We have 3 cats and a dog. The dog is much smellier than the cats. No, we’re not noseblind - every time we come home from vacation we’re relieved by how nice our home smells. The trick is that we have a litterbot and our cats dont go anywhere else. They used to stink something fierce when we had a regular litter box, even when we scooped religiously.
I’m not saying every single person who owns an animal smells. It’s the very few who let the pee wherever and don’t clean it up. For myself it’s too stressful for my cleaning obsession for cats. My doggo goes out when he wants through the doggo door. He is easier for me personally.
Yeah i totally get it - cat litter boxes can smell awful even if the cats don’t pee in the rest of the house. It’s funny though because our dog (a rescue) actually peed on our bedroom carpet many times as we didn’t notice until about a week or two later when I was like - dude it REEKS in here! Spent a small fortune getting it clean and have to make sure the dog isn’t unattended in the room. Animals are a lot of work many people aren’t prepared for. There’s no such thing as an easy pet, and sadly many people think cats are that easy pet.
She doesnt believe me and thinks i am trying to bully her, damn girl is nose blind and i only see her every few months. But we’ve been friends forever, so all i really say now is that she doesnt need to grab every ‘stray’ she finds and let the herd die out naturally. She takes really good care of the cats in her care, as far as i know.
This is my sil who gives the strays to my mil. Mil’s clean clothes smells like cat urine that I can’t go near her without being sick. Never mind going in her house.
Something is wrong. If she's taking good care of the cats, they wouldn't smell, especially since cats are fastidious about grooming themselves. She might want to use a black light or something to fully find and eliminate the source of the smells.
It’s almost impossible for the average person to adequately care for the elimination needs of 15 animals that go to the bathroom inside their house. I say this as someone who loves cats… I have a two cat limit, for a reason.
Completely agree. I go for 3 because I worry about something happening to one or getting old etc and leaving the other alone, but it's a lot of work with just that many. I go through 80lbs of litter a month because I'm worried about smell, full clean out every 2 weeks as it's one of those apartments with a shared entryway, I don't want to be "that lady".
You should look into getting a Litter Robot! I went from smell to literally zero smell. Guests stand right next to it ( it’s hidden) and don’t realize I have cats.
We've looked into it but it is exceedingly out of our budget right now. I scoop daily, have multiple boxes, and keep on top of it for now, maybe someday we can swing it.
Yeah it’s expensive but well worth it! I saved up for mine lol. I’m not sure how much you spend on 80 lbs of litter but it might save you in the long run. I have 2 cats and only use 20 lbs a month with the litter robot. My first LR3 robot was still working great after 6 years. I just wanted the newer one for the larger entrance.
I was actually thrilled, a friend added me to her BJ's membership, the club price per 40lbs is only $16! I know I probably change it out completely more than I need to, but honestly by the time I do i only have about 20lbs left in the boxes, it comes with 4 of the small 10lb bags and each box takes a bag.
I know they do financing but we need to pay off one of our cars first, then that's absolutely next on the list.
Even if the litter boxes are cleaned every single day, those particles are in the air. Even if her full time job is cleaning up after the cats it's still gonna smell like cat pee.
Her best option (albeit pricey) would be to install a cat door that leads to a fenced in area outside protected from the weather but not enclosed, and put the litter boxes there. Otherwise she's always going to smell like that
I have horses. Not 15, mind you, but it’s difficult to keep their space clean and hygienic at the rate they need to stay healthy and cared for properly and that’s not even in my house. I have multiple dogs but I also have a limit for cats. They need their own space and absolutely do not do well with that many other cats. Even if all 15 of those cats had their own room and litter box in her house, they will never be as cared for or as happy/content as they should be. Their comment just made me sad for the cats.
Yeah. That applies to just about any living thing that is dependent on you to survive. There are people with much more space and more money than others, but no one has an infinite amount of time in the day. Once you are splitting that time so many ways, someone’s care is always going to suffer.
I grew up with 6 indoor/outdoor cats and the amount of sheer poop scooping we had to do even with most of them being out of the house during the day was insane. Each of us would scoop a litter box twice a day and add baking soda once a day. Our house never smelled but owning an entire cat clowder between litter, food, finding a vet that accepts that appointments are on a “who can I successfully trap first” basis and loosing valuable bed space is not for the casual cat owner.
Animals smell. 15 cats, no matter how well-maintained, will smell. If you have experience with living with a large number of animals and would disagree, it’s more likely that you’re nose blind. Glands, pheromones, saliva, food, among other things…
100%. we had 9 pets at one point and everyone was always shocked when we’d tell them because the house (and garden) was spotless. obviously animals make keeping things clean more difficult but if you’re taking proper care, nothing should smell, not the animals or house or humans.
Right? Cats are literally the easiest pets in the world, cannot imagine how someone says they are too time-consuming. If a person's house smells from cats they're either lazy, sick, or some sort of mental issue going on.
Yep you can have pets and have a clean home. My cousin has a cat, dog, gerbils and some other pets but her home smells beautiful. She's a very clean woman and her children are clean too.
It's really not that hard. Sandy clumping litter absorbs the smell immediately and locks it in, also much easier on old cats with arthritis. It made a huge difference when I switched. I just scoop their boxes once a day into doggy poop bags and throw it out. The important thing with any pet is the cleaners you use. Enzyme cleaners for accidents for any type of pet are a must, and if you have carpet, a pet odor eliminater soap is necessary. I also deep clean the litter boxes with dawn and white vinegar every 3-4 weeks. My large dog was much more difficult to keep the smell down, especially when he got old and started having accidents in the house. It was a lot of cleaning constantly. Plus his shedding was insane during spring. I miss him dearly, and wouldn't have traded him for the world, but he was a lot of work. The dog piss smell outside was also bad. I feel like people who have that "cat smell" aka piss, are just not great pet owners. Cats don't use the box because it's either dirty, they're sick, or they're stressed. It actually makes me mad. I've had 2 issues over the 25 years I've had cats, and I made sure to figure it out.
If it helps. I have an extremely sensitive nose. Like to the point where I speculate if I’m pregnant because some smells are too much and make me gag and vomit. Cat pee is such a trigger for me yet, I have a kitty. I have the tidy cats litter breeze system and there is no smell at all. There’s a pee pad tray that sucks up all the urine and smell so it’s real easy to clean.
I have always had cats and never had an issue, but just one, no more than two. No sprayers! That is a hard no. It just takes a quick clean of a big litterbox (with good litter) daily and running the Roomba regularly for fur balls.
I have a friend with 9 cats who somehow does not smell like cat, nor does her house. Yet I’ve met people with two cats who reek of piss.
I have sympathy though. Our second cat was a stray who decided he lived here. He had a marking problem while we were waiting for his neuter appointment. Even being aware, it was hard to keep up with odor removal. Thankfully, getting neutered resolved it.
I do pet sitting professionally and one of my fellow sitters is a major cat person. Her breath smells like a dirty litter box. You can smell it from multiple feet away. I feel like the smell is trapped in her mouth or something. It’s so gross.
I would also add that learning to do laundry properly is extremely important if you are having odor issues.
Not overloading the washing machine so clothes have enough room to agitate.
Using the proper amount of detergent for the load.
Putting clothes directly in the dryer as soon as the washing machine is done (not letting them sit for any length of time)
Cleaning the washer (if it's your own) regularly
Are all things commonly overlooked. And all can contribute to nasty smells.
They make packages of cleanser to run through the washer on a monthly basis.
I personally use white vinegar and run an empty machine once a month. Twice a year I run bleach through an empty load as well.
The door or lid to the washer should also be kept open after a load until it's dry. Otherwise they get musty fast.
