Onions are a tasty, nutritious and versatile food that can be cooked in a variety of ways and added in an infinite number of different recipes. However, foods like onion and garlic contain sulfur and this is what makes their smell so pungent. Sulfur compounds are released when you cut, bite or crush these vegetables, leaving their characteristic stench on your hands for a long time even after cooking. Thankfully, there are some remedies you can use to get rid of this unpleasant odor, but it is often easier to take precautions before cutting the vegetable to prevent your hands from stinking.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Wash Your Hands After Cutting the Onion
Step 1. Make a soap and salt scrub
To get rid of food particles and most bad smells, start by washing your hands with an exfoliating mixture. To make it, mix 15ml of liquid soap with 20g of salt in a small bowl.
- You can use any type of liquid soap, including dish soap, laundry soap, body and hand soap, or shampoo.
- As for salt, you can use table, Himalayan, marine, wholemeal, coarse or any other type of salt.
- You can use another abrasive product, such as toothpaste, coffee grounds, or baking soda, as an alternative to salt.
Step 2. Wash your hands with the scrub
Take a handful and rub it on all ends, without neglecting the palms, backs, wrists, the area between the fingers and under the nails. When you've treated your hands thoroughly, rinse them under cold running water to get rid of the product and most of the stench.
For even more effective cleansing, you can use a nail brush to spread the scrub under the nails and into the pores of the skin
Step 3. Scrub your hands with stainless steel
When wet, take an object made with this metal (a saucepan, colander, cutlery or other element of the house or kitchen); hold it under running water and rub it into your skin as you would a bar of soap. Continue like this for a minute.
- Stainless steel is able to neutralize the sulfur molecules that are on the hands and that make them stink; then rubbing them with this metal you should be able to eliminate residual odors.
- You can also buy a specific steel bar to wash your hands and remove the stink of onion, garlic and fish. You can buy it online and in household goods stores.
Step 4. Rinse the skin with an acid product
To dispel residual odors, moisten a clean cloth with vinegar or lemon juice and rub it on your hands. Carefully treat the area between your fingers, nails and other areas where the vegetable fragments may be left. Let your hands air dry and then rinse them with clean water; as an alternative to lemon juice and vinegar you can try:
- Peanut butter;
- Tomato juice;
- Celery juice
- Potato juice;
- Mustard;
- Alcohol;
- Aloe;
- Mint leaves.
Part 2 of 3: Remove Onion Smell from Other Elements
Step 1. Eat the right foods to get rid of onion-smelling breath
You can feel it in your mouth for a few days after tasting a dish that contains this vegetable; Luckily, there are some products you can eat after onions and freshen your breath that way. Here are some suggestions:
- Kiwi;
- Fresh parsley;
- Raw mushrooms;
- Aubergine;
- Apple;
- Lemon juice;
- Green tea.
Step 2. Eliminate the stink from the containers
Cut onions are best stored in airtight containers, but these often become impregnated with the smell. To remove it from plastic containers:
- Wash them with very hot soapy water;
- Rinse them off;
- Rub them with a cloth moistened with vinegar or sprinkle their surface with baking soda;
- Let the containers dry in the sun.
Step 3. Get rid of cooking smells
Onions lend a rich flavor to dishes, but few people like the house to continue to smell for days after cooking. There are a few ways to absorb these unpleasant aromas, here are the most common:
- Mix equal parts vinegar and water in a saucepan and let the liquid simmer over medium heat for at least an hour;
- Alternatively, you can fill a bowl with pure vinegar and leave it by the stove overnight;
- Pour some water into a saucepan and add the lemon, orange and other citrus zest, then bring everything to a boil and let it simmer for at least an hour;
- Pour 50 g of baking soda into a spray bottle and fill it with water, then carefully shake and spray the mixture around the house, especially in the kitchen.
Step 4. Spray clothes with alcohol to get rid of the smell of onions and cooking
When you prepare dishes with onions, smells permeate everything, including the clothes you wear. To get rid of it, hang clothes in the fresh air, fill a spray bottle with vodka (or denatured alcohol) and water in equal parts; shake the container well and spread the liquid on the fabrics, then waiting for them to dry in the air.
You can also use this method on furniture, curtains and other fabrics
Step 5. Wash your hair with baking soda and citrus to dispel the onion smell
Even the hair becomes impregnated with this stench and it is not always easy to get rid of it. When your hair smells like onions or cooking, you can wash it with:
- 30 ml of shampoo, 5 g of baking soda and 5 ml of lemon juice.
- Wash your hair as usual by covering it with a nice lather without forgetting to rub the scalp.
- Rinse with clean water.
Part 3 of 3: Avoid Bad Smell on Hands
Step 1. Rinse your hands with vinegar before cutting the onion
This liquid is perfect for absorbing bad odors and preventing them from transferring to the skin while working in the kitchen. Before chopping an onion, dip your hands in the vinegar and pat them dry; then proceed as usual.
Be careful when using the knife, especially if your hands are wet
Step 2. Put on gloves
One of the best ways to keep your hands from smelling of onion is to protect them with gloves when you treat this vegetable. You can use latex or alternative materials. Before shredding the veggies, wear a pair that is very snug and don't take them off until you're done.
You can use the same method with garlic and fish
Step 3. Use a food processor
A good trick to prevent the smell of onion from permeating the skin of your hands is to avoid chopping it with a knife. When you need to use this ingredient in your dishes, peel it and use a food processor to chop it up; that way, you have chopped onions and fragrant hands!
