Have you ever walked into the house the day after cooking some onions and still smell them? Or to smell it on your hands for hours or even days, despite having washed them carefully? By handling these vegetables when cooking you expose yourself to their not always pleasant, but very persistent aroma, which "contaminates" your hands and the house for days. There are some methods you can try to get rid of it. Read on to learn more!
Steps
Method 1 of 2: by the Hands
Step 1. Rub your hands with stainless steel
It is one of the most common home remedies for getting rid of the annoying onion smell from the skin. After handling the vegetables, grab a spoon made with this metal, put your hands under running hot water and rub them with the convex portion of the cutlery without neglecting your fingers. The sulfur present in the steel attracts the odor molecules and removes them from the skin.
- You can use any object of this material; knives and other kitchen utensils are often made of steel. You can also rub your hands on the sink or faucet, as they are usually made of stainless steel.
- There are also steel "soaps" that you can keep in the kitchen and that are made just for this purpose.
Step 2. Use some salt
Take a handful of the large one and lightly moisten the skin with warm water. Rub the areas affected by the smell with salt and rinse with hot water at the end; in this way, you should have clean and fragrant hands again.
- You can also add a few drops of lemon or lime juice to minimize the odor and leave a pleasant citrus aroma on the skin.
- This method also offers the advantage of naturally exfoliating the epidermis; your hands will not only have a pleasant fresh scent, but will also be smoother and softer.
Step 3. Purify them with baking soda
It is one of the most used products to get rid of bad smells. Whether it's a "bad breath" refrigerator or stinky shoes, baking soda eliminates odors from around the house, and your hands are no exception. Mix it with a little water to form a cleansing paste and rub it gently on problem areas; afterwards, rinse and dry your hands carefully.
Step 4. Wash them with the coffee grounds
Fill your palm with a generous dose, lightly moisten the skin and rub your hands as if you were using a bar of soap. Rinse and dry them carefully; in this way, you not only get rid of the onion stench, but the skin has a delicious coffee aroma.
Remember to use the funds already used and not the fresh powder, as it does not offer the same effect
Step 5. Rub your fingers with vinegar
Take a small dose and apply it to onion-smelling skin; rinse with very hot water and dry the skin thoroughly. The acidity of this liquid dissipates the odor from the hands.
When finished, you may notice a strong vinegar smell on your hands, but that's a good sign since, unlike onion smells, the vinegar stench disappears when you wash your skin with soap and water
Step 6. Apply dry mustard
Distribute it on the palm of your hand, moisten the skin and mix to create a paste; use it to wash your hands, then rinse and dry them. The compounds of mustard are able to eliminate the bad smell.
Use the right type of mustard. Forget the dry lumps that form on the bottle of mustard sauce, but instead use the powder that is added in many preparations in the kitchen; you can find it in the supermarket among the spice shelves
Step 7. Smear mint toothpaste on your fingers
This cleanser often contains baking soda and other odor-fighting ingredients; it is effective on the hands just like against the bad breath that develops after eating onion. Apply a pea-sized dose to your skin, scrub, rinse and dry.
- Use the right type of toothpaste, it must be white and not gel; the latter does not have the same properties.
- This remedy leaves a fresh mint scent on the hands.
Method 2 of 2: from the House
Step 1. Boil some cinnamon sticks
Take a stick or two and put them in a pot of water; turn on the stove over high heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Let the mixture simmer for a while, so that the cinnamon scent diffuses into the air; this way, you can mask the onion stench found in the kitchen and home.
Check the water level in the pot; pour a lot of it to prevent the pan from burning and releasing an even more unpleasant odor
Step 2. Simmer the baking soda
It is able to absorb odors from the air just like those found on the skin. Take a couple of spoonfuls and mix them with a generous dose of water in a slow cooker; turn the appliance on to the minimum leaving the lid open. Hot baking soda attracts unsightly molecules in the air.
Instead of just eliminating the stench, you can use this remedy to cool the environment. Add a few drops of vanilla extract, a few teaspoons of your favorite spice, such as cinnamon or cloves, some essential oils or a couple of lemon slices. The baking soda absorbs the unpleasant aromas of onion and the additional ingredients replace them with a new and great fragrance
Step 3. Simmer some lemon
This technique allows you to diffuse a fresh citrus scent. Slice a fruit and put it in a pot full of water; bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat and continue to simmer the liquid. The acidity of the lemon dissolves the bad smell and leaves a pleasant aroma.
- You can also use oranges or limes; the acidity level of these fruits is similar, as is the final effect.
- Monitor the water level in the pot to prevent it from burning.
Step 4. Bake a cake in the oven
A good way to get rid of the bad smells left by onions is to replace them with something pleasant; make some cookies or a cake. Any food that has a good aroma helps cover that of onions by replacing the stench with a pastry scent! In the end, you will also have a mouth-watering dessert for dinner.
Step 5. Use the vinegar and vanilla
Before you start chopping the onion, mix the vinegar with a teaspoon of vanilla extract; leave the mixture near the cutting board or work area. The liquid is able to absorb the smell that comes from the vegetable, preventing it from invading the whole kitchen.
Move the pan near the stove if you plan to cook onions; in this way, you also minimize the smell released during cooking
Step 6. Light some candles
They help improve the air in the house and reduce kitchen odors. Light one in the kitchen to minimize the stench that spreads as you chop and cook the onions. Try those scented with vanilla or citrus; the extracts that are used to make these aromas keep odors in the air of the house and kitchen at bay.