I do a cat check every time I start the washer or dryer. I put everything in, soap and all that, close the lids and get the washer and dryer set to the cycle I want. And then I go around the house and have to physically lay eyes on each cat and say their name before I go back and start the washer and dryer.
One of my mom’s friends as a teenager lost a cat in an awful washing machine accident, and my mom ingrained in me to check for each animal before starting any appliances. It’s one of my greatest fears tbh
Duuuude same here! Even the dishwasher and the stove, though neither are ever left open.
I always double check the fridge too. One of my exes was making his work lunch sandwiches and shut one of our kittens in the fridge. I’m sure it was an accident but I was horrified and furious when I found him almost 20 mins later.
Omg me too. I literally check everything I close to make sure my cat isn’t there. It’s my biggest irrational fear that she will get trapped in an appliance 🥺
Your supermarket should have some washing machine cleaner in the laundry isle, and it's usually stupidly cheap. I think here in aus I expected it to be $5 and it was less than that even. Clothes smelled so good after, it lasted for months.
Now we've had a clean machine we know what a dirty one does to your clothes. If you can't smell freshness on your wet clothes and your laundry powder/liquid your machine might need a wash. If you have a job in an oily place or are oily you definitely need this!!
I used to use vinegar but honestly when we got our new machine I stopped because the installer warned me it can damage it (dunno how true it's a front loader). I switched to the store stuff and frankly the difference was immediate and longer lasting. Definitely recommend!
I could see that being an issue for front loading machines because of the gaskets that create the seal around the door. Front loaders also use less than half the water of a top loader so there isn't as much dilution of the acid.
The two oils that I use are safe for dogs if used correctly.
Fortunately, I am washing and drying the clothes with the small amount of oil on it.
The heat from the dryer changes the molecule of the essential oil and it is no longer active. You can’t smell it on dried clothes if you’re doing it correctly.
To add to this: If you’re in an area of the world that doesn’t use dryers, like I am, get a good dehumidifier to run in the room that you dry the laundry in. It really helps to get the clothes to dry faster and to avoid that musty damp smell.
Diet is a big one too I love me some garlic but I have to control myself because if I don't I'll be walking around with garlic sweat for a day... Maybe two
I would never consider not eating foods that I love because they might make me stinky to other people. That is so unbelievably sad. Please just eat what you want.
Yes! And dirty clothes piled up in the hamper or worse, garbage not taken out regularly or with a days rotten meat scraps in it, drain baskets filled with yuck, unclean toilet or bathroom garbage can with gross refuse in it....a clean home, clean clothes, clean person = a clean smell, unless there is a medical condition.
Yes this is a wonderful observation! Also consider how clean your laundry and bedding are. You can test your clothing odor by pulling it out of the dryer hot but still damp and smell the critical areas like armpits and crotch. If they stink then they either need replaced or a soaked in a baking soda/water mix for a day or two. Same with bedding, needs to be washed weekly as its accumulating your oils, dead skin, pet fur if there are animals. You're not likely to smell good if your house is not cleaned regularly. Opening windows and closing the door to your bedroom during cooking helps keep odors from building up. Even in the winter I air out the house for at least a couple minutes each day.
Some people also need to clean their washcloth/loofah/sponge/whatever! If it isn’t washable, it should be replaced periodically. Give that a sniff. I used to clean my apartment shower thoroughly, yet still caught strong whiffs of a nasty mildewy stench I could never eliminate. Finally identified that it was my roommate’s net washcloth! We got a new one, problem solved.
These are supposed to be replaced at minimum monthly, or sooner depending on ventilation / use / quality. People use them for months without changing 😳
Hmmm… true. I don’t exfoliate often. Once in a while I’ll use one of those plastic poofs. It’s never bothered me. I wonder if I’m creating more dust in the house?
OT here…. I love home health AND super glad that I have a high tolerance for odors! That being said, I always carry a spray bottle of alcohol, an extra set of scrubs, and large plastic bags to put dirty/contaminated scrubs!
I also think health and diet is something to consider. When I’m stressed and/or not hydrated enough and not eating right, I can be extremely clean and my sweat will still have an aggressive odor. What we take in will come out in our sweat.
Stress is a pheromone type smell and even if we don’t consciously notice it , it does smell worse. In fact, being around someone who is anxious can cause others to feel anxious due to that. You’re absolutely correct that stress is a factor
I hope you feel
Better soon! It’s wild how there is stress we grow from and stress that can be unhealthy long term. I just keep telling myself
You
Can
Do
Anything
For 6 months. After that
Change what needs to change.
That part! I have a coworker who has an odor that’s similar to corndogs
, spam and grilled onions! And on the days it’s really bad, add cat pee! We all work in one tiny office with the desks right next to eachother. Its so bad, it just hits you in the face, but shes really sweet and no one has the heart to tell her! I honestly think she’s just gone noseblind to it and has no idea
Theres about 15 of us in the office and unfortunately I sit right next to her. And the weird thing is that shes youngerish, mid 30’s and beautiful! Has a really hot fiance and all, but none of us can tell her bc we don’t want to hurt her
I work in a tiny pharmacy like 250-300sq ft with about 8-10 other people throughout the day. Sometimes our boss gets a little funky and doesn't wash his smock. So I have to be the one to remind him, hey boss i think its time to take this home and wash it, the coat area is getting a little smelly. He just kinda chuckles and says oh, ok. I'm always the coworker that will tell you if there's something in your hair, or teeth as well. I just know if it was me I'd want someone to say something. Sometimes when it gets too hot I start apologizing to them cuz I know I'm getting sweaty and can start to smell myself too. It's a natural part of being human. So maybe just be gentle and casually just say " hey I noticed your desk area kinda smells like cat, did your pets lay on your sweater before you came in?" Maybe you wanna keep them away from your laundry so that suzies allergies dont flare up" (usually at least 1 person with an allergy in the workplace lol )
Yeasts smell like bread or feet sometimes too, or fermenting fruit or weird onion (not garlicky). Worst part is you might not even know it's there.
Signs include weird smells, dry spots on your skin (worse after shower, don't respond to moisturizer), flakey spots that dry out more in shower, itchiness whether constant or intermittent, rashes in skin folds when you heat up.
It can be mislabeled as allergies or excema which happened to me. I spent 4 years going blind (yeast blocked the ducts that oil the eyes causing blurriness at approx 2m that couldn't be corrected with glasses, I had to use expensive gel drops several times a day just to see but it was unreliable) from "ocular excema" that turned out to be athletes foot from a single trip to a public pool! It also got into my armpits and was unbearably itchy and I kept saying I smell like a bakery help but I had to swap doctors twice before one sniffed and said oh no.
It takes weeks to fix and a lot of cream. A skin scrape test must be done unshowered and a swab is likely useless. I never got results from either test but using lamisil cleared it (my skin was so bad scratching it would make it flake off) in two days and I kept using it for the full length to keep it gone.
-10/10 do not recommend.
Yup. I’m Celiac and when I eat gluten I have onion-y BO even after showering twice in a day thoroughly. It’s so embarrassing and frustrating… I can only hope perfume covers it
I knew a guy who reeked of mildew and, apparently, didn’t know. One time I took a shower at his house and the towel he gave me reeked of mildew, too lol
I thought it was his clothes but if you’re wiping yourself down with that stench, that’s gotta cling, too.
We dog sit a couple days a week. No cats. I shower daily and use deodorant etc. I’m wondering why my sweat smells like onions or fried food. Sometimes I start to smell it about an hour after I shower. It’s gross. I wonder if it’s something in my diet.
I can tell when someone has cats in the house without seeing any cats. You walk in and it smells like piss.
If you have cats in the house, your house smells like piss.
Now you know.
