How to Get Rid of Onion Smell

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: November 5, 2022 References Tested

Ever come home the day after cooking with onions and your house still smells like them? Or can you smell the odor on your hands for hours, even days, despite washing your hands? Handling onions when you cook can leave behind an awful and long lasting smell on your hands and in your house. There are some methods you can follow to help banish the smell on your hands and in your house.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Removing the Smell in Your House

1
Boil cinnamon sticks. Take one or two cinnamon sticks and place them in a pot of water. Put the water on high heat, bringing it to a boil. Let the mixture boil for a while, releasing the scent of the cinnamon into the air. The cinnamon will help disguise the odor in your kitchen and house.
- Make sure you watch the water levels in your pot. You want to keep plenty of water in your pot so it doesn't burn and cause more unpleasant smells in your kitchen.
2
Slow cook baking soda. Just like it eliminates odors on your hands, you can use baking soda to reduce odors in the air as well. Take a few tablespoons of baking soda and combine it with a generous amount of water in a slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to low heat and leave the top off. The heated baking soda will help pull the odors from the air.^{[1]
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- Instead of just eliminating odors, you can turn this method into an air freshener as well. With the baking soda, try adding a few drops of vanilla, a few teaspoons of your favorite spices such as cinnamon or clove, some essential oils, or a few slices of lemon. The baking soda will still eliminate the smell and the extra ingredients will replace the smell of onion with a fabulous new fragrance.
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3
Simmer lemon water. This method will leave your house smelling citrus fresh. Slice a lemon and place it in a pot full of water. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low, simmering the mixture. The acid in the lemon will help pull the odor out of the air and leave a nice scent behind.^{[2]
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- You can also try this with oranges or limes. The acidic content in each fruit is similar and will have a similar effect.
- Make sure you watch the water levels in your pot. You don't want your mixture to burn.
4
Bake a dessert. A good way to chase out the scents left behind by onions is to bake something to replace the smell. Try baking cookies or a cake. Anything that has a naturally pleasing aroma will help cover up the odor of the onions and exchange it for the smell of baked goods. The added bonus is that you will have a yummy dessert after you're through.
5
Use vinegar and vanilla. Before you start chopping your onion, mix some vinegar with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Sit it next to your cutting board or work area while you cut the onion. The mixture can help soak up the smell coming from the onion and keep it from making your entire kitchen smell.
- Move it next to the stove if you plan on cooking your onions. This way, it can help reduce the smell coming from the cooked onions as well.^{[3]
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6
Burn candles. Burning candles can make a room smell great, but you can also use them to help reduce the scents left behind from cooking. Burn a candle in your kitchen to help reduce the odors left behind from chopping and cooking onions. Try scents that have citrus or vanilla in them. The extracts used to make these scents will help reduce the odors that remain in the air in your kitchen and around your house.^{[4]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Cleaning Your Hands

1
Rub salt into your hands. Take about a palm full of coarse salt. Wet your hands slightly with warm water. Rub the salt all around the areas that smell. Then, rinse your hands with warm water. This should help draw the odor out of your skin.
- You can also add a little bit of lemon or lime juice to the mixture. This will help reduce the odor and leave your hands smelling citrus fresh.
- This method has the added bonus of being a natural exfoliation technique. Not only will your hands smell fresh, they will feel smoother and softer.^{[5]
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2
Cleanse your hands with baking soda. One of the most widely used odor eliminators is baking soda. Whether it is your smelly refrigerator or shoes, baking soda helps get rid of odors all over your house. Your hands aren't any different. Mix baking soda with a small amount of water, forming a paste. Rub the baking soda paste into your hands, gently scrubbing the most odorous areas. Rinse and dry your hands well.^{[7]
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3
Wash your hands with coffee grounds. Fill your hands with a generous amount of used coffee grounds. Slightly wet your hands. Wash your hands with the grounds like you would with soap. Rinse and dry your hands. Not only can this help reduce the smell of onions, your hands will smell delicious like coffee.
- Make sure you do this method with used coffee grounds. Fresh grounds won't have the desired effect.^{[8]
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4
Rub your fingers in vinegar. Take a small amount of vinegar. Rub it into the skin that smells like onions. Rinse your hands under hot water and dry them. The acid in the vinegar can help draw out the odor in your hands.
- Your hands may smell too much like vinegar after you do this. The good thing is that, unlike onions, the smell of vinegar will come out if you wash your hands with soap and water.^{[9]
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5
Apply dry mustard to your hands. Sprinkle dry mustard into the palm of your hand. Wet the area, mixing water with the mustard to make a paste. Rub it on your hands. Rinse and dry your hands. The components in the mustard can help draw out the scent in your hands.^{[10]
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- Make sure you use the right kind of mustard. Don't use a dried clump of bottled mustard. The kind of mustard you want is dry mustard. It is a yellow powder that is used in many recipes. It can be found with the spices in most grocery stores.
6
Rub your hands with stainless steel. This is one of the most commonly used home remedies for getting rid of the pesky onion smell from your hands. After you've finished handling the onion, grab a stainless steel spoon. Run your hands under warm water while rubbing your hands and fingers with the curved area of the spoon. The sulfur in the steel helps draw out the odor in your skin and can eliminate the smell.
- You can use any object that is stainless steel. Knives and other utensils are often made of this material. You can also rub your hands along your sink or faucet because they are often made of stainless steel as well.
- They also make stainless steel shaped like soap that you can buy to keep in your kitchen.^{[11]
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7
Coat your fingers in mint toothpaste. Toothpaste often has baking soda and other odor fighting ingredients. Much like it helps eliminate bad breath caused by onions, the toothpaste may help with the smells on your hands as well. Put a dollop of toothpaste about the size of a pea in your palm. Rub it in to the odorous areas of your hands. Rinse and dry your hands.
- Make sure you use the white paste kind of toothpaste and not the gel kind. The gel toothpaste does not have the same kind of properties as the white kind.
- This method will also leave your hands smelling minty fresh.^{[14]
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Community Q&A

Question

I accidentally put a wash of clothes in the washer with cut up onions. How do I get the smell out?

Imhotep

Community Answer

Run the clothes through the washing machine again, with a cup of vinegar this time.
Question

How do I get the smell of onion out of my car?

Community Answer

Use car air fresheners. You can also leave the windows open while driving to help air out the car.
Question

How can I remove the smell of onion from my hair?

Community Answer

Try a cider vinegar rinse. Mix two tablespoons of cider vinegar with two cups of water. Apply the mixture to your hair and leave it in for a few minutes. Then just rinse it out of your hair. Both the onion and the vinegar smell should be gone.