Smelly people

[thebottleismine]

I work in a shop and it's surprising how many extremely smelly people walk about. Now I dont mean people that have called in after the gym/run etc I'm talking really, really bad pissy unwashed clothes that absolutely reeeeeek of some kind of putrid smell, perhaps unwashed for an extremely long time. Now, Whilst I know everyone has different circumstances etc but I was really shocked to learn that one of the long term (smelly) shoppers actually has a very glamorous daughter and it stunned me to the core that she would let her dad out knowing he smelt so completely terrible.
Surly most people know that if you don't wash both yourself and your clothes you will eventually smell? Why someone would allow a friend or family to go out like this is extremely cruel in my opinion.

No one is responsible for their parents.

that attitude stinks.

I actually think your attitude is very unpleasant, OP. That might be harder to change than any external smells on other people.

And would cost less than £1.

Why someone would allow a friend or family to go out like this is extremely cruel in my opinion

FIL has been told he smells. He is asked repeatedly to go for a shower. He doesn't believe us though so he only has a shower about once a month. He thinks there is no issue with this.

I do think there a a % of people who just cannot be bothered. We makes excuses for them but honestly they just cannot be arsed.

Look up Spoon Theory.
When my mental health is bad, I am vile. I spend my limited spoons on chucking on whatever clothing is about, and going to the local shop to get food.

I worked in an office with a lovely woman who unfortunately smoked like a chimney. She absolutely stunk off stale smoke. It made me retch it was so horrible.

I'm wondering if I have a poor sense of smell. I'm 75, I've had two wives and multiple girlfriends over the years, and have never smelled BO on any woman. Only once have I smelled BO on a man: at a chess club... one fellow could definitely have used a shower.

Your poor DD. It might be worth having your daughter’s hormone levels checked as they might be the underlying cause of her body odour.

During the 90's I used to do a door to door selling job in the evenings I couldn't get over how much a lot of peoples homes actually smelt really unpleasant, and it wasn't just cooking smells, but manky feet, BO, stale smoke, and pets. I used to wonder if they realised how rank their homes were to the average visitor. I would imagine their clothes would carry the smell of their homes.
I am very aware of how a house can smell, as a result my windows are always open, and I have plug ins always at the ready.

I honestly think a lot of them don't realise. There was a thread on here not long ago with loads of people saying they rewear clothes for 3 or 4 days and don't wash every day either.

Not just not showering but don't even wash their pits and genitals daily. When I pointed out that this was minging I was called names and told deodorant lasts 48h so they don't need to wash.

Probably a lot of people do struggle with limited mobility or mental health problems but I honestly think the majority just have really bad hygiene and others around them are too polite to tell them they smell.

I am very aware of how a house can smell, as a result my windows are always open, and I have plug ins always at the ready.

Open windows can be a good thing, but plug-ins are vile, though.

I think mental health issues and disabilities aside some people just don’t know “how” to wash. My ex was like this. He used to have a shower every day and when I first went out with him I thought he was really clean but after a while I realised his “shower” consisted of him standing under the water and not really doing much, the shower gel he had barely got used and quite often he’d just go to bed without brushing his teeth. Needless to say we weren’t together long!

I wonder if parents just don’t explain to their children how to wash themselves…? I mean when they get to the stage where they need to have their own bath / shower alone etc does anyone else actually teach their kids what to do? I’m always telling Ds aged 9 to make sure he does his “pits n bits”!

I don't know how people can stand it. I can manage a few days camping and rewearing clothes but my skin gets crazy itchy.

I don't know how health professionals cope. I would gag over some of the people I've seen in a&e.

Some times.with the clothes I wear and sometimes the weather , I usually say to people I know if I pong a bit to tell me so i can then change clothes etc.

This is why I hate going into shops, I’m so sensitive to smells and some people have such strong odours that lingers even once they’ve moved on, it’s nauseating, I have to leave the shop sometimes as I can’t cope with it, it’s why I couldn’t ever work in care.
I do understand that there’s usually a reason for it though and I don’t judge but my god it’s so horrible when you are walking near someone with a very bad odour.

