To be miserable about how badly i smell?

I would bet you are wearing synthetic fabrics.

I wash at home then take everything down to the laundrette to dry and make sure its thoroughly dry.
Funnily enough I had this problem when I was on tramadol for back pain. My bed reeked of sweaty BO. It was something in the drug.

With laundry again, anything that can't be washed at 60, you can use this amazing detergent called Halo, which kills fungi as well as the usual bacteria. So any fungi, if you have an infection somewhere on your skin you're not aware of, or mildew from the environment.

It's pricey at about £10 per bottle, but worth it imo. I only use it periodically, but it your circumstances I'd use every wash.

Might be worth looking into your skins biome too - your skin has one, just like your gut or whatever x

I agree with 1.

The OP is only 26.

It's often much older /elderly people who smell, partly as they often don't/can't shower as often as they should and their sense of smell declines with age.

@fireworksinthesky3 You need to ask a close friend/parent/partner/colleague to give you an honest answer.

If your armpits aren't wet and soaking your clothes, it's pretty unlikely you will smell if you are showering once or twice a day, using antiperspirant and washing your tops/wearing them once.
Presumably you're showring in the morning.

Times I’ve experienced this musty smell it comes from one of four areas. (1) washing machine. Our WM broke down and we used the one at H’s work. Despite using our own laundry powder, the clothes always came back with an awful smell. That WM was used by the janitor for his rags so I guess the rags smelling was not an issue for him but it was for us! (2) man made fibers. Some materials get a strong musty smell. Need to boil wash to get it out, but it will build up again (3) clothes drying in an unheated space (4) diet. I once lived in an area with lots of first generation East Asian immigrants and they had that a strong sour smell. We smell to them too, due to the dairy in our diet.

I’ve also read ( though not experienced) that very overweight people can get sweat trapped in folds of skin which, if the person does not take care to wash in these folds, will smell.

Poor you. Fwiw, I can’t wear polyester. It makes me stink and the smell gets stuck in the armpit area of the clothes, even after washing.

Driclor is really effective, but be warned, if your skin is on the sensitive side - it’s brutal.

It sounds like you’re doing everything you can, so it must be worth speaking to a GP. Diabetes, menopause and certain vitamin or mineral deficiencies can cause body odour.

From a fellow smelly person, a few things to consider.

1. Are you sure you actually smell? Humans do have a natural scent that builds up over the day and shouldn't be seen as bad. Has anyone said anything? Do you have any OCD symptoms that could be contributing to this anxiety?

If no to the above. Things that helped me.

1. Less synthetic clothes and washing at 40 (or higher appropriate temp)

1. Using a nice smelling fabric conditioner

1. Getting washing out of the machine immediately and drying as quickly as possible.

1. Using a deodorant like triple dry applied at night for three nights in a row to reduce sweating.

1. Check food. Garlic makes me smell more.

If you are revisting soap, this one works really well. https://ecobeautyshop.com/collections/bath-and-soaps/products/mild-verbena-and-lemon-soap-100g

I also use Dettol laundry sanitiser in my gym stuff which stops it smelling funky. I also always wash on full programmes, never the quick cycles.

Lastly, I use Biotherm body moisturiser which has citrus extracts (bit of a theme here!).

I struggled a bit when I hit peri and this combo, with Wild deodorant sorted it out.

I had to look nonenal up-thought it was a typo!

Could you smell it yourself or did someone tell you?

Sorry haven't read the whole thread but can recommend Hibi-scrub wash every other day and Salt of the Earth spray deodorant (still lets you sweat but kills the bacteria that cause the smell) Plus use some laundry antibacterial cleanser for a few washes... Good luck

Looking at this another way @fireworksinthesky3

You say you smell.
Is there any proof of this?

Has anyone said that you smell? Your friends? Partner? Parents?

Or is it only you who thinks that?
Have you asked anyone to do the 'sniff test'?

I'm wondering if you have something similar to body dysmorphia- where someone hates how they look (or could smell) and have a skewed idea that they're ugly (and more.)

Because most people with BO can't smell themselves and don't know they smell.

