# Getting onion smell off of hands **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 10, 2008, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977 "2008-01-10T12:22:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/1 "2008-01-10T12:22:22Z")
Two days ago I made home fries with onions. I’ve showered twice and washed my hands many time since then, but I can still smell the onion smell. How do I get onion smells off of my hands? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/2 "2008-01-10T12:35:32Z")
Stainless steel works well on garlic, and I think it works on onion too. If your sink is stainless steel, wet your hands and rub them against it. ---
**Author:** ![Vorpal\_Blade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/9de0a6/32.png) [@Vorpal\_Blade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vorpal_Blade)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/3 "2008-01-10T12:40:44Z")
[QUOTE=Cazzle] Stainless steel works well on garlic, and I think it works on onion too. If your sink is stainless steel, wet your hands and rub them against it. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard this before, too. Does anyone know _why_ this works? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/4 "2008-01-10T12:43:06Z")
[Cecil’s not sure.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a990618b.html) ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/5 "2008-01-10T12:47:27Z")
Not that it’ll help you now, but the only thing that worked for me was to wear gloves while cutting onions. Back when I worked at a pizza place, part of my job was chopping onions - a shit ton of onions. It would take at least 2-3 days for the smell to go away. Of course, I had never heard of the SS thing. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/6 "2008-01-10T12:49:15Z")
I’ve got a bar of strainless steel soap (just a piece of metal sold in that shape) for this purpose. It really does work. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/7 "2008-01-10T12:54:35Z")
I find that lemon or lime juice usually does the trick. But I will definitely try the curly stainless steel scourer next time. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/8 "2008-01-10T14:13:17Z")
[According to NPR, it doesn’t work at all](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6473350) ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/9 "2008-01-10T14:23:15Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] [According to NPR, it doesn’t work at all](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6473350) [/QUOTE] The problem is in his methodology. He rubbed the garlic on his hands, then washed and used the steel bar and _then_ smelled his hands, proclaiming that there was still garlic smell. What he _should_ have done to have a valid experiment: rub garlic on hands, smell, wash with soap and water. smell, rub on steel, smell. While using stainless steel may not completely remove the smell, it will certainly reduce the odor significantly. I rub my faucet all the time. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MrFloppy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@MrFloppy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrFloppy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/10 "2008-01-10T14:27:01Z")
[QUOTE=Ellen Cherry] [According to NPR, it doesn’t work at all](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6473350) [/QUOTE] My wife got this thing called a ‘Rubaway’ which is made of some steel alloy and looks like a bar of soap. It works. I cut up some onions and used it to ‘wash’ my hands. The smell doesn’t totally go away but it is reduced significantly to the point where the smell is no longer bothersome to me. Not sure about garlic. Crate and Barrel has them for under $8. Of course I’m not affiliated with them etc. Here is a link: [http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=690&f=2774](http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=690&f=2774) ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-onion-smell-off-of-hands/432977/11 "2008-01-10T14:37:28Z")
I don’t know if it will work for onions, but I wash my hands with table salt after handling smelly stuff like fish and garlic, and that does the trick. Maybe salt absorbs the fish and garlic oil?