I never realised how bad people smell.

[Nonplusultra]

I’ve had a weirdly sharp sense of smell for the last couple of days and when I’m out shopping, I can smell everyone around me and it’s surprising how few people smell nice or even clean.

I’m not talking about properly stinking - just that mild fug of cooking smells, pets, smoke, sweat, occasional halitosis.

I don’t normally notice, and of course, even now, I’m oblivious to my own pong. I’m not even getting up close to people; this is just the drift of air as you walk past someone who’s a couple of feet away.

I'm definitely showering less due to the increased heating costs. Gone from every day/ twice a day to every other day.

It's not so much the cost of hot water, but the cost of having the heating on enough to dry out the house from the humidity created by showers. Like many people, we had the heating on less last winter and had some damp issues as a result of that.

I'm also conscious of the carbon footprint of millions of people having daily hot showers. It's not sustainable for the planet.

People aren't very clean now. You see it on here, people saying they wear their clothes 3 times before washing them or only 'air' them between wears. It's a revelation to how dirty people can be.

It is much harder to dry heavy bulkier items, but I make sure I wash coats and jackets in spring and put them away clean. I have noticed BO on coats, probably because I’ve wrapped up warm for cold weather then spent the day in heated shops sweating.

Overall, I do think the general population are smellier though. It’s because much more normal to roll out of the house in joggers. Wasn’t done ten years ago.

I work in a supermarket and can smell some customers from across the counter! Am amazed that some of them seem so unaware of how strong the smell of wee, cigarettes, booze, weed and BO is on their bodies!

A couple of particularly pungent ones we can track around the shop by the trail they leave. Young boys who've spent the evening smoking weed, farmers who've come straight off the hill in their boots (don't mind that smell so much) and a couple of elderly ones who clearly need incontinence wear or to change their underwear more often (feel more sorry for them than disgusted).

And the smell of weed takes ages to dissipate. I'd much rather have perfume and fabric softener!

I have this as part of long Covid

I am sensitive to smells. Artificial ones are awful when I’m close up- sat by a bloke with a heavy spray of some kind, or in a car with someone’s perfume. It makes me nauseous.

I am not too bothered by BO or garlic- it’s just the smell of BO or garlic.

There’s a smell though, a dirty layered smell combining grease, dirt, poor personal hygiene- sleeping on the sofa and wearing the same clothes day and night kind of smell. It not only reeks, it lingers whereever the person has been. I used to visit a contact centre and knew whether my connection had already arrived by the smell. Perhaps stale tobacco in there, too. The faint version of it is on public transport seats.

A lot of people don't clean their winter coats enough. Add to that they might get wet and not get dried out properly...yuck.

That’s weird. It’s happening to me too. I’m on the bus right now and 2 guys behind me are drinking. That is making me feel sick and another came on with bad BO and has just left.
I had a stomach bug earlier this week and now everything smells so strong.

If you aren’t doing anything physical clothes won’t smell after two wears.

Yeah, they do... People can't smell it on themselves but yeah, they do smell.

I'm going through peri and have developed a heightened sense of BO definitely. Went to a big shopping centre on a warm (but not boiling) day, they'd cut back on the air con. My god the place stank! I was with DD and she couldn't really smell it but it made me feel sick. Had to get out of there after 20 minutes.

I'm glad I wfh as I'd struggle now if anyone in the office smelt a bit off.

Everything smells. Everything. I prefer the human smell of clean people to strong artificial shower gel smells. But the idea we can ever not smell of something is a false one.

I think also with the predominance of working from home people are actually washing less. The logic is sound; why stay clean if you're not going to be near other people? No colleagues to offend with BO because you're not in the office.

Your clothes next to your body such as underwear, a top, might smell, but outerwear clothes don't smell so bad (like jeans, jumper worn over top) you need to be washing them every single wear, IMO. The people who really smell do not just skip a day of washing their entire wardrobe! Indeed, people who wash clothes all the time will smell more of washing powder/those scent boosters (ugh) and fabric conditioner, so they have a different but sometimes pungent smell. I use washing powder like Fairy that isn't too smelly on purpose and one of my children uses laundry balls as they are allergic to all washing powder, but she absolutely does not smell.

I do think people differ in how much they sweat/smell though, I could shower once every two days at a push, with a strip wash in between but my husband could only go about half a day without smelling, even with deodorant, so a shower daily is a must.

I'm also noticing more of the 'fried food' smells on people. When they've been standing over a stove top making chips the smell of hot fat gets into clothes and hair and it really does linger.

I struggle with fake smells like perfume, deodorant and fabric conditioner. Most other smells are just the smells of people and normal living and those have to be bad before I'm bothered.

I notice it too! I've recently started a job where I'm in quite close contact with more people than I'm used to working, I can't get over some of the smells. I feel like they linger in the air too! I can smell their clothes, hair, everything - it's so strange and not something I've ever noticed before! I find myself stepping by backwards a lot when chatting

Armpits on tops will smell regardless of how physical people are after one wear.
I always wash tops inside out and dry on the line as much as possible to keep them fresh.

It's a revelation how fussy some people can be, too.

Yep, I have to move away from people who eaten a lot of garlic, or who clearly smoke inside their house as the smell is overpowering.
See also those who had a last drag of a cigarette shortly before getting on the train.
Strong perfume yes - particularly Chloe. It is so cloying, my nose doesn't seem to get used to it so it's a constant assault.

Oh and as a sober person...getting on the train on an evening close to Christmas is ugh!!! All that boozy breath 😂

I'm like this. Since I gave up smoking the smell of tobacco hits me like a ton of bricks, I really really utterly detest the smell of skunk weed both in the air and on the people who use it (I occasionally smoked old fashioned cannabis resin in the 1990s). I don't like overused perfume or deo, and I really hate scented laundry tablets. As for bad breath, body odour, old folks smelling of wee, dirty hair, etc, I just don't notice those things, even when others do.

I wash my coat on a bright windy day in Spring. In winter I am wearing it.

That's strange OP. I can only smell more if I'm indoors in a busy place. Once I smell someone with eye-watering bo ( the type where its clear they never use anti persperanr) then maybe my nose wakes up a bit to it. Fustyness etc I don't seem to notice.

Much prefer perfume or fabric conditioner smell than eye bleeding raw armpits. It's like vinegar to my eyes.

Apparently the trick is to take them off, leave hanging overnight, and see how they smell next morning.
Often clothes that don't appear too bad when you take them off can have developed a bit of a whiff.
I change things close to my body every day, jumpers etc every couple of days. Some folk just don't change/wash often enough, and some did that even before the COL issues.