The way you describe your washing and laundry seems impossible that you smell.

The only other things to try IF you do smell are showering twice a day and wearing natural fabrics like all cotton or wool.

Polyester can trap BO smell and be impossible to get out unless on a hot 40C wash.

I've found at times that my sweat has really stunk when I've been particularly stressed and anxious and rushing about. Like an ammonia/onion smell. It does sound like you're very stressed by this problem.

pre soak the arm pit areas of your tops with dettol laundry cleanser or white vinegar before putting them in the main wash (helps get rid of boomerang smell which could be lurking in the seams)

I feel your pain. I sometimes smell.

I put anti back gel under arms before shower. I then scrub with bar sopa then use shower gel. Sure max cream. And steer clear of polyester clothes

I agree with PP that this is probably a diet issue and could be due to an imbalance of your gut microbiome - when your gut bacteria is unhealthy it can affect all sorts of different parts of your body.

I would start clean eating as much as you can, veg, fruit, water, avoid junk, stick to brown rice etc - and start taking probiotics daily to get your gut bacteria healthy. I know it's boring to eat like that but give it a go - about 3 months to start with and see if it helps. Good luck.

I have hyperhidrosis and have Botox under my arms. It works an absolute treat. However, if your smell isn't due to excess sweating, i doubt it will help.

Rubbing lime juice under your arms helps to neutralise bacteria - it's the bacteria which smells rather than the sweat - but again will depend on the cause of the smell.

Do you have a good friend you can ask whether you smell and what it smells like? Then you maybe able to work out if it's your clothes or a trip to GP is required.

Take out the tray and wash it.

Bleach on a cloth and wipe around the rim and the whole machine.

Put your washing machine on a 90c wash with some bleach.

I use TCP on my under arms before bed and it has cured my sweating/smell.

Use men's Mitchum Deodorant

I once made my own deodorant. I think it had bicarbonate of soda and coconut oil - plus something else too.
Have you tried the alum crystal ones? The crystal neutralises odours. I got a roll-on one this week - Urtekram brand. I hope you find a solution, I really feel for you.

I'm another advocate for Hibiscrub, Boots stock a small bottle and you can buy the bigger ones on Amazon. It will kill any bacteria lingering on your body. I broke my collar bone a while ago and because of the way my arm was for the first week or so normal soap and shower gel wasn't cleaning the bacteria under my armpit. Hibiscrub was the only thing I used.
Aww OP I'm sorry, it's horrible when you can't work out what it is and so distressing. I also can't use a certain fabric softer, Summer Breeze the yellow one, it gives off this weird aroma from certain clothes, like a musty funky smell.
Xx

Seconding persimmon soap. Tried and tested on my funky old man and funkier teenager. The soap has a very faint scent but the persimmon works on keeping the body fresh and clean smelling all day.
Also, throw vinegar in your rinse cycle.

As a student nurse I worked on ENT this was surprisingly common so don’t feel bad!!
just makes me a little irritated that op would rather spend hours washing and cleaning and the most likely outcome is that she still needs to go to the GP.

All those talking about laundry- OP said she replaced everything.

So, OP, was there any smell when you first wore the brand new clothes?

That will tell you if this is laundry-related.

Just see your GP. Sounds medical

i think you need to work out if it’s your body or your clothes OP. The musty smell you describe sounds more like damp poorly dried clothes which may not have been washed in a hot enough wash.

How do you launder? Clothes washed at temperatures < 40oC sometimes retain smells or begin to smell. Clothes not dried fully or quickly enough often begin to smell. The odour is musty.

I am very sensitive to the musty odour of damp / badly washed clothing and to ensure mine never smell I wash clothes at 40oC with non-bio and make sure it gets dried immediately (by tumble in this weather). I wash bedding at 60oC with Biological and towels at 90oC with biological. All my washing gets softener except towels. If I forget a load all day in the washer I rewash it before I dry it. I have recently found my partners running kit needs the bedding was cycle to stay fresh.

I find many, otherwise perfectly clean, folks smell bad due to their laundry habits.