveal fresh smelling leather.
The citric acid within lemon juice can have the effect of eliminating the foul stench of skunk within the leather. Mix a solution of one part lemon juice with seven parts water and proceed to dunk a light hand towel within a bowl of this substance. Wipe down the leather with this solution and provide a minimum of an hour for it to set in before absorbing any remaining lemon juice mixture from the freshened leather surface.
This deodorizing compound works well at eliminating odors and neutralizing the smell of skunk on contact. Pour the hydrogen peroxide in your hands and proceed to rub the solution through your hands and fingers. Allow the solution to stay on your hands for 1-2 minutes before washing the chemical compound away.
This solution does more than clean and deodorize your teeth. Splash hands with mouthwash and proceed to rub the solution through your palms and hands. Rub for 20-30 seconds before washing the mouth wash residues away from your hands.
Once your cat gets sprayed, you will need to first prepare yourself for it’s treatment. The smelly oil residues sprayed on your cat can easily rub off on your hands and clothes. With this in mind, you should immediately change into clothing that you do no care for and place on rubber gloves to protect your hands from the treatment.
Once you have prepared yourself, you will need to proceed to quarantine your sprayed kitty within the bathroom. This will help to minimize the damage that a freshly sprayed cat can have when rubbing up against various areas of the home. If you can manage to contain your cat within the bath or shower this will work even better in minimizing the potential odorous damage that this can create.
In order to prepare the cat for the bath, you will need to plug the drain and create a pool of water that is a minimum of 3-4 inches deep. Ideally, you will want the water reach close to your kitten’s chest. During this time, do your best to calm your cat to ensure that it does not panic within the water.
As a final solution, the use of cat shampoo can have a powerful effect in cutting through the skunky stench within your cat. Use 
As a preliminary action, you will want to move any affected items or pets that may have come into contact with a direct spray of a skunk outside. It is important that you treat these as if they are hazardous material, because the skunky scent can spread into any surface that it contacts. Once these affected items are moved outside you can narrow your focus to deodorizing the carpeting.
After skunk oil has touched the carpeting, you will be in a race against time to prevent the odorous skunk oils from permanently setting into the fiber. Take swift action to treat the carpeting to ensure that it does not settle in for more than 1-2 hours before drowning the fiber within a deodorizing solution.
The use of an enzyme carpet cleaner can be especially effective for difficult skunk oil odors within the carpeting. Once purchased, the enzyme cleaner can be poured over the affected carpeting until the fiber and underlying padding has become drenched. Allow the enzyme cleaner to slowly eat through odorous organics during the net 24-48 hours. Once this time has passed, the deodorizing compound can be blot dried from the carpeting allowing the remaining moisture to air dry away.
The chemical compound within bleach works well at cutting through the odorous oils within skunk spray. Mix one part bleach with eight parts water within a large 1-5 gallon tub. Proceed to pour the contents over the areas of concrete affected by the skunk spray and allow for it to sit for 5-10 minutes. Once the mixture has soaked in, proceed to spray down the concrete surface with a hose to ensure that all of the bleach related chemicals are removed from the porous surface. You can finalize this process by spraying down the surface of the concrete with a deodorizing spray of white vinegar and water mixed in equal parts within a spray bottle. As a note of precaution, bleach may cause some bleaching of colored concrete. If your colored concrete has been sprayed, it is recommend that you use one of the alternative deodorizing methods outlined below.
If the skunk spray is proving impossible to remove from the porous concrete, you may want to consider sealing the stench within the concrete. By purchasing and applying concrete sealer on the outdoor slab, you can be sure that the odor will become a thing of the past. As a note of precaution, sealing concrete is permanent and requires some know-how, so be sure to do your research before applying to your effected concrete slab.
Using motion censor lights will have the effect of making sure that skunks keep a distance from your outdoor patios. When skunks get too close, the flood lights with turn on and will naturally scare the skunks away from the locations near your home. If you are to try this preventative tip, make sure that you place lights in locations to ensure that the patio is fully lit. As well, ensure that the lights are not so powerful as to provoke the wrath of the skunks spray as a perceived threat.
At all costs, attempt to clean and deodorize your dog outside. Many people make the mistake of allowing their dog access within their home immediately after being sprayed. Dogs will instinctively run about the home rubbing against the walls, furniture and flooring. During this process, the skunk spray oils are gradually spread on household possessions creating a challenging interior environment to deodorize. If you smell the spray before your dog enter the home via the doggy door, your first step will be to seal the doggy door to keep you puppy outside.