The worst smell for me on a human is cigarette smoke- fresh or stale. It makes me feel sick to the stomach and is absolutely revolting, worse than unwashed scalp smell. I could never be a hairdresser as many people smell of both.

I don’t personally shower every day or wear deodorant unless I’m working and it’s a warm day, but I am not generally a smelly person…apart from my feet which need to be properly washed at least once a day in the summer. They smell meaty otherwise which is ironic considering I’m a vegetarian.

Also if I stank I would be told- I have extremely blunt friends and family.

@Notaneffingcockerspaniel "I don’t get it either. That low-level clothes dried on a radiator smell makes me gag and yet I’ve seen perfectly well dressed and professional looking people stink of it. Dry your clothes properly you mingers!"

How fucking unpleasant are you?! To mis-quote Churchill, "In the morning I will not smell but you will continue to be internally ugly."

OP, self neglect can also be a sign of depression. So many people put on a "brave face", but inside are crumbling. Give a minute before you sit in judgment.

@Jobseeker19

My orthodontist smelt like that as a teenager. It was awful.

Some of these assumptions are really unpleasant.

I know a shower or bath and laundry is an easy thing for a lot of people but it's actually quite a complex task with a lot of steps, many of which can be difficult if somebody has any executive function (task management) difficulties, sensory difficulties, physical impairments, chronic pain or limited energy. Of course many people who suffer with one of these issues are also affected by more than one of them which would compound the problem. Have a little bit of empathy. As you say soap is not expensive, showers don't take a long time. So obviously, cost and time is not the issue. That doesn't mean you jump straight to "this person has a moral failing". Try "this person is finding this task difficult; I wonder why that would be?" Nobody wants to smell. Nobody wants to be irritated by dirt and sweat and dead skin.

Washing once a week was normal 30-40 years ago, it was certainly how I was brought up. Washing once a week does not make you smell terrible. It can give you a slightly stale smell, but nothing worse than that. Someone who smells very very bad is not washing weekly, they are probably not washing at all over several months, maybe years. When you've gone that long without washing, the whole multi-step challenge of it must be incredibly daunting. Some people live in houses in terrible states where you can't even access the bath or shower because of hoarding or other issues. They may have physical disabilities making it unsafe for them to shower or impossible for them to get in and out of a bath. Some people live without any support, so may not have the means or the knowledge to get accessible options put in. They may be ashamed and not want to reach out for help.

I think there are a number of issues

-some people have extremely sensitive sense of smell/gag reflex

• some most of MN people have extremely high standards of hygeine (as in multiple showers a day/changing bedding multiple times a week/washing clothes after a few hours wear)

• some (potentially older generation) are used to wearing clothes for longer, having baths or showers maybe once or twice a week

• some people might have health conditions or on medication that makes odours more apparent

• some people due to mobility issues, or MH problems may find washing and hygeine difficult tasks

• some people might "ration" baths and laundry due to cost or environmental impact.

....and everyone else falls somewhere in between. I'm not convinced there are huge numbers of offensively smelly people in every day life. Or maybe I'm lucky I don't encounter them very frequently?

some most of MN people have extremely high standards of hygeine (as in multiple showers a day/changing bedding multiple times a week/washing clothes after a few hours wear)

I'm not sure about this one. I always thought the unusual was shower daily, bedding weekly, clothes (depends on the item). That's pretty standard. Most people who shower twice a day so if out of choice, not so much because you'll smell if you don't.

Anyway, most people won't stink if the skip a shower. But daily washing is not obsessive hygiene lmao. I do have sympathy for people who struggle, I was there in secondary because I lived in a dirty house and didn't have the items or knowledge I needed to keep myself clean.

Washing once a week was normal 30-40 years ago.

Certainly not in my experience - my parents trained me in the art of the daily flannel wash! Pits and bits are daily essentials, surely. I saw a 72 hour deodorant the other day - is that for people that cba to wash for 3 days? Yuck. It won't help with the other end, anyway...

I use a 96 hour deodorant.