That Skunky Smell

[Kurt Rahn]

So the other night I'm driving along and out of the corner of my eye I see a black thing moving against the black backdrop of the asphalt. All of a sudden I realized it was a skunk, but by that time hitting him was inevitable. I avoided running him over with my tires, thinking that it'd cause less potential damage to both the skunk and my car if I drove over him. No such luck. I felt him hit the floor at least three times (musta been rolling). Afterwards, I drive about 200 yards with no smell, and I'm thinking "Whew!, Thank God he didn't stinkbomb my car." Another 100 yards and I start smelling it, and within about a quarter mile, it's making my eyes water.

To make a long story short (too late?), the little bastard successfully extracted its revenge on me with its final act. I figured it'd just be the underside of the car, and if I got it steam cleaned the smell would go away. Not only did that not work, but apparently the smell penetrated the interior somehow, and it's almost like he sprayed there directly. So it reeks both outside and inside the car. :unimpressed: :unimpressed: :unimpressed:

Anyone who's hit a skunk have any suggestions for getting rid of the stench? And just to cut off any smart-assery at the pass, no, I haven't tried giving it a bath in tomato juice.

[George Schilling]

Well, there goes that "new car smell".

[Steve Towers]

Keeps the hitch hikers out.

[Steve Ekstrand]

An 8,000 gallon Bloody Mary. A small empty swimming pool. A crane.

[Pete Loney]

Too easy for a new nickname for the car...

Pig Pen
Little Stinky
PePe Le Pew
...

Need to add a white stripe and it's complete...

[Kurt Rahn]

Need to add a white stripe and it's complete...

Someone said that last night. I almost smacked him :mrt:

[Mako Koiwai]

Bummer! Perhaps talk to one of those companies that deodorizes places after fires?

... I saw a big fat skunk waddling down our drive way a few nights ago. We each kept our distance.

[Steve Ekstrand]

Have you considered the laundromat at Fair Oaks and Washington???

Just leave the keys in it there and start over???

[Bob Beamesderfer]

I don't have a suggestion, but I'm sure it will involve chemistry and lots of money.

[Marshall Grice]

Don't worry Kurt, that smell just adds character.

[Tom Denham]

Google =

Make up the following mixture and spray it on your car where the smell seems to be. . If you get the mixture on all the skunk smell it reacts chemically to kill the smell. ( Works great on dogs and other animals that may have been sprayed.)


1 quart of 3 percent Peroxide
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1 tsp of liquid Soap

[Steve Coe]

An 8,000 gallon Bloody Mary. A small empty swimming pool. A crane.

Forget the crane and pool. Drink the 8,000 gallon Bloody Mary and you won't care about the smell

[George Schilling]

On occasion I've been in the presence of people who with one nicely timed fart could make you forget all about that skunk smell. I could give you a referral.

[Katianna Pihakari]

Google =

Make up the following mixture and spray it on your car where the smell seems to be. . If you get the mixture on all the skunk smell it reacts chemically to kill the smell. ( Works great on dogs and other animals that may have been sprayed.)


1 quart of 3 percent Peroxide
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1 tsp of liquid Soap

WOW! After all my experiences in the chemistry labs, I would recommend testing this solution in a small hidden area on the vehicle. Sounds to me there might be a risk of changing the color of your interior fabrics. Just being over-cautious.

Also why not sprinkle baking soda all over the car, let is stand for 2-3 hours and then vacuum. I don't know if this works for skunks but is quite an effective way of cleaning, desinfecting and de-smelling your carpets, coaches, etc. Especially if you mix 5-6 drops of your favorite essential oil to the baking powder 2 days prior and keep it in a sealed container prior sprinkling over your carpets etc.

Good luck with de-toxing the vehicle!

[Greg Peng]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn0i93IeSIo" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This is a serious suggestion.

[Lisa Severy]

Hi Kurt,

Wow! I can really relate. We live in "skunk country" and have had to deal w/this more than once.

The first time, our dog (Australian Cattle Dog) cornered a skunk under my husband's Camaro Z-28. We washed the car, the tires and underneath the car w/ a strong solution of Dawn dishwashing liquid. I would use only the brand "Dawn" for this job. Take advantange of the warm weather and get the car in the sun with the windows down to air out as much as possible. The second even I unwittingly drove into "ground zero" and opened up the door to my Celica right after our dog (yes, same dog) had been sprayed in our carport. Ryan's girlfriend's car was also affected, since she'd left her windows down. Airing the cars out helped quite a bit. We also thoroughly cleaned the cars w/carpet, dash and upholstery cleaner for cars. Also - had to clean the carpet in the back of the Celica and the headliner. In the case of the Celica, I had to clean it twice to get the job done. Again, can't emphasize enough the airing it out part. If you have a sun roof - open that too!

If you think it is fun having skunk smell in your car - it is worse in the house! After the second incident - Dave had unwittingly let the dog in the house for a few seconds before realizing what had happened. We had to clean the carpet, upholstery and curtains. Skunk spray is amazingly potent!

In the case of the Camaro, for about a year,on a hot day, you could still smell the skunk smell (noticeable, but not horrible) from the outside (thankfully, not too much on the inside). We figured it was a great theft deterrent!

The solution Tom found does work great on dogs. The idea is that Dawn detergent breaks up the oil and the hydrogen peroxide is an oxidizer that breaks down the mercaptans in the skunk smell. If you ever use it on an animal - don't get the solution in their eyes! I agree with Katianna, I wouldn't use it on the car. I have also just used the Dawn detergent alone on my dogs, and it works pretty well alone.

Good luck, Kurt! I hope the rest of your holidays are happier!

[Eric Clements]

Trade the Mini for an Audi?

Many years ago I hit a skunk while driving our Audi. The smell didn't make it into the car until we stopped an hour or so later. Once back on the highway it went away. For the last 1/2 hour of the trip it was raining, that was enough to wash the smell from the underside of the car.

[Reijo Silvennoinen]

Black mini? Add a white stripe? }:)

On a more serious note.....some great suggestions there Lisa et al. Leaving baking soda in the car for a coupe of days probably wouldn't hurt.

I haven't had this misfortune before although my dad did have a run-in with a skunk many moons ago in the "bush" .....he was a lumber jack. It wasn't good. However I did get close one day......when I rode my motorcycle into my dad's garage (door was open)......and saw a skunk inside the garage (presumably in the garbage)...... There is no reverse gear on most motorcycles.....mine had loud pipes.....I backed out as fast as I could....and it did not spray me! Lucky!

Merry Christmas!

Reijo

[Sebastian Rios]

One of my first jobs was bather at a dog grooming parlor. When dogs came in after getting sprayed by skunks we always used cola, it usually took two or more rinses.

[Steve Ekstrand]

When airing it out, I wonder if a fan would help speed the process???

I'm still saying the Bloody Mary approach works though, no matter how you apply it.

[Kurt Rahn]

I'm still saying the Bloody Mary approach works though, no matter how you apply it.

I've been using it regularly, but not on the car ;)

[Lily Liu]

I was in Petco today and saw that they carry "skunk odor enzyme cleaner". Definitely safer on the carpet than the peroxide/baking soda solution.

[Kurt Rahn]

I was in Petco today and saw that they carry "skunk odor enzyme cleaner". Definitely safer on the carpet than the peroxide/baking soda solution.

Hmmmm. I may give that a shot. Luckily, the smell inside the car is almost gone. Outside near the hatchback, though, it still reeks. Little bugger musta gotten thumped by the lower arms or something.