Eli5 Why is skunk spray so potent and stay in one area for so long?
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Your nose is fine tuned for smelling sulfur because sulfur can be a sign of toxicity. Sulfur is what mainly makes the skunk smell, so smelly. The sulfur in skunk spray is specially made to stick to things it touches and is mixed with the oily spray which doesn’t wash away well. That means that not only are you able to smell only a little, when there is a lot it is overwhelming and is about to hang out a lot longer.
Fun fact, baking soda, dish soap, and most importantly hydrogen peroxide mixed together work well to actually wash it away.
The peroxide makes the sulfur less sticky, the dish soap washes away the oily stuff, and the baking soda helps keep the peroxide from being to acidic.
I used this mix on my doggo who got sprayed and it worked better than just shampoo. I also powdered the house with baking soda to soak up the sent like I do for the fridge and that helped. It’s still gonna smell but it helps, a lot.
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