How to remove skunk smell from clothes

Step by step

1. 1

   Keep the clothes outside until you wash

   Take the sprayed clothes off outdoors if you can, and leave them outside or in a sealed bag until they go in the washer. Wear gloves to handle them.

   Why: The oily spray transfers to everything it touches, including carpets and furniture.

2. 2

   Mix the formula fresh, in an open bowl

   Stir together 1 quart of fresh 3% hydrogen peroxide, ¼ cup baking soda and 1 to 2 teaspoons of dish soap in an open bowl. Never cap it or make it ahead.

   Why: The mix gives off oxygen and can burst a closed container. It also loses strength if it sits.

3. 3

   Add it to the wash water, not the fabric

   Start the washer with your usual detergent and pour the mixture into the wash water, rather than onto the clothes themselves.

   Why: Diluted in the water, the peroxide oxidizes the thiols without bleaching spots into the fabric.

4. 4

   Wash a second time

   Run a second wash with detergent, adding a fresh batch of the mix if the smell was strong.

   Why: One cycle rarely reaches all of the oily spray. The second removes what's left.

5. 5

   Line-dry outdoors

   Hang the clothes outside to dry. Smell them once dry, and only use the dryer when no skunk smell remains.

   Why: Outdoor air carries off the last volatile thiols. Extension guidance says to keep skunked clothes out of the dryer.

Why skunk smell clings to clothes

Skunk spray is an oily liquid whose smell comes from thiols, sulfur compounds people can detect at around 10 parts per billion. Being oily, it soaks into fibers and resists plain water. The spray also holds thioacetates, which release fresh thiols when they get wet, so clothes can smell skunky again after a wash that only partly worked.

That's why the method pairs detergent, to dissolve the oil, with peroxide in alkaline baking soda, which turns the thiols into odorless compounds. The skunk smell page explains why tomato juice only seems to work.

Why the mix goes in the water, not on the clothes

Hydrogen peroxide can bleach or discolor fabric if poured straight on. Nebraska Extension's guidance is to add it to the wash water, where it's diluted enough to protect dyes but still works on the thiols. For fabrics that tolerate it, chlorine bleach or another cleaning fluid can be used, but only as a separate step, never mixed with the peroxide formula or other products.

By situation

Colored or dark clothes

Stick to the mix diluted in the wash water and test any other cleanser on an inside seam first. Peroxide on its own can lighten dyes.

White cotton

Bleach-safe whites can also be washed with chlorine bleach as a separate wash, never in the same load as the peroxide mix or with ammonia or vinegar.

Shoes, coats and things you can't wash

Hang them outdoors and let fresh air remove the smell over time. It can take days to weeks.

Dry-clean-only clothes

Air them outdoors and take them to a dry cleaner, telling them it's skunk spray.

The smell comes back when the clothes get damp

Thioacetates are still releasing thiols. Wash again with detergent and the peroxide mix, and line-dry outdoors.

What not to do

• Don't pour the peroxide mix straight onto the clothes. It can bleach or discolor fabric. Add it to the wash water instead.
• Don't put skunked clothes in the dryer. Extension guidance says to line-dry outdoors until the smell is gone.
• Don't store or cap the peroxide mixture. It releases oxygen and can burst a closed container.
• Don't mix bleach with ammonia, vinegar or other products. The combinations release toxic gases.

Other methods that work

Commercial skunk odor neutralizer

A product made for skunk odor can be used on fabric, following the label and spot test.

Caution: Don't combine it with other cleaners unless the label allows it.

Diluted vinegar

If you have no peroxide on hand, the Humane Society of the United States suggests vinegar diluted with water as a fallback.

Caution: It only reduces the smell. Rewash with the peroxide mix when you can, and never use it with bleach.

Throwing it out

For cheap or heavily sprayed items, discarding them can be simpler than repeated washing.

Stain still there?

The clothes still smell faintly after two washes

Wash again with a fresh batch of the mix and line-dry outdoors for a full day.

The washer now smells of skunk

Run an empty cycle with detergent and leave the door open to air. This is common practice rather than published guidance.

Safety

• Mix the peroxide, baking soda and soap formula in an open container and use it immediately. Never store it.
• Keep the mix away from your eyes and mouth, and wear gloves.

Never mix cleaning products; see chemicals you must never combine.

Questions

Skunk elsewhere

• Skunk: what causes it and how to remove it
• Skunk in a car
• Skunk in the house

Other smells in clothes

• How to remove mildew smell from clothes (musty, moldy or sour)
• How to remove cigarette and smoke smell from clothes