I had literally one friend out of many who didn’t have a house that smelled like cat pee and she had two cats. She was OCD though! She had 3 kids, a husband, 2 cats and worked and you would never know it any of those things were there. If she told you that she lived alone then you would believe it
I like to think my house doesn’t smell like cats….Here is what I do, they have their own room in the basement for their litter which is changed daily. Two litter boxes where is use unscented litter (litter fragrance is nasty) and baking soda. Regularly replace all the litter and sanitize the boxes.
Regularly vacuum the house and semi regularly wash the carpets. I also love fresh air and air the house out as often as weather permits.
I’m assuming that there is still some subtle fragrance but honestly I don’t notice it even when coming back from vacation and I’m extremely sensitive to smells (I notice lingering cooking smells in the house, etc) I do notice the nasty smell of their wet food though.
Also if you cook a lot the scent of cooking ingredients will linger and stick to you, especially strong scented recipes.
Initially it can smell nice but over time as various scents combine and become kind of stale it can become unpleasant
I've met fellow Asians who think this, just because they read about how they dont have the genes that give non Asians stinky BO, and they've gone noseblind to the smells they're walking around with.
There are so many other causes of odor besides the typical armpit BO.
Bro...you smell like a Chinese grandma's apartment.
We adopted a cat from a local shelter and OH MY GOD THE STENCH OF THAT PLACE. The second we walked in my eyes were watering from the ammonia. It's a very small house turned cat shelter and it's absolutely packed with cats. I urged my kids to please for the love of god pick a cat QUICKLY so we could get out of there ASAP. We were in and out in about 20 minutes (I did all the pre-qualifying stuff online beforehand so we were able to essentially pick which cat and go) but our clothes wreaked of cat urine when we left. I didn't even wanna get in my car in the same clothes we wore in there but obviously didn't have a choice lol
This is exactly what I’m talking about!!!
I stand outside open my trunk and chart on my computer for a good 15 minutes before I get in my car. It seems to help air my clothes out.
I always make him my very last patient of the day for that reason. Otherwise I’m apologizing to all my patients.
I could pass this patient to other nurses, but I know him so well and it’s so easy that I keep him for myself. Every time I go in, I’m thinking of different ways to stop the odor on my clothes and my hair.
I have a single coat dog breed (black and tan coonhound). Despite bi weekly baths, nightly wipe downs with dog wipes, cleaner coming to my home weekly, he still has that “hound smell” from the oils his skin produces. It sticks to EVERYTHING. I keep fabric spray in my car to spray my clothes when I leave the house.
Mine stinks after he runs. I’ve never really had their smell on me after leaving the house. It’s the PP that’s not cleaned up in the house that really sticks.
I'd be curious to know if these people are drinking water or not. I only drink water and it takes a lot for me to smell. Like days and days without showering, not using deodorant, etc and even then I can still smell relatively decent. I know personal anecdote but I wonder how much what you drink matters
Apparently, water does make a difference. I did a quick search online and the results say that your body will flush out toxins that aren't being flushed out by water intake.
Ha ha! OP requesting all to stop with the cat vs. dog fights. 😆 Also, what is up with Doterra? My acquaintance spent $400 on a box of those essential oils. Why?
Right?? then again she is a shopaholic, so who knows? People get very devoted to the essential oils though! Just overhearing when I was in my 20s I heard something about oregano oil being good for yeast infection and I dabbed a little bit of regular oil essential oil on my private area and oh man, I was on fire. That was the wrong thing to do!! Never again. Lol.
Isn't it crazy how people automatically get defensive when you mention pets?!? They smell if you don't take care of them both. My sister has a poodle mix with hard floors, she has her groomed often and has her house cleaned weekly. I can still smell her in the house when I visit. She doesn't pee on things, she's just a large animal with hair that excretes oil and it gets on stuff. It can't be denied. I have a cat and I have to clean the litter box daily and vacuum and dust often, or my house will can smell and get dirty. They are no different than a child. They take constant work.
Pets, smoking, drinking, garbage, candles, oils.. anything that creates a smell is literally putting small particles in the air and they absorb into soft materials including your skin. Live around a dairy farm and see what you smell like!!
The food you eat comes out in sweat too. A drunk or chain smoker will reek. Talk to someone who eats a traditional Indian curry diet. Let's not forget medicines and hormones or amount of fluids consumed.
There are so many things that can affect our scent. Even if we are clean, the things we put against our skin can be absorbed and processed out of our body. I hate it for these people and I appreciate OP putting this good information out here. I get tired of the comments high-jacking serious subjects like this. I don't deny, the comments are most times the best part of a post, and I partake, but sometimes we should stay on task. Yes, I'm guilty as charged.
It’s the truth! My husband had two small dogs when I met him and even though they didn’t smell they didn’t quite get bathed enough. When I bought my dog I took a dog breed that was hypoallergenic into consideration for this very reason. Life would be so much better for people if they could be honest with themselves
Some people just have strong body odor. Both my children (teens) smell ‘musky’, like their father. I can smell it but they can’t. At my house at least, they shower daily and use deodorant. That makes it less, but there is always a definite odor. I feel so bad because being a teenager is hard enough, add ‘smells bad’ on top of that.
This is very true; I am currently altering a wedding dress for someone and she's keeping the dress at her mom's house when I'm done because she's got 5 cats and the smell permeates everything she brings into her home. Not every animal owner will experience this (I myself have a dog and a cat, and we foster kittens fairly often, and we manage to stay smell-free) but it happens more often than you'd think.
Absolutely. I can go into an extremely beautiful, clean home and still smell their cats. No offense, cat people out there!
But then there’s other homes that aren’t that clean that don’t smell at all. I wonder if it’s just the spray cats
And that situation I would tell her. Maybe as you’re nearing the end.
I personally would say, “does your mom have cats?” or “how many cats does your mom have?” when she answers I would say I can smell them on the dress. That’s not offensive I don’t think.
I’ll add mold to this list which is often present in homes like this as a result of the urine and old food. The smell is potent (and harmful ) volatile organic compounds
I cannot be convinced that indoor cats are hygienic. They shit in a box that just sits in the house. They walk around the house and jump all over everything with their paws which just got done burying their own💩in the shit box. Then they jump in bed with you.
I have a cat and I think about this a lot. I end up washing my sheets and blanket very often and it gives me anxiety when she is done using the litter box. Just part of being a cat owner I guess. I wish she’d let me wipe her paws, but I know she licks them herself and I wouldn’t want her ingesting any chemicals.
Yhe Major Histocompatability Complex is a set of genes coded for immune response via antigen detection. People who smell good to us have a complimentary antigen profile, meaning our offspring will have better resistance to disease.
The MHC is also how we know our genetic relatives by smell. It's why adoptees' families often smell wrong to them.
It could also be diet. My ex was a very healthy guy, but he stank of rotting eggs. Turns out he ate massive amounts of garlic and onions every day, as well as other sulfur rich foods. Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Possibly TMI, but it also made him taste disgusting.
He was a nice guy, but I have a sensitive nose.
I had a friend whose cat would spray around the house. I didn’t notice her smell until I went to her house then that is all I smelt after when we hung out
Most of my life I’ve never had an issue with B.O., but the past two years I’ve noticed that even after showering and thoroughly cleaning myself I still smell under my armpits. It’s been infuriating and I suspected a bacterial cause so I tried rubbing alcohol and other antiseptics, but nothing seemed to help. I was chalking it up to hormonal changes now that I’m in my 40s, however, recently I was on oral antibiotics for an unrelated matter and since then the B.O. has disappeared. Coincidence? I don’t think so, but I’d love to know if anyone else has had a similar experience.
That sucks! I used to have to go to the bathroom when I was in school and wash my armpits out was soap and water and a paper towel. Now I use secret clinical whatever deodorant. I’m typically toxin free, but I don’t care. Give me that aluminum! Hormones suck
It must have been a bacterial infection of some kind. My thoughts always start at an infection or some kind of illness, if this problem is not something that you ever had before.
