And by deskunk, I literally mean how to get the skunk smell out if one of your pets (or god forbid, YOU) have tangoed with one of these smelly critters….its actually pretty simple, you just need 4 ingredients. White vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and water. If your carpet or couch are affected, I recommend a steam-type cleaner, I used a “Little Green Machine,” made by Bissell.

For carpeting (or upholstery, I’m guessing), sprinkle a liberal coating of baking soda on the affected area….don’t be afraid to use too much…we’ll take care of it in a moment or two. Now, if you don’t have a carpet/upholstery cleaner…you’re going to have to let the next step dry for a bit before you can vacuum it up…but spray some of the white vinegar directly onto the baking soda. It’ll fizz a bit, maybe a lot, depending how much of each ingredient you’re using. My entire house reeked before we did this…and I think if not all the smell, we got most of the smell out in about 10 minutes.

If you’re using a carpet cleaner…spare yourself the spraying and just add as much white vinegar to the resivoir as you would use cleaning solution….fill to where its to be filled with warm water….and apply to the carpet. I recommend spraying it on and letting it do its thing with the baking soda for a few seconds before extracting it all.

For the pet who’s been affected….do this as quickly as possible after the encounter. However, I rinsed our dog w/plain water last night and some shampoo, just to make sure her eyes were ok, and left her sleep on the old couch in the garage….so about 7-8 hours had passed before we tried this….

Mix two quarts of hydrogen peroxide with 1/2 a cup baking soda and rub into the pet’s fur. Let sit for just a moment or two…as long as you can with a wiggly critter. Then, rinse them well, and voila! They’ll be clean and should be stink free. If it doesn’t work, its safe to repeat…hopefully you’ll be lucky like we were and not have to repeat a second time.

If you actually need these tricks….I’m so sorry. We discovered very quickly that its not a pleasant experience. Hoping you never need to know this stuff….. Diane

It’s a mystery in substance and in shape. The kids aren’t allowed to have food or drink in their rooms, so I’m really not sure what it could have been. The shape is quite interesting though, don’t you think? Not your standard roundish blob of a stain.

Anyway, I came into the kitchen and poured myself a delicious glass of baking soda. Yum. Okay, no. Not yum. I added a sprinkle of water to it–not enough to even make a paste, just enough to make a crumbly mixture. I took it and worked it into the stain with my fingers and let it sit overnight.

After using the brush attachment on the vacuum, I discovered this:

At least…I think that’s the right area. The stain was so completely gone that I was sure exactly where it had been. And that’s a good thing.

Never underestimate the power of baking soda. And rest easy knowing you green-cleaned your baby’s carpet.