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.

You are a lovely lot, you really are.

Thank you for your kind and helpful words.

I will report back with Progress soon I hope!

Oh debka . I am no where near as much of a domestic goddess as some on this thread. Clean the whole bathroom every day?! really? I give it the clean of its life once a week then its bleach and flash wipes as necessary. We don't have many people per bathroom though, but I have never considered myself a slattern and everyone always thinks we are clean and tidy (they haven't looked in the cupboards ).

I completely agree with airing the house every single day. Your H needs to get clean though (surely he must stink.....intimately). I would also consider steam cleaning everything (all carpets and upholstery) so you are starting fresh.

I am a bit lax on the old bed sheets (Not DCs, but ours can sometimes go a fortnight ) I will make a concerted effort to be more on it with bed sheets from now on.

I expect you will feel so much better about yourself and everything when you get this sorted.

Shower once a week isn't enough. It really isn't.

Oh yes, and shower every day. It may seem like a lot of effort to him especially as he seems down but it will make him smell much more attractive.

Perhaps once a week isn't enough but it's a darn sight better than once a month.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Open the windows - biggest impact! Mum works in a school and says you can smell the kids whose homes never get aired.

Change bedding once a week.

Bath time all round (inc Mr stinky) at least every other day.

Empty bins frequently.

If he isn't going to shower then he needs to at the very least wash under the arms with soap. He could do this standing up in the kitchen if the bathroom is really that cold (I have done this ) - but actually it's less of a faff to just have the shower, unless he has long hair.

I have never heard of airing a house! I might start doing that, it always seems too cold to.

Shower more often, bathroom less often.

If it's too cold for him to shower, would he have a bath instead? Honestly he does need an all-over wash every day.

I'll post you a whip to chase him with. I have plenty going spare.

Once he is IN the shower, it will be warm....

One thing that can make you smelly is if your clothes are not dried properly - e.g. if you hang things up around the house to dry, they can dry with a musty smell that gets worse when you wear the clothes and your body heat warms them up. If you can't hang them out or use a drier, then you need to hang them on an airer in a warm place, i.e. nearly but not on a radiator, or in a warm room. Also make sure you open windows frequently too.

Yep, I'd agree once a week isn't enough. You may have to start there but once a week isn't enough unless you live in the woods.

Diet can affect body odour too.

OP don't beat yourself up over this. Try and be positive.

Good luck Debka. you've had lots of great advice on here and I agree that better to hear it from your mum than anyone else. Has made me think I haven't been opening my windows enough in this cold weather.

Are you going to get your mum and sister to come round and smell you all in a week?

Rome may not have been built in a day, but the bloody Romans bathed every day!

ATM I hang clothes on an airer in the living room in the morning, they are all dry by the next morning. House is very warm. Now the days are getting longer I will try getting them out on the line.

Stratters I'll pm you my address for that whip

Bullseye I think I will get them round, this needs to change.

Oh dear, that must have been horrible to hear .

It sounds like it's probably a combination of factors - mould smells, unwashed person smells, dogs can smell (wet dogs definitely do) and when you put them all together you probably do get a bit of a pong.

I'd air the house as much as possible & do my best to get your DP showering or having a bath at least every other day. This may be TMI, but my best friend changes her bed sheets daily because her DH sleeps naked & gets up to go for a pee during the night almost every night. He won't use loo roll when he has a wee so is, in effect, wiping his cock on the bedlinen every night . I've told her it would be much easier to introduce him to either loo roll or pants (he doesn't wear pants in the daytime either) but he's having none of it & doesn't see why it's dirty. Some people do need encouragement to see the merits of being clean - good luck with your DP .

Every week

Get him to shower every day the bloody wuss.

If you are hanging wet washing in the house to dry, try an extra spin in the washing machine first. It can make a massive difference and could help your mould problem.

Good luck debka :)

Yuck yuck yuck. Dh showers sometimes twice a day!

As to airing your house, it really does depend on the type of house you have. We have lived in very well sealed homes which absolutely needed windows opening everyday. We currently live in an old Victorian home which is quite draughty and we never need to air it in winter. In fact, we are quite cold!

In addition to what everyone else has said...

Houses with dogs generally do have a bit of a doggy smell. Do you wash your dog and your dog's bedding?

Also it is worth washing things which might smell separately. My DH uses a lot of cream for his skin which has a bit of a distinctive smell, but is unfortunately necessary. We wash his clothes separately to mine and DD's so that we don't all smell of it. We wash our sheets separately. You could wash your DH's clothes separately.

Also what washing powder/liquid do you use? We are stuck with the one that suits DH's skin, but I have noticed that some people's laundry smells lovely (DD's hand-me-downs fro DN smell great) and it might be worth finding one of those.

Would it be worth getting your carpets cleaned? After years of having a dog it might help. Same with curtains.

Your Dh sounds appallingly dirty. he MUST shower every day. Its basic hygiene, FGS.

Keep your kitchen and toilets clean. These are the areas that start to pong after a bit.
Wash your bed linen once a week minimum.
Keep bins clean - bleach them and rinse out once a week.
Give your dog a bath.
Windows open daily.
Scented candles?

But your Dh is the main thing! I feel physically sick thinking of it.