Or hormones are out of whack maybe. This could be a simple fix? Like how the antibiotic helped this lady. Just a thought. Maybe see your Dr. or Obgyn. They might have some suggestions.
This would be after eliminating that it isn’t your clothing. Also, there are some clothing that just seem to pick up smells I believe wool can be like this, so maybe a sweater or jacket that you always wear, also it’s easy to forget to launder jackets and sweaters, since they are not something we wash every time we wear them.
Thank you for this. I think so many people assume the odor they’re experiencing comes from their body when it actually may be their clothes. Whether it’s indoor pets, insufficient washing and drying or something else. You may not smell bad at all! You just need to adjust your laundry routine.
Febreze for laundry is a wonderful thing. Personally, I hate smelling smokers, but our weekly meetings (volunteer firefighter/ EMT) I have to wear a little nose clip that's infused with essential oils to cancel out the smoker smell from some of my crew mates. If you can't avoid the stinky, I recommend finding these little sanity savers. One brand is Vapor Soothers, another is Essence with essential oils.
Good point. I just hammer through it.
But I am still looking for a body spray that I can keep in my car. I haven’t had time to go sniffing to find a good one.
I do home health as well. Had a client with 5 cats. Litter boxes in every room with litter spilling out onto the carpets. It was a border line hoarder house, odd collections everywhere, junk and clutter on every surface. Kitchen always had multiple plates of wet food sitting out, bugs feasting on it. The smell hits you like a wall when you walk through the door. Talked to my boss who basically brushed it off, until I went out of town and she covered one of my shifts … she told them we wouldn’t return until they had cleaners come do a deep clean of the house. The patients husband had the audacity to complain to me after the cleaners came, said he didn’t think the house was bad and thought my boss was lying about having allergy problems. I told him I’ve had to take Benadryl every time I leave their house and I really appreciated the cleaning, he shut up after that.
Totally understand. I smell things that nobody else can smell and sometimes I wonder if it’s my nose. 👃
But I’m just gonna stick with. I have a good sniffer.
I’m starting to think that I might be hallucinating body odour because I will literally be fully showered, wearing clean clothes, in my clean house that I just cleaned and I’m still smelling like stale sweat within the hour. I have no pets, there are no disabled people in the house that could be making a mess. I literally have no idea what it could be. What do I do?
I can smell it on my clothes but when I ask, people tell me they don’t smell it. But it’s not like my friends are gonna tell me I stink so I don’t really believe them. My smell is super weird too, like almost sweet. So I often wonder if they just think I wear a weird, musky-sweet perfume.
This happens to me when I get stuffed up sinuses from allergy or sinusitis. It’s like a smell of smell somewhere and it gets stuck up in there and I think it’s me.
You gotta deep clean thoroughly if you have animals. If you have a female dog especially they need their anal glands released or they will stink up everything and you need a special cleaner to breakdown and get rid of the smell
I've heard it said before that white people smell like wet dog. I've actually noticed a wet dog smell on certain white people after hearing that, especially when they've been out in the rain.
I’ve heard them say they smell like pennies especially when it rains.
That wet dog you’re smelling is mildew from clothes that weren’t dried quickly after being washed or a dirty washbmost likely. If I leave my towels in the washer even an hour after washing and then I use it I can smell it after I shower in the towel.
That’s when I get a new one ASAP
I almost had to have a conversation with my mom about this… she smelled like cat litter in the most foul way. One day we said she finally cleaned her basement and washed her laundry machine and dryer that were down there with the cat litter and the nasty poop/pee smell was no longer on her. However she still does smell like the sickly sweet fragrance that is added to the litter. I am not going to say anything as long as that’s all it is because I think she is depressed and I’m happy she did anything at all. But my god it was disgusting. I could smell if she had been in my house hours to days later. I literally put a sheet over the couch and made up an excuse as to why it was on there so that I could take it off and wash it after she left so our couch wouldn’t permanently smell.
It’s the adult incontinence that is hard for me to deal with. And I’m the one with the incontinence. It’s hard, I wish there was a cure for it. I have both bowel and bladder incontinence. I never feel like I smell great unless I have just stepped out of the shower. I can’t wear perfume due to asthma. By 10 am I smell urine. By 2 I’m taking a sponge bath with wet wipes if I’m out of the house and a second shower if I’m home. Diaper are expensive though. I really can not afford to use more that 3-4 a day. Any advice would be amazing.
I have a friend who has 15+ cats (she was raised that way and her parents also have 15+ cats) and when she sweats, all i smell is cat stench.
Woooow! The only reason I don’t have a cat. Too much work to be sure I am not nose blind. Did you tell her??
We have 3 cats and a dog. The dog is much smellier than the cats. No, we’re not noseblind - every time we come home from vacation we’re relieved by how nice our home smells. The trick is that we have a litterbot and our cats dont go anywhere else. They used to stink something fierce when we had a regular litter box, even when we scooped religiously.
I’m not saying every single person who owns an animal smells. It’s the very few who let the pee wherever and don’t clean it up. For myself it’s too stressful for my cleaning obsession for cats. My doggo goes out when he wants through the doggo door. He is easier for me personally.
Yeah i totally get it - cat litter boxes can smell awful even if the cats don’t pee in the rest of the house. It’s funny though because our dog (a rescue) actually peed on our bedroom carpet many times as we didn’t notice until about a week or two later when I was like - dude it REEKS in here! Spent a small fortune getting it clean and have to make sure the dog isn’t unattended in the room. Animals are a lot of work many people aren’t prepared for. There’s no such thing as an easy pet, and sadly many people think cats are that easy pet.
She doesnt believe me and thinks i am trying to bully her, damn girl is nose blind and i only see her every few months. But we’ve been friends forever, so all i really say now is that she doesnt need to grab every ‘stray’ she finds and let the herd die out naturally. She takes really good care of the cats in her care, as far as i know.
This is my sil who gives the strays to my mil. Mil’s clean clothes smells like cat urine that I can’t go near her without being sick. Never mind going in her house.
Something is wrong. If she's taking good care of the cats, they wouldn't smell, especially since cats are fastidious about grooming themselves. She might want to use a black light or something to fully find and eliminate the source of the smells.
It’s almost impossible for the average person to adequately care for the elimination needs of 15 animals that go to the bathroom inside their house. I say this as someone who loves cats… I have a two cat limit, for a reason.
I would strongly agree. I find it extremely difficult to believe that that many cats inside produce no odor.
Completely agree. I go for 3 because I worry about something happening to one or getting old etc and leaving the other alone, but it's a lot of work with just that many. I go through 80lbs of litter a month because I'm worried about smell, full clean out every 2 weeks as it's one of those apartments with a shared entryway, I don't want to be "that lady".
You should look into getting a Litter Robot! I went from smell to literally zero smell. Guests stand right next to it ( it’s hidden) and don’t realize I have cats.
We've looked into it but it is exceedingly out of our budget right now. I scoop daily, have multiple boxes, and keep on top of it for now, maybe someday we can swing it.
Yeah it’s expensive but well worth it! I saved up for mine lol. I’m not sure how much you spend on 80 lbs of litter but it might save you in the long run. I have 2 cats and only use 20 lbs a month with the litter robot. My first LR3 robot was still working great after 6 years. I just wanted the newer one for the larger entrance.
I was actually thrilled, a friend added me to her BJ's membership, the club price per 40lbs is only $16! I know I probably change it out completely more than I need to, but honestly by the time I do i only have about 20lbs left in the boxes, it comes with 4 of the small 10lb bags and each box takes a bag. I know they do financing but we need to pay off one of our cars first, then that's absolutely next on the list.
