How to Remove Skunk Smell from Your Home

Skunks are famously stinky creatures – at least, they are when they feel threatened and decide to try and teach whoever or whatever is “threatening” them a lesson.

Skunks spray a foul-smelling liquid when they feel threatened. That might seem understandable as a general defense mechanism, but it’s not likely to make you feel any better about things if your home has been on the receiving end of some skunk spray as a result of a skunk that wandered in where he wasn’t welcome.

Fortunately, there are various things you can do in order to remove the skunk smell from your home.

Here are a few suggestions.

Aerate and ventilate your home

The first and most obvious step to getting skunk odor of your home is to simply clear out the air by opening your windows and doors and letting a breeze pass through.

In addition to airing your home out, let some natural sunlight in as well if possible, as this frequently has a cleansing effect and can counteract and help to break down some of the compounds that cause a bad smell in the first place.

Of course, keep in mind that if a skunk has sprayed in your garden, or close to your home in general, opening your windows will likely do more harm than good.

If possible, though, clearing out the contaminated air is a good first step in removing the unwelcome aroma from your home.

Spray deodorizers in the affected areas

Deodorizers such as Febreze work differently from odor-masking air fresheners, in that they work to neutralize and remove the underlying offensive odor directly.

Tackling the area where the skunk has sprayed, with deodorizer, can often be a great way of helping to neutralize the odor – just be sure that you’re using the right product for the job, and are not simply masking over the unpleasant smell with a scent of pine forest and citrus.

Certain specialized skunk deodorizing sprays have been created for the express purpose of removing skunk smell from a home. These may be your best bet.

Consider steam cleaning

If there’s a specific patch of carpet where a skunk has sprayed, the spray might well have saturated the area to the extent that it’s hard to remove with a simple surface-level cleaning job.

If this is the case, the best bet might be to hire a heavy-duty steam cleaning unit for the afternoon, so that you can properly cleanse the area and remove the source of the smell outright.

Replace air filters

If you’ve got an inbuilt air conditioning unit in your home, or if you have portable HEPA filters set up, for example, there’s a decent chance that the skunk smell will end up contaminating the filters and lingering around the house longer than it should.

For that reason, you should change any filters for your air purification units if you’ve had a skunk in the area causing trouble.

Is the skunk is still at your home or backyard? Get in touch with SWAT Wildlife Removal for humane removal service.