Roll the can as far away from your home as possible, and even though it seems like the opposite thing to do, open all the windows and doors and let the place air out. You can wash the curtains, drapes and throw rugs, essentially anything small enough to get in the washer. Also try pinning dryer sheets to the curtains in front of the open windows so the breeze will blow the scent.

Another trick is to set a 5 gallon plastic bucket in middle of the room, and mix a box of baking soda with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. (not all at once, a little at a time) It will foam like crazy, but a chemical reaction created by the bubbles actually neutralizes odors. Might want to lay down an old towel under the bucket in case it happens to bubble over; remember peroxide is a bleach.
I know it's bad now, but just keep telling yourself; this too shall pass.

It has, indeed, subsided somewhat. The can has been moved to the street, and hopefully the trash collectors will not refuse to take it. It's amazing how that scent can linger. Just nasty!

Skunks seem not to be affected by public opinion. Could we learn from them?

Only from a distance! XD

Ok speaking of skunks, anyone know of ways to discourage them?

We live in town, but it's an animal house in here and a jungle out there. To date, we've had raccoons in the trash, squirrels in the attic and also some that dined on our cable connection between house and pole, skunks under the house on a couple of occassions - happily the neighbor trapped some with the help of animal control and we've not had a repeat-, an oppossum that interpreted a door left open to ferry in supplies for massive renovation project as an invitation to move in, other oppossums in the trees peering in windows have startled my daughters and myself. Also a raccoon that sat on the kitchen roof and peered in second story windows, and a coyote skulking about the neighborhood. Oh yeah, and moths large enough for toddlers to ride.

there have been a lot of skunks around here this year. luckily so far my dogs have not run across one. but for a while there was a new dead one in the road almost every mornign on my way to work.

coyotes are bad here too. i live a couple hundred yards from a section of woods that is about 600 acres. and then in the other direction about the same distance is a large canal. during the dry of summer, the coyotes come past my house all the time heading to the canal for water. i have seen them licking the ground under my grill where juices spill out. during the worst times i keep a loaded gun above the back door, though i have not had to shoot one yet. or rather, i have not been able to get a shot off before they leave.

as to getting the smell out of the can, pine sol and water work. open the can and pour a whole bottle in there, being sure to soak the sides as well as the lid. let it soak for a while, then rinse it out with water. done this many times, and it has always worked for me. to prevent a reoccurance, keep the lid tight at all times. if a skunk could get in, then next thing you know raccoons will be moving and stealing food all the time. once they come in, it is hard to get rid of them.

We have 3 large dogs who seem to find any skunks that are within 100 yards of our house :( The last time, one of the kids let them in the house before she realized they had been sprayed. Our house was RANK-- it gagged you. Plus, it was 105 degrees outside so I really didn't want to open the house up.
After booting the dogs outside and bathing them with a solution of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and dish soap (works WONDERS!)and having fresh smelling dogs again, we tackled the house. I read somewhere about using apple cider vinegar. We boiled a pan of it on the stove for 1 hour... the house reeked of vinegar which may not have been any better than the skunk! BUT after the vinegar smell disappeared, so did the skunk smell!!! My MIL stopped by later that afternoon and couldn't smell a thing! I would recommend trying it to anyone that is having a problem!

Yes, skunks are nasty. We had them bad in the burb where I grew up. They loved the grubs in those sod lawns. Vinegar does work to kill the stench BTW.

Some years are worse than ever. If you have a big infestation though, you may want to notify the city. As skunks can carry rabies.

We live in a rural area so we are actually invading the skunks territory. I would be happy if our dogs would quit thinking they are kitties and wanting to play with them!

Our neighbor's dog gets sprayed at least once a year. Once he laid on their deck while he was all covered with spray. It was easy to get the spray off him, not so easy to get it out of the deck wood.

This year we have had more than usual

we live in the country and have skunks around pretty regular. What we have found that works wonders to take away skunk oders away and other nasty oders as well is freshly ground coffee!

Just open up a can of coffee and put it in dishes and distribute around the house and in no time the smell is gone!