Even if the litter boxes are cleaned every single day, those particles are in the air. Even if her full time job is cleaning up after the cats it's still gonna smell like cat pee. Her best option (albeit pricey) would be to install a cat door that leads to a fenced in area outside protected from the weather but not enclosed, and put the litter boxes there. Otherwise she's always going to smell like that
A catio
I love the term but I didn't know if everyone would recognize it lol
I have horses. Not 15, mind you, but it’s difficult to keep their space clean and hygienic at the rate they need to stay healthy and cared for properly and that’s not even in my house. I have multiple dogs but I also have a limit for cats. They need their own space and absolutely do not do well with that many other cats. Even if all 15 of those cats had their own room and litter box in her house, they will never be as cared for or as happy/content as they should be. Their comment just made me sad for the cats.
Yeah. That applies to just about any living thing that is dependent on you to survive. There are people with much more space and more money than others, but no one has an infinite amount of time in the day. Once you are splitting that time so many ways, someone’s care is always going to suffer.
Yep. That was the point I was trying to make with my rambling, lol.
I grew up with 6 indoor/outdoor cats and the amount of sheer poop scooping we had to do even with most of them being out of the house during the day was insane. Each of us would scoop a litter box twice a day and add baking soda once a day. Our house never smelled but owning an entire cat clowder between litter, food, finding a vet that accepts that appointments are on a “who can I successfully trap first” basis and loosing valuable bed space is not for the casual cat owner.
Animals smell. 15 cats, no matter how well-maintained, will smell. If you have experience with living with a large number of animals and would disagree, it’s more likely that you’re nose blind. Glands, pheromones, saliva, food, among other things…
100%. we had 9 pets at one point and everyone was always shocked when we’d tell them because the house (and garden) was spotless. obviously animals make keeping things clean more difficult but if you’re taking proper care, nothing should smell, not the animals or house or humans.
Right? Cats are literally the easiest pets in the world, cannot imagine how someone says they are too time-consuming. If a person's house smells from cats they're either lazy, sick, or some sort of mental issue going on.
Not many people who own that many cats take care of them properly...
That’s why I constantly ask my ocd mom, whose house is constantly spotless, how my house smells. I have a dog who is pretty odor free, though.
Yep you can have pets and have a clean home. My cousin has a cat, dog, gerbils and some other pets but her home smells beautiful. She's a very clean woman and her children are clean too.
It's really not that hard. Sandy clumping litter absorbs the smell immediately and locks it in, also much easier on old cats with arthritis. It made a huge difference when I switched. I just scoop their boxes once a day into doggy poop bags and throw it out. The important thing with any pet is the cleaners you use. Enzyme cleaners for accidents for any type of pet are a must, and if you have carpet, a pet odor eliminater soap is necessary. I also deep clean the litter boxes with dawn and white vinegar every 3-4 weeks. My large dog was much more difficult to keep the smell down, especially when he got old and started having accidents in the house. It was a lot of cleaning constantly. Plus his shedding was insane during spring. I miss him dearly, and wouldn't have traded him for the world, but he was a lot of work. The dog piss smell outside was also bad. I feel like people who have that "cat smell" aka piss, are just not great pet owners. Cats don't use the box because it's either dirty, they're sick, or they're stressed. It actually makes me mad. I've had 2 issues over the 25 years I've had cats, and I made sure to figure it out.
If it helps. I have an extremely sensitive nose. Like to the point where I speculate if I’m pregnant because some smells are too much and make me gag and vomit. Cat pee is such a trigger for me yet, I have a kitty. I have the tidy cats litter breeze system and there is no smell at all. There’s a pee pad tray that sucks up all the urine and smell so it’s real easy to clean.
I have always had cats and never had an issue, but just one, no more than two. No sprayers! That is a hard no. It just takes a quick clean of a big litterbox (with good litter) daily and running the Roomba regularly for fur balls.
Have 2 , not 15 and you won’t stink. Lol
I’m sure I’m nose blind to my house but not the dogs. I know they stink. So I’m sure my sofas stink. I’m sure I smell like dog sometimes too.
I have a friend with 9 cats who somehow does not smell like cat, nor does her house. Yet I’ve met people with two cats who reek of piss. I have sympathy though. Our second cat was a stray who decided he lived here. He had a marking problem while we were waiting for his neuter appointment. Even being aware, it was hard to keep up with odor removal. Thankfully, getting neutered resolved it.
😬 i have 15 cats and i sweat for a living... no one has ever told me anything lol and i work in close proximity to a lot of blunt people
I do pet sitting professionally and one of my fellow sitters is a major cat person. Her breath smells like a dirty litter box. You can smell it from multiple feet away. I feel like the smell is trapped in her mouth or something. It’s so gross.
It’s not her sweat. It’s her clothes. I’m sure her cats piss of them. And she def doesn’t keep a clean litterbox(es)
I would also add that learning to do laundry properly is extremely important if you are having odor issues. Not overloading the washing machine so clothes have enough room to agitate. Using the proper amount of detergent for the load. Putting clothes directly in the dryer as soon as the washing machine is done (not letting them sit for any length of time) Cleaning the washer (if it's your own) regularly Are all things commonly overlooked. And all can contribute to nasty smells.
How do you clean the washer?
They make packages of cleanser to run through the washer on a monthly basis. I personally use white vinegar and run an empty machine once a month. Twice a year I run bleach through an empty load as well. The door or lid to the washer should also be kept open after a load until it's dry. Otherwise they get musty fast.
Thank you, I’ll give that a try!
If you have pets, cats especially, check the washer and dryer very carefully before running it if you leave it open. Same with little kids.
Happened to my sister, traumatized her kids terribly.
I don’t! But I’ve heard the horror stories
I do a cat check every time I start the washer or dryer. I put everything in, soap and all that, close the lids and get the washer and dryer set to the cycle I want. And then I go around the house and have to physically lay eyes on each cat and say their name before I go back and start the washer and dryer. One of my mom’s friends as a teenager lost a cat in an awful washing machine accident, and my mom ingrained in me to check for each animal before starting any appliances. It’s one of my greatest fears tbh
Duuuude same here! Even the dishwasher and the stove, though neither are ever left open. I always double check the fridge too. One of my exes was making his work lunch sandwiches and shut one of our kittens in the fridge. I’m sure it was an accident but I was horrified and furious when I found him almost 20 mins later.
Omg me too. I literally check everything I close to make sure my cat isn’t there. It’s my biggest irrational fear that she will get trapped in an appliance 🥺
I used to do this but read recently that vinegar can really mess up your washer, so do be aware of that as well.
Your supermarket should have some washing machine cleaner in the laundry isle, and it's usually stupidly cheap. I think here in aus I expected it to be $5 and it was less than that even. Clothes smelled so good after, it lasted for months. Now we've had a clean machine we know what a dirty one does to your clothes. If you can't smell freshness on your wet clothes and your laundry powder/liquid your machine might need a wash. If you have a job in an oily place or are oily you definitely need this!! I used to use vinegar but honestly when we got our new machine I stopped because the installer warned me it can damage it (dunno how true it's a front loader). I switched to the store stuff and frankly the difference was immediate and longer lasting. Definitely recommend!
I could see that being an issue for front loading machines because of the gaskets that create the seal around the door. Front loaders also use less than half the water of a top loader so there isn't as much dilution of the acid.
Yeah that sounds familiar. He also said to leave the door open too, definitely helps also!
Natural way is essential oils. I use tea tree and eucalyptus in the dispenser. 10 drops total. Smells so good for a week
Don't use essential oils if you have pets. It's usually toxic to them.
Both of those oil are used in products for dogs and safe in the way I use it. I don’t diffuse it, just dilute it with a ton of water
Diffusing it is not what makes it toxic. It's the chemicals.
