Struggling… everywhere stinks! Toxic scent - is it just me?

[Strawbaler]

Is it just me or has the toxic fug of perfumed scents in everyday life reached unbearable levels?

I am fortunate to live in the countryside and work from home, but when I go into urban/busy places it can be headache inducing…

Toilets with chemical fresheners (especially the ones that squirt perfume periodically) make me feel ill

The smell from the washing powder aisle in the supermarket is so strong I rush through it as fast as I can

I feel that in the last ten years or so, the technology to make powerful, long-lasting scents has spread to everything.

I know there are links between chemical scents & phthalates etc and cancers, so I personally go out of my way to find unscented products, but it’s hard to avoid them in everyday life

I can smell my neighbours washing line from 75 meters away, that can’t be right?!

Is it just me?

Well, it’s normal to think that things are a little bit too strongly scented these days, but your reaction seems extreme and over the top.

Bump?

I totally agree. However I think most people go nose blind to it so they will think you’re being a drama queen.

I’ve always been sensitive to fragrance, but not overwhelmingly so - there was plenty I could use even if most stuff did give me headaches. I used to happily use the scented Ecover fabric detergent for example - it has artificial fragrance, but it’s not overwhelming like other mainstream brands. When I first got pregnant, I read about the health effects of fragrance as well as how babies want to smell their mum’s natural smell, not perfume. So I swapped all my products to unscented versions.

This week, they didn’t have the unscented laundry detergent in the supermarket, and it’s a few £s more in the only other place nearby that sells it (I live rurally like you OP!), so I just decided to grab the scented version that I used years ago. Oh my goodness - I got three days in using it before I gave it to a friend and went and got the unscented one again. I couldn’t stand it! I could smell it all through the house, it felt claustrophobic wearing the freshly washed clothes as they just stank. Even my husband commented negatively on it and he doesn’t care about things like this.

I really think once you go unscented, it’s hard to go back. I also just like my things to smell like… things! Not perfume! I like my wool to smell like wool, for example. I love the smell of wool!

I know what you mean but I live rurally and my senses have been assaulted for the last few days by farmers spreading muck and some other substance that smells like stinky dishcloths!

I’m with you. Cannot wear perfume anymore either as artificial smells just give me a headache. I bought some supermarket wash powder today as my usual unscented one ran out before I could reorder. It stunk the entire house. It’s currently in the conservatory with the door closed and still the smell is lingering. Same also with our neighbours, I know when they’ve put a wash on as the smell of those awful scent beads comes wafting over. It can’t be good for wildlife either, creatures that rely on scent for direction, etc.

AND it surprises me how many people are not triggered by this issue. We have ear defenders for loud noise, warnings when there are flashing lights, but nothing for having these smells forced upon us. I remember once being sprayed with perfume (unasked) by a staff member in Debenhams. An hour later my shopping trip was aborted due to the massive pounding headache it caused.

Never noticed any of these smells. And it's not because I use them. Never wear perfume, have unscented washing powder etc.

If the smell is following you around then it's possible you're right when you say maybe it's just you.

You might be more sensitive to perfumes than most people? I am quite sensitive to smells but don't notice any particular issue with perfumes. In fact some perfumed products I like.

However I'm very sensitive to noise and the way you speak about perfumes makes me think of how I experience noise.

You say you're 'fortunate' enough to live in the countryside but don't the pesticides affect your health?

Not just you! Mind you I have had Covid which affected my sense of smell, but even so. I am fed up with delivery guys wearing at least a bottle full of after shave! And there's a particular fabric conditioner that makes me want to heave.

Are you pregnant? Being pregnant can make your sense of smell more sensitive. I know you wrote over the last 10 years, but it may be more recent that you are feeling sensitive.

Agree, absolutely hate the stink of most washing liquids and powders ...they make me feel unwell too..there are loads if studies about how they affect health

I can’t stand it. There was a washing liquid/powder/something advert where this woman was on roller blades and she was dressed in blue. There was a trail of blue scent behind her in the ad - and that’s exactly what it’s like in real life when someone is walking along in clothing washed in highly scented stuff. When my dd has sleepovers with either of her 2 best mates, her PJs, hair and all her clothes smell of their washing powder. It’s intense and I make her shower and I wash all her clothes. If their mum has been so kind as to wash something of DD’s, I have to soak and re wash to get the stink out.

I think it’s partially because we think that if we momentarily smell of BO, then the world will end. So we have everything fragranced to the max. Gross.

I think you have an exceptionally sensitive sense of smell.

I don't use scents and sprays, but don't find the washing powder aisle an assault on my senses. Sorry, I think it is you.

I live in a village and the thing I notice most in city centres is vehicle exhaust fumes.

I can smell my neighbours' washing machines in my house.

Agree with you, I detest the chemical air scents, I struggle to breathe and my septum starts burning (it actually does, I'm under ENT for it). It's so hard to get away from as they're everywhere now!

I don't like those air fresheners that squirt periodically either. I hate airports that force you to walk through the smelly perfume Duty Free shop.

I'm from a very rural area but there are no pesticides sprayed at all. It really depends on the farms and what they farm! I'd never buy a house next to a farm that sprays.

I feel this but to a lesser extent. I absolutely hate air fresheners in homes and cars, plug ins, diffusers, any aerosols, and most scented candles. I do like laundry detergents, perfumes and scented products such as shampoos and body lotion.

I can smell my neighbours washing line from 75 meters away

No you can’t.

It's very unlikely isn't, unless the OP is a bloodhound.

It’s all about the muck spreading here too!
I’m quite sensitive to smell but I like clean washing powder and perfume smells. It’s the musty smell of washing that took too long to dry and BO and cooking smells on people’s clothes and hair that bothers me, also that soily smell when you’ve been gardening. I’d much rather some nice perfume.

I think you may be part bloodhound.
More seriously, could you be pregnant or have a hormonal imbalance, sense of smell can become massively over sensitive?

She’s not alone!
I’m another who has to rush through the washing powder aisle 😷