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.

Hello again, OP, that is very good news. I can see this thread running on and on with updates daily on Mr Debka's hygiene uptake!

You have inspired me, today I opened all the windows, cleared and cleaned kitchen windowsill and work tops, scrubbed kitchen sink and hob, dusted living room and hoovered top to bottom. I lit some candles too for dinner with my Friday glass of wine for all my hard work.

Tomorrow is bathrooms and changing sheets, and wash dog bed cover. I am paranoid about the house smelling doggy but my honest neighbour says it doesn't so far.

Hell I sound like a fly lady thread!! Anyway, well done on getting mr minger into the shower, long may that last!

I hadn't seen this before buying my lady allsop sheets.

A couple of things I don't know if people have mentioned. DO you ever clean your washing machine? It's just when we moved in here and inherited my Mums old washing machine everything we washed stunk a sort of dirty damp smell, it turned out she had never cleaned it so we cleaned out the soap tray thing and DH took a couple of bits out which was too technical for me and apparently they were full of years of dirt and grime. Anyway, a couple of washing machine cleaner solutions later and problem all gone - we no longer stink of wet dog . Also, if you think your sheets may smell then I'd suggest getting your actual duvet and pillows washed (or dry cleaned if needed) - it's all very well putting new sheets on every week but if the smell has permeated the duvet it won't help much (I had to clean my duvet after DD was born as DH said I had stunk out the duvet with my, ahem, pg wind ). Glad your DH got a shower btw - I think once a month is quite a long time to go . Oh, and the domestos bleach spray is fab for cleaning the kitchen - when I spray the worksurfaces with it it makes the back of the house smell all lovely and clean and a bit like a swimming pool [weirdo]

Oh, and FWIW my DH is odd about draughts too. I used to air the house all the time but he always moans when I open the windows now so in winter I barely ever get a chance to

How mortifying for you though. I'm dishing out these pointers and genuinely hoping I'm not in a similar situ

reastie you lovely girl, thank you for your advice :)

I washed the washing machine today, so that should be ok. Good advice about the pillows and duvet, I may see about having them dry cleaned, maybe next time MrMinger is away.

We take the duvets and pillows to the laundrette and stick them in one of the supersize washing machines and dryers. They do need fairly regular washing even if you change the sheets weekly etc.

Glad to hear he has had a shower, perhaps buy him some manly shower products as an incentive.

We open the windows everyday, it makes a real difference.

It looks like you have a lovely home (and beautiful daughters) so I am sure this will be sorted quickly.

Debka, you are a top sport, love your attitude!

RE the bins. I have found that a ton of bicarb of soda in the bottom of the bin, UNDER the bin bag, absorbs ANY nasty niffs from it.

I love the flylady threads - one day I might even join in

Was in Wilkos today and saw Lynx on offer and reached for it then thought wtf am I doing, he's a grown man not a randy teenager!!

Thanks again for the kind words, I am trying to be proactive! (albeit belatedly).

They are lovely girls aren't they

Just to say, I've met debka (and the honest mum) and I didn't notice a whiff. However, DH does sound like he needs a bloody good wash! Well done you for tackling it head on - you're a total inspiration and have made me look around my untidy house and vow to get better at tidying and the like.

You may want to replace your pillows if they're synthetic - offers everywhere atm.

Ok, all adults need a full wash every other day
Dcs a couple of times a week minimum, dependant on age
Clean whole house once a week and as and when in between
Put dirty nappies, cat litter etc outside straight away
Put bins out regularly
You must air the house
I know this is going against the grain but I love air fresheners
Change beds weekly every other week

How can you stand to be near dirty git of DH?

wrt to airing the house.
opening all windows as far as they go for 5 min or so 2 or 3 times a day would be good. this way in between there is no draft. you absolutely need to tackle the mould, it is really unhealthy for you and the dc.
good luck!

Loving all the uses for bicarb! I've got a tub left over from when DCs had chicken pox - what other cleany things can I do with it?

I'm also looking round the house thinking what else I could do - the dog beds haven't been washed in a good while so I reckon that's next. I'm also going to the laundrette to check out how much it is to clean the duvet - I have no idea when that was last done, it's DP's and he has had it since before I moved in. I'd actually prefer to replace it, and the pillows. I think I might suggest it to DP.

My mum took some duvets/pillows to the drycleaners and the man there told her she'd be better off buying new ones for the cost of cleaning them.

I can get a double duvet in my washing machine, but I wouldn't bother with pillows, they never seem the same afterwards.

I bought a 13.5 tog kingsize duvet from Morrisons a few weeks ago.

I bought a gigantic long needle, probably about four inches long, and I put a few large stitches through my pillows to hold all the filling in place, then throw them in the washing machine. It stops them going all lumpy and only takes a couple of minutes.

debka thank you for starting this thread. It has inspired me to look afresh at the state of our place and resolve to tackle all the jobs that have been building up. Like cleaning the kitchen floor I gave it a good scrubbing this morning and, as usual, the place instantly smelled so much better. So well done your mum for broaching such a hard subject and well done you for being so open to hearing it.

Your attitude is ace (and your girls are beautiful) :) I bet you will have things sorted in no time.

Well Debka - looks like quite alot of us have had a kick up the bum because of your thread. I've done long overdue bedding today, bathroom has had a good going over (shower curtain in the washing machine) - kitchen is gleaming for a change

Thanks for the motivation

fuzzPig some more bicarb tips here It is great stuff!

Haven't read all thread but lovely Mum for telling you.And lovely you for taking it well.
My contribution is that I put a few drops of lavender and tea tree oil in a spray bottle of water and squirt curtains etc. a little every so often.If you have cats be careful as AFAIK tea tree is poisonous to cats

Hope your new clean life goes well for you. I think a nice, clean, fresh home can make you feel a lot more relaxed and clears the head, hopefully this can help your husband come out of his depression as when he is in nicer surroundings and starts to feel better about his appearance due to more regular showering, he may start to take more pride in himself and it could encourage him to feel more positive. Here's to hoping anyway.

I don't know if anybody mentioned this but regarding the disposal of nappies; use nappy bags to avoid any smell, they work!

Have you shown you DH this thread? Sounds like tackling that is going to be key. He really needs to shower daily - can you bribe him somehow?

Also why don't you start again - chuck out the duvet and get a cheap one for £10 or so from Asda. Goes for the pillows too. £20 tops and you know you are starting from a clean base.

I agree - that duvet must HONK if dh has only been washing once a month!