How do I get the smell of skunk out of my house and fabrics?
By Lacey
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Vinegar, the great neutraliser, may help-wash down everything that won't go into the washing machine with a half vinegar-half water solution. Carpet, upholstery, and walls can be cleaned using either a sprayed application then the excess blotted off with a towel, or with a well wrung sponge mop; other hard surfaces like chair legs and tables can be sponged and wiped. Don't rinse, though, because that cancels out the odor neutralising affect of the vinegar.
Be careful when cleaning wood, the vinegar may cause a white film or 'eat the paint off', so be sure to test before applying to things like painted, lacquered or varnished heirloom and antique furniture.
You may need to repeat several times but it should get rid of the smell. The vinegar smell will also dissipate over a few hours. Then set bowls of full strength vinegar under furniture, in corners of the room, and on coffee tables, etc to continue the deodorising.
Anything that can go into the washer should be run at the hottest water temp the fabric will tolerate. Don't use laundry soap, instead use only two measuring cupfuls of straight vinegar, and run the items through several vinegar washings before air drying-don't put anything into the dryer until you know you've got rid of the 'fragrance'.
I used to raise dogs in the US, oh wowsa can they teach a person about getting rid of all kinds of strong, lingering stench!
Skunk Odor Removal from house last year (March 2021) Skunk sprayed in vicinity of my open back door. Large 2 story house. Odor permeated the house. Had a Farm Homeowners Policy and Lo and behold it was covered. Similar to fire or water damage we had a contractor remediate with initial fog treatment and large ozone machine and fans for 10 days. Yes 10 days. Luckily I had a rental house I could stay in that was unoccupied at the time.
Here I am April 2022 and it happened again at a new residence. Regular (non farm) homeowners policy did not cover it. But I was able to throw open all doors and windows when it happened 145 a.m.!! Next day was mild temps and I left all doors windows open again. Rented a small ozone machine from local rental company myself for very reasonable amount. Rental Fellow said that small size should easily handle my 1950 square foot rancher with full basement. Even thought 2 days would be sufficient. I will likely keep it an extra 2-4 days for full week and position it near bedrooms and closets to really tackle clothing.
Feeling hopeful.
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