Landing on a trophy-sized fish, be it first or last of the day, is a delightful dream of every angler which when realized, fills their chest with a sense of pride and achievement. Like every dream, living this dream also comes with a price but this time in the form of an unpleasant odor lingering on your hands. Being an angler, you’d love to take pride in that stink of success then why remove it? And the answer is, only a fish and a true fishing enthusiast love the fragrance of another fish but others might not share your enthusiasm. That’s why you are here.
After this article, you will have all the effective smell removing methods on your fingertips to get this lingering stench off your hands so that you can stop googling things like “How to Get Fish Smell off Hands” in the first place.
Why Fish Smells in The First Place
Before we answer how to get fish smell off hands, have you ever wondered why do fish smell in the first place? Let’s just answer this mystery first. Fish and other sea creatures have trimethylamine oxide in their tissues to stabilize proteins and maintain body fluids. When a fish dies, bacteria convert this compound into trimethylamine with the help of an oxidative process which gives this pungent and fishy smell. The more time a fish remains out, the more it produces the smell. That’s why the dead fish which is as a bait stinks more than a fresh one.
Remedies to Get Fish Smell off Hands
1. Toothpaste
Toothpaste is made in a way to combat bacteria that decay food and produce ill-smell in your mouth. Just like mouth, it works the same way for your skin too, to remove fish smell from hands. You can also use a combination of toothpaste and baking soda for better results.
How Toothpaste works For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Squeeze a sufficient amount of toothpaste on your hand and massage for a minute or two.
- Rinse your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
- Voila! You have hands with fish smell completely off, after all, toothpaste isn’t just good for your teeth.
- In case of combination with baking soda, mix a generous amount of toothpaste with a bit of baking soda.
- Massage for a minute or two and then wash your hands with soap and warm water.
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2. Ketchup
Using eatables like ketchup to get fish smell off hands might seem a little bit strange but an interesting remedy at the same time. Some anglers use this method and to your surprise here is another fun fact. If unfortunately, you have got sprayed by a skunk, the only way to remove the smell is by taking a tomato sauce bath.
How Ketchup works For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Get a bottle of sauce from your fridge and pour enough amount to cover your hands.
- Massage your hands by rubbing for a moment.
- Wash your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
3. Ground Coffee Beans
Nothing smells more pleasant than the aroma of a fresh cup of coffee. Not only does coffee tastes delicious, but it also works as an odor neutralizer. Although it is an expensive remedy, it works well by absorbing Sulphur containing fish residues that make your hands stink and neutralize them.
How Ground Coffee Beans works For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Get a handful of coffee beans that have not been used yet and grind them to powder as coffee grounds are perfect odor neutralizers.
- Start scrubbing your hands with the grounded coffee beans for a couple of minutes.
- Wash your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
4. Baby Wipes
If you are a parent, you might have been using baby wipes for a long time. They are made in a way to neutralize all types of smells and they also work well for removing the fish smell.
How Baby Wipes Beans works For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Take a few baby wipes out of its packet.
- Clean our hands normally like you do with a towel.
5. Cilantro
If you love to cook, you might have been using cilantro for a long time to flavor your food as it is a strong-smelling herb. But can it be used to remove fish smell from hands? And the answer is yes! It is one of the natural remedies to get fish smell off hands.
How Cilantro works For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Take a handful of cilantro leaves and start scrubbing them on your hands.
- Wash your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
6. Baking Soda
Baking soda is used for various purposes like removing stains, teeth whitening, unclogging sinks, washing clothes, etc., and is considered one of the essentials of every home. Due to its nature of being an amphoteric compound, it also can remove strong odors. That’s why some anglers suggest it to get fish smell off hands.
How Baking Soda For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Mix two tablespoons of baking soda with a small amount of water.
- Massage thoroughly for a couple of minutes.
- Rinse your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
7. Stainless Steel
Stainless steel removes many strong odors naturally and due to this miracle, it has been used to remove strong odors including garlic smell from hands. Fish excretes chemicals like Sulphur and when steel is combined with such chemicals, it neutralizes them hence removing fish smell effectively. You can utilize kitchen utensils like spoons, sink, etc. for this purpose but having a stainless steel bar for this purpose is much better. You can easily grab one from a hardware store.
How Stainless Steel work For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Rub your hands with a sink or massage your hands with a stainless steel bar for a couple of minutes.
- Rinse your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
- Repeat the process if it’s necessary.
8. Salt
Using salt to get the fish smell off hands is one of the old methods a lot of anglers swear by. Salt kills smell-producing bacteria by sucking water out of them. Without water, bacterial proteins cannot work which causes the death of those bacteria. Being old, it is one of the easiest and cheapest remedies to get fish smell off hands.
How Salt work For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Moist your hands so that salt particles easily cling to your hand.
- Scrub your hands for a couple of minutes.
- Rinse your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
9. Saltine Crackers
Being a yummy snack, saltine crackers, at the same time, can also be used to remove the fish smell from hands.
How Saltine Crackers work For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Rinse your hands with a bar of soap and let them dry.
- Take a few saltine crackers out of the box and crush them.
- Rub them on your hands for a couple of minutes and you are good to go.
10. Lemon Juice, Vinegar & Dishwashing Detergents
The use of lemon and vinegar is very common to remove stains and odors. That’s why cleaning supplies use them in their detergents. These goods have their own strong odor and they replace ill-smell with their smell.
How Lemon Juice, Vinegar & Dishwashing Detergents work For to Get the Fish Smell off Hands
- Mix a cup of vinegar with a quarter cup of lemon juice and a few drops of dishwashing liquid.
- Mix thoroughly and let the mixture sit for half an hour.
- Massage for a moment and rinse your hands with a bar of soap and warm water.
- Use moisturizer afterwards, as they dry hands.
- Don’t massage for too long as it could be harmful to your skin.
11. Rubber Gloves
Use rubber gloves to prevent the fish smell from getting on your hands in the first place. You can use dish gloves as well but as they can get bulky, using latex surgical gloves is the best option.
12. GOJO
If you are not in any construction work, you might be hearing this word for the first time. GOJO is an industrial hand cleaner that people in construction use to remove dirt, oil, grease, etc. after work. GOJO has a strong smell. That’s why it is advised to think carefully before using GOJO, as the fish smell will be gone but the GOJO scent might remain for a moment.
13. Hand Sanitizers
Hand sanitizers are one of the easiest options available to remove fish smell from hands. You can easily grab one from a nearby store. Due to the presence of alcohol and other compounds, sanitizers work well in combating the bacteria and the smell. But if you don’t like the smell of sanitizers, then this option might not be suitable for you.
Conclusion
Now you know all of the possible remedies available on how to get fish smell off hands, you might get overwhelmed in their selection. Every described method works very well, it’s just a matter of preference. Choose according to availability and your own preferences and find out what works well for you.
