# Help - skunk smell in my house!



## t-dub (Jun 14, 2006)

So the wife and I are watching a movie Saturday night. We start to smell something kind of funny, kind of a cross between burning rubber and skunk. It's coming from outside and through the A/C vents. Immediately turn off the the A/C, get my flashlight and go outside to look for the fire. Also put in a call to the fire department. My wife decides it's a good idea let our golden retriever in the house (against my better judgement) in case it's some kind terrorist mustard gas attack. At this point I can't tell that it's actually the dog who was blasted in the face by a skunk because everything smells so bad. Fireman shows up w/ his heat detecting gun. Says it smells like an electrical fire or trash fire (so it's not just me who thinks it's a fire!!). To make a long story short, we find the skunk behind one of my outside A/C units. This whole time, my "skunked" dog is running around the house. Now my house is almost unbearable. My dog's spirit is broken. I looked up on the Net some ways to get rid of the skunk smell. One suggestion was to put bowls of apple cider vinegar throughout the house to mask the smell. Now my house smells like pickled skunk! Any of you guys have any suggestions or ever dealt w/ anything like this?

Thanks,

TW


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## trodery (Sep 13, 2006)

Our dog got "skunked" about 3am a few months ago, I wen to the store (Walmart at 3am) and bought a couple ppunds of baking soda and a few big bottle of peroxide. Bathe the dog with the mixture of baking soda and peroxide (keep it out of the dogs eyes), that should take care of ths stinky dog problem (the biggest portion anyway), might need a few more applications than just one.

To get rid of the smell in the house I went to Walmart again and bought some Ozium Air Sanitizer spray (in the automotive department). I used several cans of this and it seemed to work.

It's going to take a few days to completly get rid of the odor but the methods I described ablove owrked for us!


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## wishin4fishin (May 21, 2004)

I just dealt with this last Sunday. Went to pet smart and bought a couple of different products. One for the dog, and the other for the house. After one week the house is almost back to normal. The dog still has a slight odor. The powered product for the house I just sprinkled around the house on all the carpets and let sit for a couple of days. It is not a cleaning agent, but, helps absord the odor. I burned candles for a couple of days and that helped mask the scent. The apple cider vinegar might do the same.

The most important thing is to find any hot spots in the house the dog might of rubbed against or rolled on. You will have to treat those spots. I was fortunate in that we keep a towel on the floor by the back door. Our dog hit that towel on her way in and rubbed all the skunk oil on it. Thank god she didn't get to the carpet or furniture.

The odor does get better as the days go by.

Scott


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## REELSINGER (Jan 4, 2005)

*I have a solution that should work*

Firstly, the odor comes from molecules called thiols, which are decomposing organics in the Skunks urea. To neutralize these, you need an oxidizer, and more specifically, one that won't beach out your belongings. The simple answer is hydrogen peroxide. First take some peroxide, and mix it with some baking soda ,and some baby shampoo, and bath your dog with it. Next, heat op some water,(enough to fill a mop bucket), and get yourself some oxy-clean (which contains lots of H2O2 (peroxide), and put about 5- 6 scoops into your mop bucket and mop the floors where the dog has been, or rent a carpet cleaner, and mix the Oxy-clean in with your hot water for that, and clean those carpets.

Then go to your return-air, and change out your filter, then take a paint-brush and paint peroxide on the filter, and let the ac evaporate the peroxide, and circulate throughout the house.

If this doesn't work, your in deep doo!

Keith


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## Freshwaterman (May 21, 2004)

make sure ins. is current......


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## boashna (May 28, 2004)

vinegar is a mild acid and spray it on everything or wash in vinegar , I am sure it will break down the enzyme , fabrise may work also . rinse all metals after 15 min , to avoid corrosion . if you spray it on the carpet wait 15 min for it to break everything and then use a carpet cleaner at kroger to suck it up, I clean dog urine and odor this way . you dont need anything else , you can do half with vinagar and 1/2 with oxy clean and see which one will work best in your case . vinagar is oposite of baking soda so the cancel each other , dont mix them . the key is to spray it and let it work for 15 min , do not spay heavy as it will get the padding wet and carpet will stay damp to long , use air condion to dry the carpet further .


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## jrw (May 22, 2004)

*Dog/skunk*

I was away from home when our Sheltie was after something in the
bushes in front of our house. The wife did not connect it with a
skunk because the dog smelled like burnt rubber and the wife did
not realize it was coming from the dog. She called me in Houston
advising that the house smelled of electrical short,etc...

The house was searched for the origin of the elec. problem and of
course nothing was found.

I came home that weekend and immediately realized that the smell
was coming from our Sheltie, the burnt rubber smell also had a
slight ordor of skunk.

The wife advised of the varmit attack in front of the house and we
pieced the story together.

Church friends had already advised the wife to use tomato juice &
shampoo. It helped but I wouldn't use it.

The above recommended, using Peroxide, Oxiclean, baking soda.

I can tell you the shampoo to use that will mask smell - a baby
shampoo-lavendar - will not burn the eyes and it will mask many
a spell.
Good luck


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