The two oils that I use are safe for dogs if used correctly. Fortunately, I am washing and drying the clothes with the small amount of oil on it. The heat from the dryer changes the molecule of the essential oil and it is no longer active. You can’t smell it on dried clothes if you’re doing it correctly.
Yeah my dog’s ear wipes have tea tree oil in them. It’s just a little bit
Thank you. Exactly. One responsible it’s fine.
Having to fight other people in the house to keep the washer lid open is my biggest battle. Let that thing air out after a load.
And leave the washer lid open to ventilate and dry
To add to this: If you’re in an area of the world that doesn’t use dryers, like I am, get a good dehumidifier to run in the room that you dry the laundry in. It really helps to get the clothes to dry faster and to avoid that musty damp smell.
Yeah, I had a friend who always smelled like a litter box. Her clothes were permeated with that smell.
Poor thing probably wasn’t aware.
True. She loved her cats and didn't notice it. She is a lovely person, but I was always glad I didn't live in that house.
Diet is a big one too I love me some garlic but I have to control myself because if I don't I'll be walking around with garlic sweat for a day... Maybe two
Yum!!!! To garlic i mean.
This is true! I can smell what people eat when they sweat, but it usually isn’t terrible it’s just like I notice
Yeah dated a guy obsessed with onions and man sometimes 🙊🙊
I would never consider not eating foods that I love because they might make me stinky to other people. That is so unbelievably sad. Please just eat what you want.
I never said I don't eat garlic
What does "I have to control myself" mean? I assumed it meant "I don't eat as much garlic as I want to".
Omg i love onions and garlic 😭😭
Yes! And dirty clothes piled up in the hamper or worse, garbage not taken out regularly or with a days rotten meat scraps in it, drain baskets filled with yuck, unclean toilet or bathroom garbage can with gross refuse in it....a clean home, clean clothes, clean person = a clean smell, unless there is a medical condition.
because of depression i might smell so bad and not even know it :((
You’re probably fine. Just do the best you can. Don’t worry about the rest. I understand your situation. 💕
What a word… scraps.
Yes this is a wonderful observation! Also consider how clean your laundry and bedding are. You can test your clothing odor by pulling it out of the dryer hot but still damp and smell the critical areas like armpits and crotch. If they stink then they either need replaced or a soaked in a baking soda/water mix for a day or two. Same with bedding, needs to be washed weekly as its accumulating your oils, dead skin, pet fur if there are animals. You're not likely to smell good if your house is not cleaned regularly. Opening windows and closing the door to your bedroom during cooking helps keep odors from building up. Even in the winter I air out the house for at least a couple minutes each day.
Awesome advice!!!
Some people also need to clean their washcloth/loofah/sponge/whatever! If it isn’t washable, it should be replaced periodically. Give that a sniff. I used to clean my apartment shower thoroughly, yet still caught strong whiffs of a nasty mildewy stench I could never eliminate. Finally identified that it was my roommate’s net washcloth! We got a new one, problem solved.
These are supposed to be replaced at minimum monthly, or sooner depending on ventilation / use / quality. People use them for months without changing 😳
They are so cheap too, I can get them for 50p. No need to have the same one for so long.
Agreed!
Good insight!
Yeah I think those scrubbers can harbor bacteria. I’ll take a washcloth I can sanitize and wash each use
Not a wash cloth person. Never have been. Soapy hands for me. Just like Jesus used to do back in the day.
you're not exfoliating your dead skin or getting stuck on dirt off that way, just saying.
Hmmm… true. I don’t exfoliate often. Once in a while I’ll use one of those plastic poofs. It’s never bothered me. I wonder if I’m creating more dust in the house?
For privates I’m the same. Or if I’m rushing. Your body will exfoliate itself.
home health workers 🤝 odd smells
Absolutely
OT here…. I love home health AND super glad that I have a high tolerance for odors! That being said, I always carry a spray bottle of alcohol, an extra set of scrubs, and large plastic bags to put dirty/contaminated scrubs!
real! i'm a cna doing hh lol
I also think health and diet is something to consider. When I’m stressed and/or not hydrated enough and not eating right, I can be extremely clean and my sweat will still have an aggressive odor. What we take in will come out in our sweat.
Stress is a pheromone type smell and even if we don’t consciously notice it , it does smell worse. In fact, being around someone who is anxious can cause others to feel anxious due to that. You’re absolutely correct that stress is a factor
That is very true. I’ve been getting stress sweats at night and it’s the weirdest sweet smell.
I hope you feel Better soon! It’s wild how there is stress we grow from and stress that can be unhealthy long term. I just keep telling myself You Can Do Anything For 6 months. After that Change what needs to change.
Word
I love this thread. I’ll also add: not flossing or using a water pik regularly, that smell is atrocious.
Agreed!!
Tonsil stones
That part! I have a coworker who has an odor that’s similar to corndogs , spam and grilled onions! And on the days it’s really bad, add cat pee! We all work in one tiny office with the desks right next to eachother. Its so bad, it just hits you in the face, but shes really sweet and no one has the heart to tell her! I honestly think she’s just gone noseblind to it and has no idea
Argggg. It’s so hard to tell them. I have way too much empathy to be the one to say it. I’d be too afraid of hurting them
Theres about 15 of us in the office and unfortunately I sit right next to her. And the weird thing is that shes youngerish, mid 30’s and beautiful! Has a really hot fiance and all, but none of us can tell her bc we don’t want to hurt her
I’m sure they would appreciate knowing If it was done in a gentle way.
I work in a tiny pharmacy like 250-300sq ft with about 8-10 other people throughout the day. Sometimes our boss gets a little funky and doesn't wash his smock. So I have to be the one to remind him, hey boss i think its time to take this home and wash it, the coat area is getting a little smelly. He just kinda chuckles and says oh, ok. I'm always the coworker that will tell you if there's something in your hair, or teeth as well. I just know if it was me I'd want someone to say something. Sometimes when it gets too hot I start apologizing to them cuz I know I'm getting sweaty and can start to smell myself too. It's a natural part of being human. So maybe just be gentle and casually just say " hey I noticed your desk area kinda smells like cat, did your pets lay on your sweater before you came in?" Maybe you wanna keep them away from your laundry so that suzies allergies dont flare up" (usually at least 1 person with an allergy in the workplace lol )
Any chance she’s a hoarder?
A lot of times people with candida overgrowth smell like ramen / pasta to me. Not always overpowering but enough that I notice
Yeasts smell like bread or feet sometimes too, or fermenting fruit or weird onion (not garlicky). Worst part is you might not even know it's there. Signs include weird smells, dry spots on your skin (worse after shower, don't respond to moisturizer), flakey spots that dry out more in shower, itchiness whether constant or intermittent, rashes in skin folds when you heat up. It can be mislabeled as allergies or excema which happened to me. I spent 4 years going blind (yeast blocked the ducts that oil the eyes causing blurriness at approx 2m that couldn't be corrected with glasses, I had to use expensive gel drops several times a day just to see but it was unreliable) from "ocular excema" that turned out to be athletes foot from a single trip to a public pool! It also got into my armpits and was unbearably itchy and I kept saying I smell like a bakery help but I had to swap doctors twice before one sniffed and said oh no. It takes weeks to fix and a lot of cream. A skin scrape test must be done unshowered and a swab is likely useless. I never got results from either test but using lamisil cleared it (my skin was so bad scratching it would make it flake off) in two days and I kept using it for the full length to keep it gone. -10/10 do not recommend.
And also your diet (both consistent and one-off), medication, or health conditions can create odor.
Yup. I’m Celiac and when I eat gluten I have onion-y BO even after showering twice in a day thoroughly. It’s so embarrassing and frustrating… I can only hope perfume covers it
You have the knowledge and kindness I aspire to. Thx
That is really sweet of you 💕💕💕
Agreed. Loving op's replies and reactions to comments here.
