How to get the smell of onions off the hands
By weemam
@weemam (13372)
February 6, 2007 9:10am CST
If You have ever ben chopping onions and the smell is really strong and you just don't know how to get rid of it, well worry no longer as I can tell you just what to do .........................................................
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To get rid of onion, pepper or garlic smells from hands, mix two level tablespoons of baking soda to a glass of water and soak hands for 30 seconds to a minute. Also great for getting rid of these smells/burning from mouth (but just rinse, don't swallow!).
9 people like this
63 responses
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
9 Feb 07
If you leave the root end of the onion attached until you are done slicing, it seems to give off less fumes. It works for me.
3 people like this
@BettyBooAmy23 (324)
•
7 Feb 07
I was told to put a piece of white bread in your mouth as you slice. However you could always wear your swimming goggles and pretend your starting a trend!
@thinkingoutloud (6127)
• Canada
6 Feb 07
Thanks for a great tip! Baking soda is practical for so many things! Strangely, I've read many, many times that you can also get the smell of onions (or chives or garlic) off your hands by rubbing them on anything stainless steel -- from the kitchen sink to a knife blade to a spoon. I have NO idea why or how that would work but people swear it does LOL I've also read that rubbing the hands with lemon is good for the garlic smell.
3 people like this
@finlander60 (1804)
• United States
26 Feb 07
I have heard the same thing. I think I would BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN USING THE KNIFE BLADE IDEA, THOUGH.
@toonatoons (3737)
• Philippines
7 Feb 07
yeah, it is a good tip to remember. i'm not particularly fond of peeling onions myself, because aside from making me cry, the smell on my hands is just way too awful. now, i know, i must only keep a bottle of baking soda within arms reach.
2 people like this
@carissa765 (1097)
• United States
14 Sep 07
Try chewing a piece of gum while you are cutting the onion, it has always worked for me..
@emilysdabomb (360)
• Philippines
7 Feb 07
i keep onions in the refrigerator until i need one. the colder an onion, the less you'll cry. try it. it has worked for me. good luck! =)
2 people like this
@angel_illuminated (206)
• India
7 Feb 07
i have an another tip which is also quite helpful.
After washing your hands with a soap.
Rub tooth paste on your hands esp. near the nails, and wash them. There will be no smell,,,,for sure.
2 people like this
@blueskies (1186)
• United States
6 Feb 07
Yay! You found the solution I was looking for. Thank you. I'll be sure to try this the next time I prepare dinner with onions. I wonder if I can get hubby to gargle with baking soda and water after he eats garlic bread pizza? Talk about swamp-breath!
@dana234 (2114)
• Spain
1 Mar 07
Thanks for the tip, weemam. Did you know that you can also use baking soda when the microwave smells of food (fish for example) and you can´t get rid off of it just by cleaning? Put one tablespoon of baking soda in a glass of water and put it in the microwave for 1 minute on low. It won´t smell anymore afterwards.
1 person likes this
@lauriefnp (5109)
• United States
20 Mar 07
This is a great tip for the onion smell, but I'm also anxious to try it for the mouth burning when I eat something that is too spicy (jalapeno peppers that are very hot). You actually could swallow it (if you could tolerate the taste) after holding it in your mouth long enough to neutralize the burning; baking soda is a great remedy for heartburn, which you might end up with after eating something spicy.
1 person likes this
@albert2412 (1782)
• United States
19 Mar 07
Great suggestion. I will try to remember it. What bothers me, however, is that when I chop opinions my eyes allways seem to really burn. Have you any ideas about how to help that problem?
@kathy77 (7486)
• Australia
6 Feb 07
Hi Weemam, What a wonderful tip this one is I always wondered how to get rid of the smell of these products, I will have to tell my husband this one as he always uses these products a lot and it does give off a horrible smell espcially in the mouth. I really appreciate this tip!!
@raveena (1353)
• India
26 Mar 07
If you are cutting onions and get the smell on your hands and no amount of washing seems to help, try this tip: The easy way to remove the onion odor is to rub your hands on your stainless steel sink. Then wash them. No more onion odor!" And... for those of you who don't have a stainless steel sink, try using a stainless steel butter knife! Bye bye stinky hands!
Try it out and let me know if it works.
For more cooking tips check out the site below.
http://members.tripod.com/~Barefoot_Lass/index-6.html
@vokey9472 (1486)
• United States
26 Feb 07
Tomatoe juice is good for getting the smell off your hands too. Wash your hands as if you were using soap and then follow with soap. No smell.
Also, if you have a chrome faucet, not stainless steel, but real chrome, if you rub your hands over it a few times, it will take the onion smell away too.
Tip for cutting onions so you dont cry: stick them in the freezer for about 5 minutes or so before cutting and you won't cry. It works for me. :)
1 person likes this
@pebbles724 (642)
• United States
7 Feb 07
I will have to try that the next time I chop onions. No matter how well I wash my hands after cutting onions, I can't seem to get the smell off. I have heard also that rinsing your cutting board with vinegar after cutting onions on it will remove the smell from the cutting board.
1 person likes this
@sandeeptiwari (82)
• India
7 Feb 07
good question .........
and the answer is good enough as well......
@Indiffer (287)
• Norway
7 Feb 07
Great tip, thank you!
Another tip is to use lemonjuice (preferrably fresh, but in bottle also works) it takes away the smell instatly and also works antibacterial too. Wash off your hands the prep table and the kitchen knife you used with the juice. Works like magic!
1 person likes this
@totalearnings (1603)
• India
7 Feb 07
hey weeman. its a great discovery. i often used soap but never got through. thanks for that simple trick. but can we reuse the baking soda mixure or throw out and prepare afresh next day when i am done with cutting those onions. coz if i am to prepare a new mixure everytime its going to cost more than the onions.
1 person likes this
