Help! My whole house smells of teenage boys.

Its not really much to do with hygiene and more to do with biology. Our teenage boys 'go off' to their mothers, it's evolutions way of preventing incest. There are some things it hasn't caught up with yet.

It does pass though. They probably smell delicious to girls who like them.

Yes, bicarb just goes in the wash with your normal stuff. And a dash of vinegar in the rinse tray.

I have 2 teenage boys and leave the bathroom and their bedroom windows open 24/7 this time of year. When it’s colder I still open them in the day when no ones at home. I was thinking about getting a kitten but couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to leave the windows open for a couple of months, so that idea is on the back burner.

My pre teen boys room stinks, it is very clean, regularly cleared out etc but it’s just boy smell. I manage it by keeping his window open all day, changing his bedding regularly (it’s the worst culprit I think), regularly emptying his washing basket and spraying fabric scents on curtains/rug etc. I also have a wax melt burner in the upstairs hall and the scent of that gets into his room.

I fear it will only get worse as he gets older though, I do wonder if it is a mother thing though as mentioned upthread because DH always thinks that it’s not that bad.

One thing I do these days which I never imagined being a job anyone would need to do - wiping out the inside of the empty laundry bin with disinfectant spray. That actually helps a lot, I think the hair oils or something were getting transferred to the laundry bin itself and then building up. And washing promptly rather than leaving stuff to fester.

Open windows, a good quality bo basher (not crap like links) wash all bedding and clothing with bicarb and put trays with bicarb in all the rooms. Hang jackets etc outside inside out (unwashed) to let the sun kill off any stinky bacteria living on the boys sweat in them, preferably daily if possible.
It won't get rid of all the stench but will cut it right down.

Actually this is totally true at least IME and it's worse at certain times of my cycle, so if you're perimenopausal it could be hormones gone mad. If you don't have a partner to ask, invite your most blunt and non-offendable friend over and ask them if they can smell it.

We went through this phase.
I think i got by with open widows, freebreez and a lot of understanding Don't worry it does end!

Of people, come round i used to say, if you can smell a thing, its the boys! They stink no matter what we do.

These days im saying, if you can smell anything, its the dogs!

The you grst had a really strong body odour and was embarrassed by it. He did all the rights things. Clean shirt every day, changed when he got home from school, used anti deodorant, washed with soap and made sure he was properly dry etc.
Then one day it just stopped!

You need to do weekly room inspections - I bet there are festering food containers in there. And encourage them to open the windows daily or at least a couple of times a week.

If they still smell after having a shower, they might not be washing properly. Can you check with them about technique? It might be a bit embarrassing, but it's a useful thing for them to know. I think DS1 was about 12/13 when I actually checked with him one day if he knew how to wash, because I hadn't been physically washing him myself since he was about 4/5 he had sort of slipped into bad habits and forgotten what to do, and wasn't bothering to agitate/scrub - just letting the water run over his body.

I get smelly armpits myself and the best thing I 've found weirdly is to use face wash under my arms. Clearasil or whatever you probably have lying around anyway.

Open the windows.

If the smell is lynx then that's OK. If it's grim dirty musk smell, are their clothes being washed and dried outside?

Pillows and duvets probably need a wash or air.

I'm pretty sure I read something once about teenage boys developing an odour that only really affects their mother, and it being nothing to do with how much they wash etc.

I don't know much about it, but hopefully someone knowledgeable about such things comes and explains it to see if it's that.

What do you mean by washing more than is environmentally sound? Have you got carpets? Do they do deep cleans? Is the whole house aired?

Are windows open? Do they have decent mattress protectors? How old are their mattresses/pillows/duvets and do they ever get a wash? You could get them on the washing line and see if that helps (obviously not so much the mattress itself). What about things like coats and jackets? Do they store shoes in their rooms?

Bicarb is your friend too. Sprinkle liberally on the carpets and then vacuum up a couple of hours later.

I know the smell. With 3 of them it must be strong!

Are they washing with soap rather than shower gel?
More industrial deodorant?