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.

You really do unless you want to smell

I live and work in central London and like a PP regularly use public transport. I don't find this to be the case at all, although that's with the caveat that a larger proportion of people (including me) are not English.

Proves op's point exactly. And in the basin where you wash your face and teeth too 🤢

I think some people have a kind of horror of dirt, sweat, body fluids, general slovenliness, etc, that would intrigue a psychiatrist, to judge by some of the posts on here. I think it's weird. And a bit nasty, if I'm honest.

I mean it's technically anti-rest of the UK too.
In all honesty there have always been whiffy folk around, for a whole host of reasons, and I imagine that's not going to change anytime soon.

I shower every day (unless not feeling well), clean clothes, hair washed (this is not needed) every day.
I'm in there for ten minutes washing every bit of me But...
I will not wear deodorant. Can't stand the stuff.
Instead I use dettol soap and a flannel to scrub armpits. It works well.

The only exception is when I will be out of house from early morning to late night.

I don't judge others though even if being near smelly people is not pleasant.

I see so many comments from people saying they only shower or bath once a week and wear the same pyjamas for a week at a time not changing bed covers for 2 weeks. It’s disgusting. As a grown adult there is absolutely no need to not be clean.

I don't remember seeing anybody say they only bath or shower once a week, @AgileMentor ? There's quite a leap between that and not every single day, which does seem to be more common.

It's a slight derail, but if anybody who isn't keen on trad deodorants/anti perspirants, the Aurelia one is very effective and smells lovely https://www.aurelialondon.com/botanical-cream-deodorant

At least there are some of us on here who recognise our failings and distance ourselves from our shameful compatriots, agreeing enthusiastically with any criticism and sycophanticly praising all things that are not English. In this way we are at least trying to better ourselves.

No I don’t mean on this thread I’ve seen it on comment threads on Facebook

The OP said ‘many people in England’, not the nation as a whole. It’s not anti-English to say some people here practice poor hygiene. It’s just a fact. Some of the unhygienic people she is referring to may not even be English. People are so touchy about any comments or perceived criticism of this country🙄 And it didn’t take long for the racists to surface and tell OP to go back to where she comes from.

It's not really more convenient though is it, its a lot of faffing and getting water everywhere when you could just get in the shower and wash everything at once. It's no more time consuming to have a shower.

Absolutely. I frequently abase myself at the altar of all that is non English. How can we ever match up?

TBF we are a fairly clean lot here ! Continental people whiff! Garlic ,tobacco and so on.If you are on public transport with lots of people in the heat then that whiffs up odours as well.

I don't get the flannel wash thing either.
Providing you're physically able, and money's not too tight, why not have a quick navy shower?

Hair in shower cap, water on to get wet, soap all essential parts, shower on, rinse.

You don't need to wash arms and legs everyday.

Personally I shower twice a day because I love feeling clean. Three times if I can in hot weather.

But, living in a deprived area of a city I also think that the cost of living crisis has had a huge impact on how well people manage to keep themselves and their clothes clean. Washing clothes costs money. So do showers. I know people on salaries quite a bit above the minimum wage who can’t afford to put the heating on in winter or use the oven to cook. When you’re wondering how you can afford to feed your family that week, or going to the food bank so that you can, you might well not be able to spend money on showers, washing machine or toiletries. And this applies to far more people than many of the well off realise.

No. I'd have said exactly the same if the OP had said 'many people in France/India/Japan...' because it would have been a daft and offensive generalisation then too. The difference being I suspect a lot more people would have also challenged her if she'd name checked any other country. And rightly so.

Yanbu, I don't know why people take such huge offence when it's literally true. It's not personal, if you wash properly obviously this doesn't apply to you. I couldn't go a day without a good scrub.

Exactly this. Thanks for clarifying

I'm English and have lived here all my life. Who are these people that don't rinse their dishes after washing them?

GalileoHumpkins
It's not a faff for me and unless you're my DP or one of my kids then you don't really know how my showering amd flannel wash compares 🤷🏿‍♀️🙄

The people I meet who smell, it's not personal hygiene or clothes washing that makes them smell, it's cooking or smoking. They smell either of fried foods, stale food or smoke.

I guess they wouldn't smell quite so strongly if they changed their clothes every time they cooked or smoked, so in that way it's a laundry problem, but nobody is going to do that.

Our houses tend to be small, no space for 'laundry rooms' or 'utility rooms' if you live in Victorian terranced house, so clothes are often hung to dry where the household smells get to them. That's not really anyone's fault, you can't smell your own house.

That’s true and some people are really neurotic about this (see the threads on “outdoor vs indoor clothes, fussing about taking shoes off etc). Utterly batshit sometimes.

But I do think washing your arse and genitalia at least once a day if possible is non negotiable. Just unpleasant for others if you don’t do that.

It seems nonsensical to me that people can on the one hand get in a weird flap about “germs” because someone has sat on a bed wearing an overcoat but on the other hand think it’s acceptable to go to the toilet multiple times over a period of several days and not think it important to wash.

Not just an English thing. Just a lot of muddled, unscientific and emotionally driven approaches to this which don’t stand up to intellectual rigour or consistency.

Where do you live op? I’m in the Midlands and whilst I can’t say I never notice anyone smelling, it’s a fairly rare occurrence.

@Vroomfondleswaistcoat

Also people wearing clothes that haven’t been properly dried.