How to de-skunk your... everything?

[sauergeek]

One useful thing I've found from getting skunked: a workable de-skunkification mix. A chemist came up with the mix based on a liquid filter he used to break down hydrogen sulfide in a waste gas stream. It's a 192:12:1 mix (in my case, 1 cup, 1 tablespoon, and 1/4 teaspoon) of 3% hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and liquid hand soap. See the actual recipe for details and some explanation, and his IFAQs for a more detailed explanation of how the reaction works.

One of the worst-hit things was one of the bike panniers. I went after the pannier with this stuff and a toothbrush, and it slew the stink. (As a control, the bike itself, which I am slowly acquiring the tools to properly dismantle so I can get at all the places that skunk spray got, and which still is not acceptable in company.)

Comments

[kelkyag]

Mostly skunks are very chill and it's not an issue. I've walked within a few yards of one without issue on a number of occasions when we were aware of each other.

In this case, sauergeek was on bike and the skunk was in a flower bed right next to the path, and they didn't see each other until they were very close. sauergeek was moving at a good clip and the skunk decided someone closing at speed was alarming. :(