The Great Unwashed

[Granitetopping]

AIBU to want colleagues to shower daily, wear clean clothes and use deodorant?

[wannabedreams]

yanbu and I don't understand how people can no know and not want to wash more....

[mrsmillsfanclub]

Of course yanbu.
I have just started having to commute by bus again to work and am horrified by the number of people that head off to work without brushing their teeth or having a wipe down with a flannel at the least. It's a basic human requirement even animals wash themselves. Totally selfish that dirty people should inflict their smells on others, fine if you never leave the house but not on a packed bus.

[Charliefox]

I know someone who doesn't wash all week. And I'm talking no wash or shower at all, morning or night. She slaps the make up on and the clothes and then heads off to school, where she works. Disgusts me to be honest.

[apostropheuse]

YANBU

It doesn't take much effort to shower daily and wear fresh clothes.

It's just basic hygiene for goodness sake.

[Alisvolatpropiis]

YANBU.

Smelly people walking by have made me retch before now. I am glad to have always worked in jobs where poor personal hygiene is considered an issue to be dealt with swiftly before someone throws up

[InNeedOfBrandy]

mrsmills the morning breath off of someone on the bus is the worst!

[TapirBackRider]

There's a guy at work who starts out on Monday fresh & clean, and ends the week totally rank and reeking. He prefers killing zombies to keeping up with his personal hygiene, and at his last disciplinary hearing stated that he didn't see the need for a full body wash more than once a week.

He's currently on his final written warning, but appears to not understand it's a problem.

[Gomez]

But how do you notice? I'm 42 and have only really had 1 smelly colleague in all that time. Oh and one with pongy feet in the summer.

Whilst I don't like the smell of fags, booze and too much perfume I just don't have the issue with body odour that others seem to. And can live with the boozy, faggy thing as it is only transient and once you move away it goes away too.

Ponders if this is because I live in the frozen North

[OpenMouthInsertCake]

Has anyone ever noticed that shower gels just don't seem to give the same 'clean' smell as proper bar soap? I realise this is a bit off topic, but it seemed the thread for it. I can feel grubby again fairly quickly after using shower gel (and anti-perspirant after showering) but if I use a soap like Dove, I smell clean for aaaaages.

[TapirBackRider]

Gomez He works in a small & confined area which becomes my workspace once he leaves. I've taken to sticking a hand around the door and squirting lots of air-freshener before going in. I don't have a particularly weak stomach but there have been times when the smell has made me dry heave.

[Valpollicella]

I think proper soap is more de greasing therefore longer lasting? Shower gels are a bit more 'gentle' because people shower every day now (well, mostly). So they are made gentler so we don't strip all our skin off

hence that feelingOPen...I could be wrong though

[SolidGoldFrankensteinandmurgh]

We had a broken boiler in November - for three weeks. Most nights I would go through the tedious routine of boiling three kettles and three saucepans to give DS a bath (though at 8 years old he's not that sweaty and a wet flannel will often do) but could neither stand nor afford to do that for myself every night (electricity on keymeter...) Mind you, I either work from home or spend my time walking the streets delivering leaflets, so I am not near other people long enough for them to notice if I honk a bit.

[Chottie]

I think it is disgusting and anti social. That rank, acid smell of BO, unwashed hair and clothes is just gross. It is especially awful in a confined space.

[MammaTJ]

I have no bath or shower at the moment. Sorry, I can only strip wash!!

[FellatioNels0n]

YABNU. I live somewhere where I am often surrounded by lots of people who (culturally I think) do not use antiperspirant and it can be very, very unpleasant indeed. Especially as it can get well above 45 degrees here in the summer. I'm like one of those delicate Victorian ladies, wafting a lavender-scented handkerchief in front of my nose.

[Thumbwitch]

YANBU that people should not smell at work, but YABU to dictate how they achieve that.

We had a bloke in our labs who had a personal hygiene issue, mostly due to nylon shirts and refusal to change his labcoat frequently enough. I ended up leaving a highlighted photocopy of the HR code of conduct re. personal hygiene in his labcoat pocket because none of us were brave enough to tell him face to face. It worked, though.

[mathanxiety]

YANBU and you have my sympathy.

[mademred]

yANBU! No excuse to be dirty, soap and water is cheap enough.the town we shop in about 20 miles from here is full of jk fodder, and its the fashion to stink and wear filthy clothes.wat gets my goat more is seeing small kids and babies with these filthy people and them sitting in filthy prams.! It's everyones buisness when they are out in public offending people with their stench.

[NumericalMum]

YANBU! A woman at work used to shower\bath and wash her hair on a Thursday. The disgusting oily mess tht was her hair used to make me feel ill when I had to talk to her and not to mention the smell of oily hair!

I know I probably go to the other extreme but I cannot stand not having washed hair every morning.

[kalidanger]

I once sent an anonymous email to a woman I did a hobby with about her stinking I said 'we' didn't have a problem with anything she said or did but to please wear deoderant. It worked too. I think it was because she was a hippy no-chemicals type. She was lovely and it was difficult and that was all I could think of to do as not a work setting.

[JusticeCrab]

Sometimes it's unavoidable. Possible TMI here, but some time last year I got a bad rash/soreness in a not-particularly-nice place, possibly courtesy of insect bites - and my normal, manageable 'natural odours' became horribly unpleasant. Washing didn't help. I smelled like something had crawled inside me and died. And I couldn't stop myself smelling like that - at least, not without industrial chemical assistance.

Stashing sprays and wipes in the office is a good idea, Babs - especially if the office gets warm regularly.

[girlguideforever]

YANBU! Personally, at least wash the three f's every morning (face, feet and fanny)!