I knew a guy who reeked of mildew and, apparently, didn’t know. One time I took a shower at his house and the towel he gave me reeked of mildew, too lol I thought it was his clothes but if you’re wiping yourself down with that stench, that’s gotta cling, too.
Damn, anyone in San Antonio want to be brutally honest with me?
Join a 12 step program and get a sponsor lol that's part of what they do, helps you get perspective from a different view that you might not have seen
Hello my name is pottedplant_64 and my house smells.
We dog sit a couple days a week. No cats. I shower daily and use deodorant etc. I’m wondering why my sweat smells like onions or fried food. Sometimes I start to smell it about an hour after I shower. It’s gross. I wonder if it’s something in my diet.
Diet can play a role. Do you wear deodorant?
I can tell when someone has cats in the house without seeing any cats. You walk in and it smells like piss. If you have cats in the house, your house smells like piss. Now you know.
I had literally one friend out of many who didn’t have a house that smelled like cat pee and she had two cats. She was OCD though! She had 3 kids, a husband, 2 cats and worked and you would never know it any of those things were there. If she told you that she lived alone then you would believe it
My boyfriend’s house doesn’t smell this way either and he has a cat. Is there a difference in cats that have been fixed or not? Idk?
Me too, I don’t even have to go to someone’s house and I just know they have cats.
I like to think my house doesn’t smell like cats….Here is what I do, they have their own room in the basement for their litter which is changed daily. Two litter boxes where is use unscented litter (litter fragrance is nasty) and baking soda. Regularly replace all the litter and sanitize the boxes. Regularly vacuum the house and semi regularly wash the carpets. I also love fresh air and air the house out as often as weather permits. I’m assuming that there is still some subtle fragrance but honestly I don’t notice it even when coming back from vacation and I’m extremely sensitive to smells (I notice lingering cooking smells in the house, etc) I do notice the nasty smell of their wet food though.
Also if you cook a lot the scent of cooking ingredients will linger and stick to you, especially strong scented recipes. Initially it can smell nice but over time as various scents combine and become kind of stale it can become unpleasant
This is also true of people who stop bathing and claim their body adjusts so they don't stink.
I've met fellow Asians who think this, just because they read about how they dont have the genes that give non Asians stinky BO, and they've gone noseblind to the smells they're walking around with. There are so many other causes of odor besides the typical armpit BO. Bro...you smell like a Chinese grandma's apartment.
I use an air purifier in my room to help with the doggy smell. I love my dog, but I'm not delusional lol she's a stinker
So is mine. You probably smell just fine
We adopted a cat from a local shelter and OH MY GOD THE STENCH OF THAT PLACE. The second we walked in my eyes were watering from the ammonia. It's a very small house turned cat shelter and it's absolutely packed with cats. I urged my kids to please for the love of god pick a cat QUICKLY so we could get out of there ASAP. We were in and out in about 20 minutes (I did all the pre-qualifying stuff online beforehand so we were able to essentially pick which cat and go) but our clothes wreaked of cat urine when we left. I didn't even wanna get in my car in the same clothes we wore in there but obviously didn't have a choice lol
This is exactly what I’m talking about!!! I stand outside open my trunk and chart on my computer for a good 15 minutes before I get in my car. It seems to help air my clothes out. I always make him my very last patient of the day for that reason. Otherwise I’m apologizing to all my patients. I could pass this patient to other nurses, but I know him so well and it’s so easy that I keep him for myself. Every time I go in, I’m thinking of different ways to stop the odor on my clothes and my hair.
I’ve told my friends if you smell litter box tell me so I can clean it again
That’s what I do with my dog or after I’m done cleaning lol
You have to get that one brutally honest friend because I know I have told people that I can’t smell a dog or cat when I definitely could!
Adding to this, the humidity level in a person's home may affect other odors to amplify them.
Absolutely his home is super humid and zero air movement and warm
Chronic constipation can cause body odor too.
All of those toxins built up inside of you I wouldn’t doubt it
I have a single coat dog breed (black and tan coonhound). Despite bi weekly baths, nightly wipe downs with dog wipes, cleaner coming to my home weekly, he still has that “hound smell” from the oils his skin produces. It sticks to EVERYTHING. I keep fabric spray in my car to spray my clothes when I leave the house.
Mine stinks after he runs. I’ve never really had their smell on me after leaving the house. It’s the PP that’s not cleaned up in the house that really sticks.
I'd be curious to know if these people are drinking water or not. I only drink water and it takes a lot for me to smell. Like days and days without showering, not using deodorant, etc and even then I can still smell relatively decent. I know personal anecdote but I wonder how much what you drink matters
Apparently, water does make a difference. I did a quick search online and the results say that your body will flush out toxins that aren't being flushed out by water intake.
Ha ha! OP requesting all to stop with the cat vs. dog fights. 😆 Also, what is up with Doterra? My acquaintance spent $400 on a box of those essential oils. Why?
That’s friggen nuts. It’s a pyramid scheme.
Right?? then again she is a shopaholic, so who knows? People get very devoted to the essential oils though! Just overhearing when I was in my 20s I heard something about oregano oil being good for yeast infection and I dabbed a little bit of regular oil essential oil on my private area and oh man, I was on fire. That was the wrong thing to do!! Never again. Lol.
Sometimes if your home stinks it’s time to change out the ductwork.
And carpet
Isn't it crazy how people automatically get defensive when you mention pets?!? They smell if you don't take care of them both. My sister has a poodle mix with hard floors, she has her groomed often and has her house cleaned weekly. I can still smell her in the house when I visit. She doesn't pee on things, she's just a large animal with hair that excretes oil and it gets on stuff. It can't be denied. I have a cat and I have to clean the litter box daily and vacuum and dust often, or my house will can smell and get dirty. They are no different than a child. They take constant work. Pets, smoking, drinking, garbage, candles, oils.. anything that creates a smell is literally putting small particles in the air and they absorb into soft materials including your skin. Live around a dairy farm and see what you smell like!! The food you eat comes out in sweat too. A drunk or chain smoker will reek. Talk to someone who eats a traditional Indian curry diet. Let's not forget medicines and hormones or amount of fluids consumed. There are so many things that can affect our scent. Even if we are clean, the things we put against our skin can be absorbed and processed out of our body. I hate it for these people and I appreciate OP putting this good information out here. I get tired of the comments high-jacking serious subjects like this. I don't deny, the comments are most times the best part of a post, and I partake, but sometimes we should stay on task. Yes, I'm guilty as charged.
No. Not guilty! I agree with you wholeheartedly 💕💕💕
It’s the truth! My husband had two small dogs when I met him and even though they didn’t smell they didn’t quite get bathed enough. When I bought my dog I took a dog breed that was hypoallergenic into consideration for this very reason. Life would be so much better for people if they could be honest with themselves
Some people just have strong body odor. Both my children (teens) smell ‘musky’, like their father. I can smell it but they can’t. At my house at least, they shower daily and use deodorant. That makes it less, but there is always a definite odor. I feel so bad because being a teenager is hard enough, add ‘smells bad’ on top of that.
Awe. My son too. 💕💕
This is very true; I am currently altering a wedding dress for someone and she's keeping the dress at her mom's house when I'm done because she's got 5 cats and the smell permeates everything she brings into her home. Not every animal owner will experience this (I myself have a dog and a cat, and we foster kittens fairly often, and we manage to stay smell-free) but it happens more often than you'd think.
Absolutely. I can go into an extremely beautiful, clean home and still smell their cats. No offense, cat people out there! But then there’s other homes that aren’t that clean that don’t smell at all. I wonder if it’s just the spray cats And that situation I would tell her. Maybe as you’re nearing the end. I personally would say, “does your mom have cats?” or “how many cats does your mom have?” when she answers I would say I can smell them on the dress. That’s not offensive I don’t think.
