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!

Took out the carpet and put wooden flooring down - lovely!

Do you have blinds? Vertical blinds in my living room smell of BO especially when it is sunny.

@Juniland

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.

Cat's pee 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

Another one for the light fitting - older ones can give off a really horrible smell.

Agree with smelling everything in the room. Our work office stunk of BO, everyone was getting paranoid that it was them. Turns out it was a rubber/plastic kettle stand, every time it was heated up it emitted the smell.

Off at a tangent, but how long has this been a problem?

Have you had, or suspected, CV19? This would certainly affect your sense of smell

@okbye

How very disappointing. I was expecting a body! 😉

This happened to DS1's room. We emptied everything and it still stank. Turns out he had spilled some milk on carpet months ago.
A very tiny amount but that was enough.
Make a washing preparation with white vinegar and washing up liquid and wash the carpet and see if it makes a difference

"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."

Inside my radiators smell of sulphur. Really awful.
Could there be a dead animal in the wall/floor boards?

Try Febreeze spray on the mattress. I know it's heavily advertised, but it really does work. You do need to wet the surface of what ever you are spraying thoroughly. You can always dry it off with a hair dryer if it's not dry by the time you go to bed.

Thank you for your replies.

I have checked everywhere and there is no damp in the room, no smelly light fittings, headboard is leather. No shoes except in porch.

We are clean, we dont smell but I suppose we do sweat, I'm at the beginning of the menopause and my husband does sweat easily but our body's dont smell and we always have the window open even in winter because we dont like it hot at night.

Is it a weed smell? That’s what I’d call a B.O. smell, are you in a flat or terraced where the smell could come through?

I once tracked a similar problem to XH dressing gown, on the back of the bedroom door. It needed washing at least weekly.

Long shot... yoga mat/exercise ball? Our (clean) exercise ball gives off an absolutely classy whiff of BO . . .

@LeGrandBleu

This happened to DS1's room. We emptied everything and it still stank. Turns out he had spilled some milk on carpet months ago. A very tiny amount but that was enough. Make a washing preparation with white vinegar and washing up liquid and wash the carpet and see if it makes a difference

Oh gross..........As a kid there was a hideous reek in the kitchen, indescribable. We'd come back from holiday and mum had a dishcloth that had been used to mop up milk, and after 3 weeks away in August it could have danced a jig all by itself.

I loathed oldskool dishcloths after that, indescribable unless boil washed daily. Boak.

@Thewiseoneincognito

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

@Thewiseoneincognito

@BadgerHonour

Is it a weed smell? That’s what I’d call a B.O. smell, are you in a flat or terraced where the smell could come through?

Weed smells more like fresh sweat.. from what I remember, but not unpleasant. More ''Foxy'' than rank B.O

Put a bowl of coffee grounds in the room. They absorb smell very effectively and will remove odours

@Thewiseoneincognito

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

😀😀😀😀

Have you checked your pillows? They stain easily when one sweats, and it could be harbouring the smell maybe?

Is there any old plastic in there? I have found some old plastic items stink of BO.

@BadgerHonour I thought this too. To my nose, weed smells exactly the same as BO.

Cardboard boxes? We were using shoe boxes to store our shoes and it turned out that the shop was using recycled cardboard that smelled rank. It took ages to work to work out (easily solved with plastic shoeboxes from the pound shop).

Potentially a problem with paint? Did you redecorate at all?

We built wardrobes and used Velspar paint and after we had finished we realised it smelt bad. Two years later, on warm days it still smells....

Good luck