PLEASE HELP! WE ARE THE SMELLY FAMILY! WHAT CAN I DO??

[debka]

My mum just said that my house, me, DH and DDs have a distinctive and not-entirely-pleasant smell. DD1 is 3 and my mum is worried that she will be The Smelly Girl in school :(

I am horrified at this. I had no idea.

DDs are small and I am a SAHM. I probably don't clean enough- probably a good going over once every 3 weeks a fortnight. Clothes all washed frequently. Girls bathed daily, I shower every other day.

DH, however, is another matter. He has a wash and cleans his teeth every day, but only showers about once a month, if that. Underwear changed daily, t-shirt probably twice a week. I don't notice him smelling, but apparently he does :( I will talk to him about it but I doubt he will do anything. If I get the house and linen etc in tip top sparkly condition will he infect it all with smelliness? :(

Please, any ideas, advice, encouragement very welcome.

Wow, that dehumidifier looks great, especially as it is a price we could afford! So you can actually see the water it collects? That's so weird! :o

Yes you can see the water it collects and it is SO satisfying to see how much you are pouring away!

It's also very good at clearing condensation from windows or if your bath or shower creates too much steam after (although obviously you can't plug it n the bathroom and you have to careful that you don't put it down on a wet patch on the floor).

Sold mrs tractor! Loving this threadam suffering with the food/damp/nappy/DH/bedding but thankfully no pet combo myself. Ordering dehumidifier now! No room for dryer sadly.

Fab kitchen, lovely smiley girl pic just gorgeous.

Have just read the whole thread whilst feeding DS2 and I'm now wide awake and itching to go and open all the windows and sprinkle baking soda on the mattress. I'm also very aware that I could do with changing the sheets

debka your house (and DDs) are beautiful and look clean, I'm sure you'll have it sorted in no time. I have had similar problems with DH in the past when he was depressed, so I can empathise. You're taking it all so fantastically, and kudos for posting for help

fuzz you can buy Price's Chef's Candles, they are in a tin and you light them after you cook to help remove smells - DO NOT DO THIS INSTEAD OF OPENING WINDOWS BTW! When my proper chef's one burned out I used a normal candle and I didn't really notice any difference so now just but a candle in a tin when I see one and keep it on the kitchen window sill and lift it for 20 mins after making dinner :)

debka while nosying looking at your profile I noticed you like The Poisonwood Bible - that is one of my favourite books! I must've read it at least 5 times!

light it not lift it!

Debka what a great thread :)

You've inspired me to bankrupt myself invest in some new bedding and a new duvet - all our old stuff was from our previous mould/damp riddled flat and although washed regularly enough, it never smelled completely fresh.

Loving all these bicarb tips - I've just spent half an hour on my knees in front of the washing machine with a tub of bicarb and an old toothbrush! The muck and grot hidden from view and festering in the rubber door sealant was a sight to behold. Not even our machine as house is rented - so that's 6 years of our slime and god only knows who else's over the years... Machine now running an empty boil wash

So cheers Deb for giving me the kick I needed to start taking a bit more care - off to the shops now for a new mattress protector and a few more tubs of bicarb! Wishing you continued luck with your own battle - keep the faith :)

Just wanted to say thanks to everyone especially deb, after reading the whole thread I used all the wonderful advice and gave my house a long overdue top to bottom clean!!

I discovered Betty crockers scented candles which smell amazing, also comfort ironing water which makes all our clothes smell amazing.

Betty does candles?

Yep, they smell gorgeous, like gingerbread and chocolate fudge cake :)

deb I really admire the way you have taken all this and risen to the challenge - you will have the freshest smelling DD's in school!
There are loads of good tips here, I have sprinkled my DS's mattress with bicarb as he was sick a few days ago.
I have found that the loveliest smelling and longest lasting clothes/laundry softner is Lenor Infusions "struck by fucshia" you've gotta love it for the name My bed sheets still smell gorgeous after a week...

Things I have done since reading this thread yesterday:

1. Cleaned the kitchen and painted the walls;
2. Started on the playroom, binning all broken toys and making up a bag of toys to give away;
3. Started on the pantry, which is very damp;
4. Opened windows;
5. Cleaned the washing machine and then boil washed with bicarb and vinegar.

Debka Thank you :)

Saint Debka if you please :)

Gosh Saint Debka, you've got everyone cleaning! Round of applause!

Hi debka, just wanted to add one little tip, one way to freshen the house is to decorate. We re-painted the kitchen last week and the whole house still smells of paint :)

Have you seen Mum again yet to ask her to describe the smell a bit better and perhaps offer her suggestions as to what it could be,Debka?

I do my window opening when I'm leaving a room.

Sitting room window last thing at night for 15 mins - it would cool down overnight anyway, so you're not losing useful heat.

Bedroom window for an hour in the day.

Kitchen and bathroom: doors generally closed and windows get opened a lot.

It seems to have made a big impact on my condensation problems - and I dry washing on airers in front of radiators.

frillyknickers I think I know you

Winky wink wink!!

debka opened the bedroom window on Sunday morning and forgot to close it again. it is very old, broken and hard to reach. woke up this morning to sub-zero temps in the bedroom . it was certainly fresh alright!!

I managed to get my DH into the shower this morning. I went into bathroom as he was cleaning his teeth,put out a fresh towel and said 'I will just turn the shower on for you so it has time to warm up' then left, not sure if I could get away with doing it again tomorrow morning though.

I have been opening our windows since Friday too. :)

demented I left the windows open all day by mistakes, and got back at 10.30 with a sleeping DS2 after my course to find freezing house. DH was not impressed. Smells lovely and fresh though!

Love how everyone has been inspired to clean, debka you are genius

Since this thread I've bitten the bullet and attacked the mould in my bedroom. DH works shifts and when he's on nights our bedroom can go days without an open window

I got up to air the room at 6.30 this morning before he went to bed. I had to change the sheets too because since it was aired yesterday they smelled really noticeable. I've also invested in some Halo for DH's stinky clothes, and I've bleached the tiles in the bathroom. Hopefully by using my Chore Checklist app I'll stay on top of things better now.

Thanks debka - your thread made me realise that I could be doing much better than I had been :)

We had our carpets cleaned at the weekend. It's only a year since we last had them done but DH said that the first bucket of water that came out of the machine (from our hallway) was disgusting.