Removing Skunk Spray from a Home

Challenges

• Skunk spray contains a noxious substance called butyl seleno-mercaptan, a compound emitted from the skunks’ anal glands. According to OdorXit, skunks can spray up to 10 feet as a defense against predators. If a skunk enters your home, it may feel threatened by you or other occupants and spray your belongings, creating an intensely unpleasant odor that will linger throughout the home and attach itself to clothes, hair and skin as well. Injuries or the presence of pets can also agitate a skunk into spraying.

Personal Care

• Skunk spray not only contaminates interior home surfaces, but it can also find its way into clothing and onto residents’ skin, making thorough washing and laundering a necessity before a home can become odor-free again. Indian Walk Veterinary Center recommends a deodorizing cleanser you can make at home, consisting of a quart of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, 2 tablespoons of dishwashing soap and a quarter cup of baking soda. This mixture can remove skunk odor safely and effectively from both people and pets when used in the bath or shower. You should not add it to your laundry or apply it to furniture, however, because it can harm fabric colors.

Furniture and Carpets

• Some manufacturers make products designed specifically to remove skunk spray from carpets, upholstery or other items in the home without discoloring or otherwise harming fabrics. These products may come in a concentrated form, along with instructions for mixing a small amount into water. You can then use a spray bottle to apply the diluted product to carpets, leather or fabric-covered furniture or clothing that requires dry cleaning. In some cases these concentrates can also go into the washing machine to enhance odor removal from machine-washable clothes.

Other Remediation

• The odor from skunk spray may infiltrate your home's ventilation system. This occurs when the system draws the contaminated air through its air filters, allowing the airborne spray particles to become embedded in the filter materials. If you continue to experience skunk smell in your home even after you have cleaned and washed all occupants, clothes and interior fabrics, you may have to replace these filters. Commercial air fresheners can then help to get rid of any lingering traces of odor. Professional Wildlife Removal notes that if you have an injured or dead skunk somewhere on your premises, you may need to have an animal control professional remove it before your home smells normal again.