Hey Ray: 'Stainless Steel Stink Stoppers'

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Have you ever chopped onions or garlic only to find you can't get rid of the smell, no matter how much you wash your hands? 

If you cook, that could be a problem for you.

The world is full of odors.  Some are better than others.  Obviously, you want to get rid of the bad odors, but sometimes that is easier said than done.

Especially when it comes to certain things like onions, garlic, or even fish.  Those smells seem to linger on your hands for quite some time.

To help with this problem, we are going to explore the science of stink and how to get rid of those lingering smells from your hands.

To understand how to rid your hands of odorous emanations, we need to know what causes the bad smells in the first place. According to the University of Vermont, when you chop or slice things like onions or garlic, they release sulfur-containing amino acids.  The older the onion, the more potent these compounds are. Once they get on your hands, the smells can linger for a long time. 

These compounds can even stay in your mouth after you eat garlic or onions!

The smell will go away over time, but there is a much faster solution: Stainless-steel!

You may have seen something like this. It looks like a bar of soap, but it is just a stainless steel bar. 

So, how does something like this work?

The makers of some of these bars say that stainless steel binds to the sulfur compounds causing those bad smells.  When the stainless steel binds to those compounds, they stay on the bar, helping to remove the smell from your hands.

This allegedly works with fishy smells and gasoline smells, too.

We did try a bar out, and it does seem to work.  

Another important note, you don't necessarily need to purchase a bar.  You can use a stainless steel faucet or even some silverware.

The bar just seems easier to use.

Now, if only we could invent stainless steel gum to use after garlic bread!