My lodger stinks!

[chillwinston17]

I recently starting letting my spare room to a friend. He is fine and mainly keeps himself to himself, except for the smells!!

Twice a day he uses the bathroom and it stinks out the entire house for hours - even with the windows open.

His bedroom stinks of 'man' - he doesn't always close the door and it seems to deep into the whole house.

He doesn't shower every day so when he's walking around he smells.

I don't know how to deal with this! He's a friend so I can't really tell him and I don't want to kick him out. But we share the bathroom and my house is lovely, I don't want it to stink! Have tried air fresheners but honestly the bathroom stench is something else.

What can I do?

Just tell him, and don't flower it up, just tell him straight.

If he is leaving dishes in the bedroom, I'm going to assume it's a mess in there, hence the smell.

"You need to tidy your bedroom, clear out the plates, wash your bedding weekly and do your laundry. You are making my house smell."

I have a problem with a work colleague, who on occasion wears no underwear, and I can smell that she has no underwear on, if you get my drift. She has also has raging BO and hair that looks like it has it's own eco system.

So you have my sympathy OP< some people are just disgusting human beings.

Other people’s toilet and bedroom smells. Ugh.

I lived in shared houses for years and it is a problem but when it’s your own home it’s even worse.

I am so glad I am single.

That no underwear story is gross.

Grim!
Personally I would give him a months notice as I doubt he will change his ways.

This will not get sorted.

It's amazing how so many males are like this. Utter lack of awareness of the way their hygiene habits may impact on others. Yes he has a nose. Yes he will be able to smell his own smells. But no thought that he perhaps should think to wash, take care of the room you're thoughtfully providing or even open a bathroom window. It's yet another example of basic male entitlement. The idea that one's own behaviour may negatively impact on others, therefore when you do things you think 'Is this ok?' - basically, that does not happen in this particular male's brain.

It won't get sorted so if you don't want to end up having absolutely no regard for him, make up a reason why you need the room back by the end of the month. I am sure that it is possible for him to find a basic room by next month, however as things stand he doesn't need to!

@BlooperReel I think we had the same colleague. I've left that office where it was happening but I and two other colleagues had to speak to our HR manager in private...we didn't directly speak to our colleague as it could have come across as bullying. She also had an awful case of nits. A client had complained!!

There was no mental health issues she simply couldn't be bothered! I left after a few months but heard on the grapevine she got the sack. I just don't understand some people and their basic hygiene or lack of! Also had another colleague that didn't wipe properly after going to the loo...luckily I was on another floor...but when he walked past you could really smell it...another one that HR had to speak to...I would have hated to be that HR manager.

My Neice was saying yesterday that at her school they have had to put 10 mins of 'smelling clean and not just masking with perfume/awful lynx' time in their form time on a morn and open the showers at 7.30am providing shower gel, towels etc as some of the kids are incredibly stinky!! She's in year 10

@Wenospeak what does being single have to do with it?! He's my lodger because I'm single and like the extra cash!

I've never smelt him when we've been out as he does shower to go to work etc but he's the type to not leave the house all weekend, be playing on his xbox and so not shower - a man child I guess. Eg he showered Friday night then didn't actually leave the house all weekend so didn't shower again until this morning and wore the same clothes all weekend!

Ironically I put a sofa etc in his room to encourage him not to use the living room but it seems to have had the opposite effect. He was going to buy a house and move out but now says he likes the set up so much he might stay!

I wouldn't bother talking to him about his smells, just give him notice. Then get a woman to share, but interview beforehand.

It's very difficult to tell someone they smell :( I had a boyfriend I liked, but he had a certain problem in the penis department, even if straight out of the shower. I broke up with him rather than mention it. He'd been married before, and got married subsequently, so either the other women had something wrong with their noses or the second wife found a way to tell him. He was the product of a public school, evidently they don't teach boys to wash under their foreskins.

Quite a few on here suggesting you turn into his maid, and as for blaming his mother...

He's not going to change, unless you address the problems. If you don't mention it, he'll carry on obliviously. You will either have to tell him, ask him to leave or put up with it.

Look. He may well change as he obviously showers for work and doesn't smell when out etc. He is used to his own flat. Tell him his room is smelling too much for you. Ask him to shower at the weekend at least once, to open the window in his room every day for at least an hour or so, to change his sheets regularly and to bring down dirty crockery and plates every day. If he does that and it still smells or other doesn't do it
then maybe give upthen and give notice.

On the lookout smell,I find striking a match as well as opening a window works better than anything . I keep a pack in the bathroom as it tends to be me who produces the unpleasant loo smells in our house 😳

My flat mate at uni stank. It was mainly his shoes that he wore every day and never changed until my ex army relative came to stay and suggested to him that he might have trench foot. He did buy new boots after that. It was also him wearing dirty clothes and not changing sheets etc. If he pulled someone on a night out and invited them back they would always make their excuses and go home after sitting in his pungent room for half an hour and he has remained single ever since and now nearly 40 which I suspect is partly or mostly due to his hygiene. You’d be doing this guy renting from you a favour by gently discussing it with him.

I consider myself a veteran as regards to lodgers with almost 20 years experience. I can tell you females are more messy, cause more problems and are equally capable of stinking a bathroom out. If I had to make a decision male or female for lodgers for the future I would choose males. Females are much more unreliable too as regards to payments and actually turning up to view the room initially. I am just telling you how it is.

I'm laughing so hard at some of these posts, hilarious.

p.s. Don't tell him he smells OP, that would be cruel, just say you need the room back.

And the point in bumping this to tell us this @Thumbsup2019 🤷🏻‍♀️

I must get my eyes tested.
I read it as "my todger stinks".

Show him

What must people be eating to stink more than the bathroom out? Alcohol, McDonald's?

Put on your big girl panties and tell him..

Mate.. you stink.. if you want to stay here longer term, please shower daily, change bedding weekly, febreeze your room and use VIPoo before you take a shit. Thanks.

Considering this was a year ago I imagine OP either sorted the problem or is used to the smell by now.

This is a ZOMBIE post. The OP posted about her stinky lodger a year ago and as she hasn’t come back I’m guessing she either kicked him out or told him and he changed or she’s still putting up with it 🤷‍♀️