Help! My whole house smells of teenage boys.

[moofolk]

Help! My house smells of teenage boy and I don’t know how to make it better. AIBU to think this is not inevitable?

What can I do? There’s three of them. The 17 year old washes fastidiously and without prompting. The other two need reminding, but even straight after a bath or shower they smell.
I wash clothes & bedding more frequently than is environmentally sound.
The musk comes off them and infiltrates everything. Their bedrooms smell disgusting. The fastidiously tidy one less so, but still bad, which leads me to fear I might be being U to expect to be able to change and just have to wait it out. But how long? Until they all leave home?

As I walk upstairs in my house the fug hits. I hate it but also very embarrassed if anyone comes round.

I have boys and use this essential oil anti bacterial air freshener. It’s £20 but really works and is natural, and strong so you only need a bit. Seems to “clean” the air.

I leave my older son’s window open all the time (just a bit) and definitely wash clothes asap.

he doesn’t smell, but the room
can get musty

Pure Essence

DS1 around 8/9 started smelling off even after having a bath.

DH couldn’t smell it and I brought it up with the health nurse for his school and she said it was normsl.

My parents immediately did smell it though when they visited when DD1 was born and my mother said my sister was the same at his age.

I added drops of rosemary to his bath and use scented oil on his skin afterwards and it helps with the smell.

He loves being outside which helps a bit. The room he shares with his brother though… I’m often having to follow my nose on where odors are coming from and unfortunately a lot of artificial smells give me headaches including body sprays.

If I won the lottery, I’d buy a home where I’d have my own wing.

I have 2 boys, both now in their 20s. DS2's room has always stunk. When he came home after uni he moved bedrooms (he's now left home) and both rooms still smell, particularly when the weather gets warm. One of them he's not been in for about 3 years. I think I might have to change the mattresses &/or carpet. DS1 never smelt at all

L’Oreal Thermic resist antiperspirant is what the men in this house use, OP. Tall orange cans, often reduced in Tesco. And Simple shower gel or Simple soap, never Lynx.

Am trying to find a gentle form of words to persuade MIL not to give Lynx gift sets at Christmas - which go straight in the charity bags.

I soaked DS1’s uni bedding in a bucket overnight with white vinegar and bicarbonate before washing and line drying on a sunny breezy day. Not perfect afterwards, but much better.

I have three sons and at no time have I ever smelled them or had our house smell so I'm not sure what's going on at yours. Throw open your windows for a start it sounds very unpleasant

Definitely bar soap (not Dove) for showering.

Realising that growing up in the 70s my whole family used the one bar of soap (at a time, not forever!) and I’m wondering how that would go down. X3 bars of soap for x3 teenagers?

I didn’t manage to convert my step teenagers to soap but they definitely wouldn’t have countenanced soap that had been in contact with someone else’s body!

The Ordinary glycolic acid on their armpits before applying antiperspirant. It helps to kill off BO bacteria. Put it in a travel sized spray bottle for easy application. A few sprays under arm, let dry for a minute or so, then antiperspirant. Witchhazel is another option.

Scalp brush for each in the shower to really get their scalps and hair clean. Love mine, and teen DD’s hair smells much better since she started using one. They’re the silicone brushes with thick nubby bristles.

Neither of mine have smelled that bad, but I understand that some boys do - like some women get through the menopause with minimal problems and others are floored by it.

Op the soap instead of gel isn’t correct.

I’m following this with interest and will try some of the ideas- DS has been away for a week, I’ve stripped his bed and let the mattress air for a few days, window has been open 24/7 this week, I’ve dusted and hoovered his room and it’s better, but the smell is still there. I think a new mattress might be needed this autumn. (With a good mattress protector I can bung in a hot wash).

Wow-I have lived with brothers, male university housemates, boyfriends and sons and haven't ever found this.

If they still smell when they get out of the shower, that's the issue-give them bar soap (Nesti Danti) and proper anti-perspirant. How often do they wash their towels?

Do they think they smell? Do you think they are washing properly?

We have 2 boys and agree with most people’s advice - they showered 2 x day - before school and after exercise- most importantly for me was to wash clothes every day as I think that stops the stench settling into the clothes as something that sits for days waiting to be washed could retain some of the smell even after washing and yes - bedding weekly and wash actual duvets ( not weekly but more that we wash ours!) for us shoes/ football boots were the worst and these occasionally had to be left outside to air out

In my experience it definitely is correct. Shower gels are rubbish - we use bars of soap and feel (and smell!) clean.

