The smell of fish is something that lingers in the fishing boat, in the kitchen, the pots and pans, in your car, on your hands, in your clothes and anywhere else that is touched by the fish. It is not a pleasant smell for most people. Yes, there are those that say they grew up thinking that fish was supposed to smell like fish, but most find the lingering odor after the fish is long eaten to be very unpleasant.

The smell of fish and fishing really gets some people going; and at the risk of being sexist, it is usually at its most strident when female partners are involved in the discussions. Generally, if you cook fish on the stove top with any kind of oil… either cooking oil (olive/vegetable/canola/peanut and so on) or the fish’s natural oil (fatty fish like salmon or trout)… it will cause fishy cooking odors to linger since the odor gets trapped in the oil droplets that spatter from the pan when you cook over fairly high heat.

In cases like these, try a spatter guard over top of your pan (essentially a large, flat, fine mesh strainer). Won’t entirely do away with the smell issue but should cut it down a bit. You can also avoid high heat stove top preparations; roast or broil in the oven, or poach on the stove top.

The most common fish smell problem though is getting the smell off your hands; best removal method for this is washing with any lemon-scented soap or a mild dose of lemon detergent. Wash your hands one a time, with the hand stretched open and then tightly closed in a fist. This will get rid of fishy stuff in the folds and creases of skin. Liberal use of a nail-brush will get rid of smelly stuff under finger nails which can linger for a while. For a more in depth look at fish smell removal, read on.

There are many more remedies for this fishy dilemma that are professed to work by many people. Come and try them out for yourself.

Fish Smell Removal

* For additional fish smell removal suggestions for your hands, arms and so forth, how about rubbing your stinking hands (or whatever non-sensitive extremity you have) with salt and then washing them with a lemon-scented soap or mild lemon detergent? The salt should add to the soap’s/detergent’s effectiveness. Liberal use of nail brush at this time will also help.

* Wash or clean with a solution of vinegar and water. Indeed, there’s something about vinegar when it comes to odor removal, even though it’s quite odious in its own right.

* Wash or clean with a solution of bleach and water. Chlorine or oxygen bleach will do a good job, but check the label first. Keep in mind that chlorine bleach is good for whites, and oxygen bleach is good for colors that normally could not stand the corrosiveness of chlorine bleach.

* If it is your refrigerator or freezer that’s stinking of fish, empty it and turn it off. Place a container of boiling hot water with a sliced lemon in it. Leave for about an hour. Then make sure all the smelly ice is out of the freezer area and wipe down the walls and shelves with lemon water. Wipe each item thoroughly before replacing in the refrigerator or freezer.

* Also for the refrigerator or freezer, purchase vanilla-scented fridge deodorizer. It is supposed to kill the bacteria so it will put a stop to the odor for good, not just cover it up. This can be found in a good hardware store or supermarket.

* Wash items with baking soda solution. Add 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda to 1 quart of water. Keep baking soda in the refrigerator or freezer where you normally store fish.

* For pots and pans, try brewing some tea for 10-15 minutes. Discard and wash.

* This one might take a while but is highly recommended. If you have had an ice chest fish smell leak in the car, try covering it with newspaper. This can also be used for the freezer problem. It takes a while for the newspaper to absorb the odor but it seems to do so.

* For the microwave, try soaking a wet dish towel with a squirt of dish detergent on it and then place it in the center of the microwave and run the microwave on high for a few minutes. The scented steam will clean it. Then let air for a few minutes.

Fish Smell Removing Products

* For clothes, give them a good soak in NappiSan or any other nappy/diaper soaker. Clothes are best attacked by this deodorizing method.

* For the fishing boat, body, clothes and children try Simple Green. This usually can be found at your local supermarket. Simple Green can also be carried along on your fishing trip to clean the smell and residue of insect repellent and sunscreen from your flies or leaders.

Trout fishermen are well-advised to take a small flask of Simple Green in their fly-fishing vest; it gets rid of the smell and residue of insect repellent and sunscreen; both of which you don’t want on your flies or leaders.

* Zielonka Smell Buster, made in Germany out of special high-grade stainless steel, is another great product. The Smell Buster is supposed to neutralize odors as soon as it comes into contact with air and water, leaving it fresh and clean. Try an Internet search to find out more about it.

* Several companies manufacture a liquid concentrate which sells for about $3.00 for ½ to ¼ ounce. A couple drops are put on a piece of cotton and placed in the area to absorb odors, in the cabinet or in a room.

A couple of brand names for these are: Odor-Away by Wrap-on Co., available at hardware and hospital supply stores and Clean-Air found at some appliance repair shops.

* Hospital supply stores carry Dow Chemical Hospital Disinfectant and Deodorant Spray. Spray into your fish-smelling cabinet and quickly shut the door.

* Many candle places have Kitchen Candles that seem to take the smell out of the air. For a specific brand, you can always try out Bath & Body Works Vanilla Candle. Burn one after cooking fish; it doesn’t overwhelm you nose buds and flavor buds while you’re eating the fish, and it’s a gentle enough scent to not be overpowering in and of itself.

Fish Smell FAQ

* How do you get rid of fish smell before cooking?

If you want to get rid of the fish smell before you cook it, soak the raw fish in a little bit of vinegar and a lot of water. Is should not affect the flavor in any way.

You can also soak the fish in milk for a few hours and it should take the smell away from it when you cook it. It’s not known if this method is dependent on the type of fish or any other conditions though, but it’s worth a try.

* How do you get rid of fish smell while cooking?

While cooking, to reduce the fish smell in the area try heating a little bit of olive oil in a pan and adding cinnamon to it. The fish smell will give way to the sweet cinnamon smell.

* How do you get rid of fish smell after cooking?

For containers… pots and pans or freezer… cut two potatoes and sprinkle some common table salt on it and place in the container for a couple of hours. Then wash thoroughly.

For the kitchen, it’s fairly simple; put out a small bowl of white vinegar on the drainboard when you leave the kitchen. The next day, the fish smell should be long gone.

Hopefully, some (or at least even one) of these viable solutions will work for you to get rid of the fish smell wherever it is a problem for you.