Embarrassing problem! Need advice

[Serena1977]

So embarrassed so I'm asking anonymously.

Me and dh's bedroom smells of BO and has done for a few months. We shower/bath everyday and wash everything at 60 degrees once a week. I have the windows open all day. I have cleaned the whole room extremely thoroughly and clean regularly anyway. I have had the curtains dry cleaned, replaced the duvets and pillows and bed spread. Sometimes it seems a bit less then it's back.

Nowhere else in the house smells, we don't, the kids rooms don't. My last idea is the mattress but I can't afford to replace it and it's not that old and super comfy.

Any advice greatly welcomed!

Whoops, sorry wrong board!

Could you sprinkle your mattress with bicarbonate of soda and then Hoover off? It’s good for neutralising odour.

You could try sprinkling bicarbonate of soda on mattress leaving all day then vacuuming off. Or borrow a carpet shampooer and use that to deep clean the mattress?

Dp.you have the dirty linen basket in your room? What about shoes? Both often cause musty smells.

Are you both hot people ie do you sweat a lot when hot or exercising? If so you are right the mattress is probably the cause. Best way to help without replacing the mattress is to strip completely, cover in bicarb for as much of the day as you can. Hoover off just before bed and remake bed. Use a washable mattress protector (have a spare and change when you change the bed). Then save for a new mattress and do it from the start. I just bought a new king size one from IKEA, excellent mattress, really comfy and the price was really good... £225 for a king size

maybe dampness in the closet or behind the closet? or mold?

Can anyone else smell it or could you have convinced yourself it smells?

Could it be from bare wet feet on the carpet?

Its probably the mattress.

If you can't afford a new one try using febreeze or shake and vac on it and see if that helps.

This is going to sound odd....
Do you have an ikea wardrobe?
Dd had the smelliest room when she was about 13, smelt so much like bo. Poor girl was mortified, we washed everything, tried various deodorants but it wasn't her!
Dh in desperation smelt literally everything in her room and discovered that her wardrobe doors absolutely stank
We took them off and replaced them with mirrored ones and the problem was instantly solved.
They really did smell of bo!!

Might sound strange but worth checking if it could be from your radiator? Years ago my parents had some kind of slow radiator leak and it made the room smell awful, it was like salty meat, not dissimilar to BO.

It's worth checking the light bulb, we had a room smell of fish years ago, turned out to be the light bulb.. As above sniff everything in the room no matter how absurd you feel

Shake and vac the carpet, it’s the only thing that works when the lounge smells a bit ‘doggy’

Get a rug doctor for the carpet and mattress! And a plug in if that doesn’t fix it

Check under your flooring. In my childhood room a terrible smell got worse and worse and upon peeling back the carpet my dad discovered a massive patch of stinking mould which was caused by a bath leak (bathroom was next to my room) 😬

Could it be the headboard that smells? Or shoes on upstairs could have brought a bad smell in? We're strictly shoes off at the door (except for guests, can't make them!)

Shoes or carpet? Is the smell in wardrobes or drawers or the general air?

Do either of you have bo?

@SuddenArborealStop

It's worth checking the light bulb, we had a room smell of fish years ago, turned out to be the light bulb.. As above sniff everything in the room no matter how absurd you feel

^This, except not the light bulb, the light fitting. Some of the older ones can get smelly when the light is turned on and they heat up.

Good luck OP.

A pp mentioned IKEA wardrobes - we had 2 that we had to throw out. The smell from the doors after a couple of years was pure BO! Took us ages to track down.

Have you considered inviting a priest around? It could be some kind of entity you need to have removed.

Valspar paint can give off an awful smell sometimes , a long time after paint , a bit like cat's per or b.o !! Have you used that paint ? We had a room that smelt like that for years.

Try shake and vac on the bed and carpets

A long time after painting I mean

@SuddenArborealStop

It's worth checking the light bulb, we had a room smell of fish years ago, turned out to be the light bulb.. As above sniff everything in the room no matter how absurd you feel

We had a fishy room, too, which also turned out to be the light fitting. It drove me mad for a while!

Do you have carpet in the bedroom? We had carpet moths and they stank.