Know this smell OP 🥲. With mine, stripping off the bed sprinkling bicarb all over the mattress, leaving for a couple of hours and then hoovering it all off seems to clear the worst of the fug.

Thanks I’ll try the glycolic acid I’ve never heard of it. I’ve got a scalp brush already.

I really disagree. I don't think shower gel gets you anywhere near as clean as soap (and most disappears straight down the plug hole!). Soap in a bar (not Dove) leaves you properly clean.

Yes, I think bicarb needs to become my new best friend! 😂

I can’t imagine it being delicious to anyone, but congrats evolution, it’s certainly repulsive to middle aged women. Job done! 😂

This is interesting. Does it happen with mothers and daughters too? At certain times of the month, I find DD really stinks but neither DH nor her siblings can smell it. They all think I'm imagining it.

I have a primary-aged son and am already anticipating the teenage grimness. The tips on this thread will be useful!

I’ll try this, thanks for the recommendation

The one thing I would add to all of this... socks, gym clothes, and football gear have to go into a wash with a disinfectant laundry additive as well as the detergent, and not on a quick cycle. Sweaty gear must not go into the washing basket and sit. But socks is a big thing for the stink here!

I have 3 boys only two at home now. They just stink.
I recommend

1. Soap -Pears - proper soap!! not dove or simple
2. Biological washing powder
3. Windows open daily
4. Dry washing outside/ use a dehumidifier if drying indoors

It does pass. My 25 year-old smells lush and his house smells lovely

I think the soap and biological washing powder make the biggest difference.
I find biological washing stuff hard to find too the majority of fancy smelling ones are non bio which is just useless. Everything ends up musty

Dettol soap is key to your solution. It’s anti bacterial so actually clears the smelly parts whereas shower gel does not. It’s anti bacterial has completely solved the issue in our house. Your boys need to wash their armpits, private area and feet with Dettol soap every shower. That will stop the problem at source. It’s available cheaply in blocks of six from Amazon or widely available at supermarkets

This is most definitely a thing!

some things that have helped me tackle the smelly teen boy smell.

Antibacterial bar soap (I buy the dettol one, it ls yellow and just smells like soap but is anti bacterial).embarrass them if you must, but detail how to wash their bodies using the soap … they may just be allowing water to run off them and not actually washing.
Also, a big one- check how they are washing their hair. I think a lot of this smell comes from hair oils… turns out my son was using the slightest little smidge of shampoo and mainly just wetting his hair to ‘wash’ it. I taught him to lather rinse and repeat… 2 good goes with plenty of shampoo and his hair smelled clean after washing. I had to teach this by actually washing my sons hair over the side of the shower (he was dressed, just to be clear) , so he learned the process and the sensation of what actually scrubbing his scalp and hair clean felt like … he is ND and has some sensory issues so this took some teaching. He got it after a few times of being sent back to shower when he was clearly still smelly! I think some if this was the teen lazies, and some if not was needing to embed the process.

windows open and lots of air flow.

bedding washed every week, good quality wash liquid and some antibacterial laundry stuff (I buy mine from Lidl or similar, no need to buy the branded dettol stuff which is pricey ) no fabric softener (can cause smells to cling as coats the fibres apparently) and a glug of white vinegar in the softener drawer.

This one is controversial but I swear is an absolute game changer- I got an enzyme cleaner that’s for dog wee/poo accidents , and smells and stains (I know !!!) and sprayed it on the mattress when it was stripped each week, also a spritz on the carpet after weekly hoovering. It isn’t like febreeze, it actually neutralises the smell as it’s got enzymes that are designed to neutralise biological smells. It doesn’t smell bad, and is safe to use for humans as well as for dogs! I will try and link the picture. I buy it in a huge carton for about £20 on amazon as I use it for everything (it’s an amazing stain remover for absolutely anything, it even got an huge tomato bolognaise stain out of my cream carpet !!! ) . This was the most effective thing I’ve ever found for the teen Smell.
I also spray it in trainers, armpits of sweaty boy coats, onto smelly backpacks … anything… and it just neutralises the smell. It’s magic.