Immediately after the spray make sure that all door s and windows within closed proximity to the spray are closed. Though the smell will undoubtedly still make it’s way within the home, this will help to keep the majority of the spray from entering the home. If you are going out to wash and deodorize your dog, be sure to to exist your home from a door that is not located by the area of the house where the dog was sprayed.
When the above methods have failed to remove the lingering smell of skunk within the household, using an ozone machine within your household is a sure-fire way to remove the difficult odor. Ozone machine can cost up to 500 dollars to rent, but they often are the last line of defense in eliminating skunk odors within households. They work by removing all of the oxygen from the enclosed space to eliminate odors where they sit. As a note of precaution, they can be very dangerous if improperly used, and it is important after use to return oxygen the home by opening all doors and windows for a minimum of an hour before going back within the home.
In minor cases, deodorizing product sprays such as Febreze can do a good job at masking and eliminating difficult skunk odors. You may find that an extra spray on linens, curtains, upholstery and clothing will help to freshen them enough to avoid the need to launder the fabrics. Additionally, deodorizing sprays like Febreze can come in handy for spraying down living spaces and freshening rugs and carpeting. For more advice related to removing skunk spray from clothing, 
After skunk odors have found their way within your home, you may find that several kitchen ingredients have acquired the pervasive musk. When this happens, you need to understand that all porous containers are a lost cause and must be disposed of. No amount of activated charcoal or baking soda will enough to absorb and remove the skunky smell from their siding. Once these items have been removed, place several charcoal briquettes throughout the cupboards in strategic locations where they will do the most good. After placing 20-30 throughout your food-lined shelves, allow the briquettes 1-2 weeks to absorb remaining skunk odors.
This handy device can be used in cases where the air conditioner within the household has been affected by the skunk spray. Once skunk spray gets within an air conditioner, it can work to perpetually spread the odor throughout the house for days and weeks following the incident. Placing an ozone bulb within the air conditioner can work to sterilize and freshen the air passing through it. Although the bulbs can cost upwards of 400 dollars, it remains an effective solution for rescuing your air conditioner and returning fresh air within your household.
It is always good idea to wash skunked clothing within hot water. The warm water will work to open and expand the stitching to allow for detergent to make it’s way in to eliminate the odorous skunk oil. However, always remember to check the maximum water temperature that your clothing will allow before placing through a wash cycle.
The acids within tomato juice work well in breaking down the oils within skunk spray. However, this solution can have harmful staining effects on all colors of clothing except for red and black. If the affected clothing is of a black or red color, consider soaking it within a bowl of hot water and tomato juice in equal parts and a teaspoon of dish detergent.
Use Solar PowerHanging your clothing outside in direct sunlight will do much remove any residual smell of skunk spray. The ultraviolet rays, fresh air and open space will all go to work in neutralizing and lifting off any smell of skunk that is left within the clothing fiber. This solution does much than drying within a conventional dryer, and also works well in combination with some of the home remedies listed above.
This is a relatively new detergent developed by Frebreze to directly combat odors within clothing and linens. In comparison to other detergents, many have found this product to be much more effective at tacklign difficult odors to return freshness within the rinse cycle. If the above solutions have not been effective at removing skunk spray odor from your clothing, you may want to give this product a go.
When the above solutions are not enough to remove the residual effects of skunk spray, consider getting professional help from your dry cleaners. Though this is a pricey solution, many professional dry cleaners will only make you pay if they can get the smell out of the clothing. Additionally, this solution works well with clothing items like leather jackets that cannot be placed through a wash cycle.
If you happen to spot a skunk, be sure to keep a healthy distance of at least 30 feet (10 yards) and do not do anything to agitate them. Skunks can spray with accuracy at 10 feet and can still mist your clothing at a distance of 15 feet. As long as they do not feel threatened they will not resort to using this line of defense.
Be sure to change into old clothing before approaching your dog to wash and deodorize it’s fur. Dogs are often covered head to tail in skunk spray, and you should anticipate some of this rubbing off on your clothing. Although some of your clothing may still get smelly during this process, you can rest easy that it is not an outfit that you care about.
The majority of skunk sprays only hit part of your dog’s fur. Before attempting to clean and deodorize your dog, you can help to absorb and contain the smells within the affected area. First locate the area of the spray and proceed to pat the dog down within the affected areas with paper towels to absorb as much odorous oil as possible. Using a paper towels are key, as these oils are unlikely to ever be fully removed from traditional bath towels.