When it comes to removing skunks from your Kitchener home it often requires an additional lesson of eliminating skunk odour as well. Skunk spray is potent and is meant as a deterrent for predators making the smell hard to live with. While there is no easy or quick fix to odour removal, there are several ways to help relieve the potency.
Locate and Remove the Odour Source
The first objective of the homeowner is to locate the source of the odour. Most often, the source is a pet, like a cat or a dog. If you find that your pet has been sprayed, then take it outside for a bath. Leaving the animal indoors only allows the smell to affect more spaces in the house, which will result in a more significant odour removal process.
Open All Windows
After removing the source of the smell, go around your house and open every window. While venting the property will not resolve every source, it helps you narrow down other potential spaces contaminated by the smell. For example, your puppy may have stopped by its food bowl or lain on its bed, spreading the spray and smell to those surfaces.
Turn On Fans
Air movement is crucial to remove any standing odour. The spray of a skunk lingers heavily in the air, but you can help move it along by turning on ceiling fans throughout your home. The circulation of the air currents helps to reduce the pungency of the smell.
Wash Pet Stations
If the source of the smell was your pet, then it is critical to wash any pet stations. You want to do your best to cleanse the spaces so that your animal does not inadvertently spread the odour further through your house. You can use regular soap on nonporous surfaces to clean the materials, but be sure to repeat the process as many times as needed to ensure the smell is removed completely.
Wash Clothes
When washing your clothes, you need heavy-duty laundry detergent. However, before washing, soak everything in a diluted ammonia solution. While there are many remedies online for washing skunk-smelling clothing, the critical thing to remember is to keep the clothes away from other items in your home.
Wash Carpeting or Upholstery
The main concern with skunk spray is that it is oily and so can spread quickly through contact. If your pet laid on the carpet or a rug, later when you walk in the area, your shoe or sock can spread the smell further. You can wash rugs and carpet the same way you wash clothing, but be careful about what the item touches in the process.
Use Vinegar
Vinegar is a natural deodorizer. It can be used to treat carpets and clothing affected by the skunk spray, and it can also be placed out in bowls to absorb the remaining smell. Dilute the vinegar in water and place it in particularly smelly spaces. As the fans circulate the air, the mixture will absorb particles from the skunk spray, eliminating the remaining odour.
Replace Air Filters
Once you have cleaned the smell out of most items and off of most surfaces, you need to replace the air filters in your HVAC system. The odour particles get caught in the filters, so if not removed, the smell will remain in your house.
Use Deodorizers
In the days to come, you may still notice traces of the skunk smell in your home. While some of the odour may be in your head, it is possible that you missed something in your cleaning. The smell will dissipate over time, but you can use deodorizers to help reduce it.
Skunks are unique, but you do not want them around your house, especially if you have pets. Contact Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control to have the animals moved away from your home.
