De-Skunking Your Pet

Forget tomato juice!! Chemists have developed new and better recipes to de-skunk a pet. Listed below are two new recipes that can be used instead of the traditional tomato juice.

Paul Krebaum of Lisle, IL was using a hydrogen peroxide solution to clean the odor from sulfur containing gases. When a colleague's cat was perfumed by a skunk, Krebaum suggested the following recipe:

Paul Krebaum Recipe: 
1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide (from the druggist) 
¼ cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) 
teaspoon liquid soap (for example, dish soap)

Warning: Don't make this concoction ahead of time. It produces oxygen and will blow up in a closed container.

Rub into the hair, then rinse with plenty of tap water. Discard the leftover solution. If it is a longhaired dog, you need to get the solution into the hair and down to the skin.

Henry Hastie of Oneonta, NY who is a retired chemist suggest the following recipe:

Henry Hastie Recipe: 
To one gallon of tap water, add 
1 cup sodium perborate (Snowy Bleach) 
3 tablespoons liquid detergent

Rub into the hair. Rinse with plenty of tap water.