Why people smell bad

If you use pods plus fabric conditioner, and wash at low temps, your machine will v likely have a build-up of gunk that will mean clothes won’t get properly clean. If you do a very hot, empty wash with just soda crystals, you may well be horrified at the amount of dirty grey foam that appears.
I know I was - I had to do it twice. This was after Piglet John posted about such things on here.
Since then, I use just powder - no pods or conditioner, and soda crystals in every wash.

Does anyone else think it might be deodorant manufacturers reducing the % of active ingredients to save money and maximise profits ?

There was an old man who absolutely stunk of wee......the supermarket staff used to follow him round with a can of air freshener 🤢🤢

A lot comes from not drying out clothes properly so you get that musty, wet dog sort of smell. Then wearing clothes that you have been cooking in.
Of course you get the others who have an aversion to toothpaste and soap too.

"Sometimes I smell bad even though I've washed, wear clean clothes, and wear anti perspirant. "

Then you should go to the doctor.

"if you're standing close enough to smell me then you're standing too close."

This is also true, but maybe the people in the OP smell bad even if you're not too close to them.

🤣🤣 the asbos had me in stitches! 👏 but yes totally agree with the whole thread it is vile and on a daily basis when out and about I come across people that smell so bad I try to hold my breathe what is wrong with all these people!!

I go to the laundrette so have no power over how clean the washing machine is.

The best thing about covid was that masks stopped you smelling stinky people! I often think, 'Should I go back to mask wearing cos its a warm day?' 🤣🤣🤣

its probably the plasticy clothes that make you sweat

I sweat a lot and have to use Odaban or Vichy 7 day deodorant cream for extra underarm protection. If I'm at the office I carry spare underwear and panty liners in case things get hot and sweaty down there, as even walking can set it off, especially since carrying extra weight. Even if my hair doesn't look greasy, I wash at day 3 because you'd still be able to smell greasy scalp which is just as unpleasant. Clean underwear twice a day sometimes, and clean clothes every day. Washed at a proper temperature -60 for towels and sheets and 40 for everything else unless really stinky or dirty. Worth noting that enzymes in washing powder work better at 40, the very hot water kills them. I guess some people smell more than others

Man made fibres definitely seem to hold sweat smell after awhile, in a way cotton or wool doesn't.

I don't wear many man made fibre but Mr Monkey has a lot of running tops, after a few weeks of normal washes I have to commandeer them and spray arm pits with white vinegar before washing them in sports wash.

Lozzalou9191 Using Vinegar in the final rinse, regardless of machine or hand wash, will remove the smell of sweaty gym clothes.

Wash clothes which come in contact with the 'sweaty , undercarriage' bits in forty to sixtly degree wash, as well as sheets and towels, and use vinegar. Dry outside if at all possible.

Before the days of showers, and their gels, anti perspirents, and even baths: my Great Aunt washed in the sink with a teaspoonfull of BiCarb of Soda. if she sweated, then she washed down again. She rinsed her hair with some vinegar in the final rinse...... Shiney hair and no nits. As a child, I only rememberd her sweet smell. and my Granny? Pears soap has followed me all of my life.

Yes there are many , many reasons why people smell now a days, for all the reasons previously mentioned. There is also an absolute intorerance from people who should know better. If you are one of those, grow a little humility, and put some Vicks under your nose! In the future, it could be you!

@PoshPineapple

I do care about the environment, but to be honest I care about not stinking to high heaven and offending people around me just that bit more.

Can’t see how anyone could possibly argue with that

For those who are having trouble even after a shower and deodorant, try wiping under your arms for a few days with surgical spirit. It really helps to reset the body. My aunt had a terrible time during menopause and was told to do this by an old GP. Therefore is now family lore - But it really works!

It's also good to spray on whiffy gym kit to remove BO smells before washing. Or on clothes that are clean but smell of fried food etc. Spray it on and air outside. The smell of the surgical spirit only lasts momentarily

It works brilliantly on smelly shoes/feet too. In fact the same aunt used to make all her teen sons friends take off their shoes in the porch. Then she would attack them with her spray bottle of surgical spirit, so she wasn't gassed out if her own home by 10 pairs of teen boy trainers.

This is a good point

That's a great tip! Knocks Febreze into the shade.

I used to go to a toddler group and a lovely woman came every week with her kid and her best mate. She always stank of stale BO. I don't understand why her friend never said anything to her. She was chatty enough to know enough about her to know there wasn't financial problems etc. I don't get it. I am someone who gets really hot and sweaty but I never smell. Thank goodness really because I can look at a flight of stairs and start sweating!

I grew up in the 60s/70s. A weekly bath was the norm. Was there more BO? Yes, probs. Was it obnoxious? Nope.

In the 60's and 70's clothes were mostly made from natural fibres, were washed in hot water and dried outside whenever possible.

Today, lots of people have been misled into washing at low temperatures and drying indoors.

Some posters have discussed mental health as a factor. I think it's important to remember that for most working households with children, the adults need to have their shit together to keep on top of seemingly endless laundry. For families who are struggling -with time and head space as well as financial constraints- it is hard.

I change underwear twice or three times in hot weather or if needed too. But particularly in hot weather. Never go more than a day without a shower. Use Mitcham deodorant as find that's the most effective and wash hair every other day.

Ah you have nothing to be ashamed of. You were just a child and it wasn't your fault

The thing is if she hadn’t found a partner who taught her the life skills her parents weren’t able to then she may of been one of the stinky adults who so offend the people on this thread. Saying they’re just lazy and so forth.

Its sad your mothers have not told you all this, but it seems they haven't.

Nor did their fathers presumably?

Oh my god some people just do. Maybe they'd forgotten deodorant that morning. Or were camping and the shower broke.

Personally I shower most days and wear deodorant. But my boiler broke last weekend and then the water stopped - and I realised I stank after a day of walking around London.

Get over it. It's not infectious. Shit happens.

If I don't shower in hot water with soap and apply Mitchum then I smell.

People have different sweat genes btw. Most of east Asia doesn't wear deodorant btw. They don't need it.

White and black people sweat the most. Japanese sweat the least. Native Americans and Latin Americans have a mid level.

It's genetic. Do you have dry earwax rather than wet? If so you are more likely to have the gene that makes people sweat and smell less.