To think many people in England don’t shower, apply deodorant, wash and dry their clothes properly

[Smellypeople]

Telling by the smell on public transport; also my kids tell me is the same in their schools and classrooms and teachers don’t open windows.

Have people lost the sense of smell?

I come from a developing country in the tropics and most people shower every day.

That's quite a generalisation...

Oh goodie, another anti English thread. It's been too long....🙄

Most people do. Some people don’t. Why do you think that some people don’t?
Poverty, physical and mental health problems…

Proper Englerish people don't own showers or baths you know. We just have a dust bath in the garden and use the twigs we scavenge for toothbrushes.

Not sure about showers and deodorant.

In terms of laundry, you definitely have a point. UK homes are terribly designed. They are built and designed as if needing to clean your clothes is a dirty secret. Most people don't have utility or laundry rooms. Most don't have tumble dryers so drying laundry is a challenge. If you don't have a garden and/or weather isn't nice, you are left drying inside on airers. I do think this is an issue and causes clothes to not smell particularly fresh.

I don’t use deodorant if I can help it. It’s nasty stuff
and smelling like a person is fine IMO. The stench of perfumed washing powders stings my eyes and gives me a headache.

Went to the local beach last week. Primary school kids there on a trip. As they exited the sea and walked past where I was sitting (about 30 of them), all I could smell was washing detergents. After they’d been in the sea!!

I imagine it would be deemed very offensive if anyone from England was to make a sweeping generalisation of cleanliness amongst people from a "developing country in The Tropics"

You’re absolutely right.

So many people not washing regularly. And don’t be telling me you flannel wash, because firstly you don’t and secondly it’s not the 1970s.

😂

Tell us your country of origin OP and I bet we can all list a couple of racist common beliefs about it.

Here we go; buckle up for another showering thread.

OP I agree but about 100 people are on their way to tell you a flannel wash of the armpits and genitals is a better approach to hygiene because we did it in the 1970s.

In short: you’re right and Brits have very strange and inconsistent ideas about hygiene.

You need to wash pits and private parts everyday but you don’t need a shower to do that.

Hmmm - different countries different smells, having just come back from a long haul destination, I’m not going to specify as we enjoyed our time there but I looked forward to coming home.

I think it is part of a trend that perhaps accelerated in 2020 to be lazy about appearance. I don't think you should only be making a comparison with equatorial countries.

Just go on a Eurostar to Paris or Brussels (once they are running OK again) and see/smell the difference.

It’s absolutely the same washing in a shower or washing with a sponge at a sink. The parts end up washed in exactly the same way.

I work in healthcare and most people who have poor hygiene also struggle greatly with their mental and/or physical health for various reasons.
I don’t judge people based on their hygiene levels.
Maybe try thinking outside of the little box you’ve stuck yourself in and have some empathy for others.

Having worked in retail, yeah lots of people stink.

I try to err on the less judgemental side and assume there's a reason for it. Poverty, mental health, literally nowhere to dry clothes properly and avoid the musty smell etc.

I've also travelled a lot, and people in other countries can and do stink as well. Only country I've ever been to where the public transport smelled like anything other than BO was Japan. Being whiffy after a long day is not a condition exclusive to the English.

However if it bothers you that much maybe go home and enjoy your nice clean country where everyone smells like roses

People are only getting defensive because it's true.
You are totally right

She didn't say Brits, though. She said the English. So I'm guessing the Scots, Welsh and N.Irish are ok..

I sew my kids into woollen vests coated with goose grease at the start of the winter, and we all have a bath once a year whether we need it or not.

Exactly. And I'm sure that applies to other countries too.

I flannel wash 🙋🏿‍♀️😂 as do my primary aged kids. It saves me valuable sleep time in the morning. And yes, I know it's not the 70s 😅

Drying clothes might be a problem for some this summer. It's rained a lot. In winter you can dry things on radiators. This summer I've repeatedly had to put up the heated airer to finish drying clothes from the line. If someone doesn't have that option I can see how their clothes might start to smell damp.

As for the rest of it, who knows. Bills have gone up, maybe some people literally can't afford for the whole family to shower every day.

I don’t know a single adult who smells ie everyone I work with and everyone in my extended family is perfectly clean.

BUT I work with teenagers and many of them smell. Teenagers sweat a lot anyway but they are not in good habits eg showering every day and some of them do not have the resources to keep their clothes clean.

I'm not saying it's better than showering though. Just much more convenient than showering every morning 🤷🏿‍♀️