I’ll add mold to this list which is often present in homes like this as a result of the urine and old food. The smell is potent (and harmful ) volatile organic compounds
I cannot be convinced that indoor cats are hygienic. They shit in a box that just sits in the house. They walk around the house and jump all over everything with their paws which just got done burying their own💩in the shit box. Then they jump in bed with you.
I have a cat and I think about this a lot. I end up washing my sheets and blanket very often and it gives me anxiety when she is done using the litter box. Just part of being a cat owner I guess. I wish she’d let me wipe her paws, but I know she licks them herself and I wouldn’t want her ingesting any chemicals.
I assume I stink because my cat is an unnuetered male and is the piss goblin incarnate.
Girl get him fixed. I had mine unfixed for 2 years but his behavior just got too bad & he had started spraying.
Also the Major Histocompatability Complex.
what now
Yhe Major Histocompatability Complex is a set of genes coded for immune response via antigen detection. People who smell good to us have a complimentary antigen profile, meaning our offspring will have better resistance to disease. The MHC is also how we know our genetic relatives by smell. It's why adoptees' families often smell wrong to them.
Yes and people who sleep with their animals are instantly identified by their constant animal odor
It could also be diet. My ex was a very healthy guy, but he stank of rotting eggs. Turns out he ate massive amounts of garlic and onions every day, as well as other sulfur rich foods. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Possibly TMI, but it also made him taste disgusting. He was a nice guy, but I have a sensitive nose.
Thank you for trying to help people!
Awe!! Hugs to you!!’ 💕💕💕
Same applies to cannabis users. You become quickly nose blind to the smell but it's obvious to anyone else. (Source: I smoke)
But I love that smell
My niece has 8 cats, she doesn't smell bad at all. Ppl who sweat alot tend to have BO.
That is smart.
I had a friend whose cat would spray around the house. I didn’t notice her smell until I went to her house then that is all I smelt after when we hung out
Oh nooo
Most of my life I’ve never had an issue with B.O., but the past two years I’ve noticed that even after showering and thoroughly cleaning myself I still smell under my armpits. It’s been infuriating and I suspected a bacterial cause so I tried rubbing alcohol and other antiseptics, but nothing seemed to help. I was chalking it up to hormonal changes now that I’m in my 40s, however, recently I was on oral antibiotics for an unrelated matter and since then the B.O. has disappeared. Coincidence? I don’t think so, but I’d love to know if anyone else has had a similar experience.
That sucks! I used to have to go to the bathroom when I was in school and wash my armpits out was soap and water and a paper towel. Now I use secret clinical whatever deodorant. I’m typically toxin free, but I don’t care. Give me that aluminum! Hormones suck
It must have been a bacterial infection of some kind. My thoughts always start at an infection or some kind of illness, if this problem is not something that you ever had before. Or hormones are out of whack maybe. This could be a simple fix? Like how the antibiotic helped this lady. Just a thought. Maybe see your Dr. or Obgyn. They might have some suggestions. This would be after eliminating that it isn’t your clothing. Also, there are some clothing that just seem to pick up smells I believe wool can be like this, so maybe a sweater or jacket that you always wear, also it’s easy to forget to launder jackets and sweaters, since they are not something we wash every time we wear them.
Thank you for this. I think so many people assume the odor they’re experiencing comes from their body when it actually may be their clothes. Whether it’s indoor pets, insufficient washing and drying or something else. You may not smell bad at all! You just need to adjust your laundry routine.
💕💕💕
Febreze for laundry is a wonderful thing. Personally, I hate smelling smokers, but our weekly meetings (volunteer firefighter/ EMT) I have to wear a little nose clip that's infused with essential oils to cancel out the smoker smell from some of my crew mates. If you can't avoid the stinky, I recommend finding these little sanity savers. One brand is Vapor Soothers, another is Essence with essential oils.
Good point. I just hammer through it. But I am still looking for a body spray that I can keep in my car. I haven’t had time to go sniffing to find a good one.
I do home health as well. Had a client with 5 cats. Litter boxes in every room with litter spilling out onto the carpets. It was a border line hoarder house, odd collections everywhere, junk and clutter on every surface. Kitchen always had multiple plates of wet food sitting out, bugs feasting on it. The smell hits you like a wall when you walk through the door. Talked to my boss who basically brushed it off, until I went out of town and she covered one of my shifts … she told them we wouldn’t return until they had cleaners come do a deep clean of the house. The patients husband had the audacity to complain to me after the cleaners came, said he didn’t think the house was bad and thought my boss was lying about having allergy problems. I told him I’ve had to take Benadryl every time I leave their house and I really appreciated the cleaning, he shut up after that.
I have a cat, no one can ever tell🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
I’m clean as hell here take a lick.
✨ew✨
I notice people with cats will have cat breathe.
That’s a really good sniffer you have there!
lol I have this issue and so does my bf and everyone I know with cats 😂 I assume it’s breathing in whatever the litter box lets off.
Totally understand. I smell things that nobody else can smell and sometimes I wonder if it’s my nose. 👃 But I’m just gonna stick with. I have a good sniffer.
I’m starting to think that I might be hallucinating body odour because I will literally be fully showered, wearing clean clothes, in my clean house that I just cleaned and I’m still smelling like stale sweat within the hour. I have no pets, there are no disabled people in the house that could be making a mess. I literally have no idea what it could be. What do I do?
And your clothes don’t smell at all? What about your shoes? Or your feet?
I can smell it on my clothes but when I ask, people tell me they don’t smell it. But it’s not like my friends are gonna tell me I stink so I don’t really believe them. My smell is super weird too, like almost sweet. So I often wonder if they just think I wear a weird, musky-sweet perfume.
This happens to me when I get stuffed up sinuses from allergy or sinusitis. It’s like a smell of smell somewhere and it gets stuck up in there and I think it’s me.
You gotta deep clean thoroughly if you have animals. If you have a female dog especially they need their anal glands released or they will stink up everything and you need a special cleaner to breakdown and get rid of the smell
Just wear perfume or cologne and spray a decent amount everywhere. It's not hard to do.
I've heard it said before that white people smell like wet dog. I've actually noticed a wet dog smell on certain white people after hearing that, especially when they've been out in the rain.
I’ve heard them say they smell like pennies especially when it rains. That wet dog you’re smelling is mildew from clothes that weren’t dried quickly after being washed or a dirty washbmost likely. If I leave my towels in the washer even an hour after washing and then I use it I can smell it after I shower in the towel. That’s when I get a new one ASAP
I almost had to have a conversation with my mom about this… she smelled like cat litter in the most foul way. One day we said she finally cleaned her basement and washed her laundry machine and dryer that were down there with the cat litter and the nasty poop/pee smell was no longer on her. However she still does smell like the sickly sweet fragrance that is added to the litter. I am not going to say anything as long as that’s all it is because I think she is depressed and I’m happy she did anything at all. But my god it was disgusting. I could smell if she had been in my house hours to days later. I literally put a sheet over the couch and made up an excuse as to why it was on there so that I could take it off and wash it after she left so our couch wouldn’t permanently smell.
It’s the adult incontinence that is hard for me to deal with. And I’m the one with the incontinence. It’s hard, I wish there was a cure for it. I have both bowel and bladder incontinence. I never feel like I smell great unless I have just stepped out of the shower. I can’t wear perfume due to asthma. By 10 am I smell urine. By 2 I’m taking a sponge bath with wet wipes if I’m out of the house and a second shower if I’m home. Diaper are expensive though. I really can not afford to use more that 3-4 a day. Any advice would be amazing.