To ask how you know if your home has a smell.

[Starry4120]

Random one. I’m pretty house proud, not a show home but clean, hygienic and tidy by most people’s standards.

But how do you know if your house smells?

I ask because today DS told me that our house smells of nanny’s house (dads side). I’m offended because when I was with my ex her house was a complete tip and smelt musty, damp and of fags! When DS has gone over there his clothes and hair have smelt bad (I’m not judging her, just setting the scene here!). He’s recently been given new clothes off her and they’ve had to be washed 3 times to get the musty smell out of them so yeah it smells.

I vacuum and mop regularly, we don’t smoke, i consider my house pretty clean and hygienic. I wash soft furnishings regularly. We don’t wear shoes in the house. We have a dog but she’s small and probably does smell but nothing extreme. I often keep a door or window open for fresh air.

I’m not a huge fan of using too many chemicals as in febreeze, Zoflora, 1001 etc as it sets off DD sneezing but I shampoo my carpet once a month with my vax cleaner!

But yeah now DS has told me the house smells of his nanny’s house. I’m super paranoid that my house smells and I don’t smell it..

How do you know if your house has a smell? Do all houses have a smell?

I’ve recently got a new sofa, a fabric one. How do you keep it smelling nice? I regularly vacuum ir and I do use a little febreeze and some of the dettol spray. I’ve only had leather before 🤷‍♀️

I just can’t see what smells... I’ve had a new sofa 2 weeks ago and we’ve decorated and had new curtains last month (I washed the old ones at times anyway). Bedding is changed weekly, always vacuuming and mopping.

You can probably tell best when you come back from holiday as you are not used to the smell. Have you ever noticed when you get home

Every house smells. As the first poster said, you only notice it when you’ve been away on holiday and come back. Becayse you’re no longer nose blind to it

I use a humidifier with essential oils when folks are coming over or if I just feel like it. My current favourite is ylang ylang and amber. The house is clean, soft furnishings, carpets cleaned regularly,, as well as towels, bedding etc and all flooring. But it will still have a smell.

How old is your DS, and did you quiz him any further on what he meant by it?

Because whilst you think his nan’s house smells musty & grim, he might have meant a cooking smell he likes and associates with her or whatever.

Or if he’s a teen on a windup and knows you’re house proud and sensitive about this particular issue...

I agree with PPs that all houses have a smell but your DS could mean something like that you use a similar fabric softener to his nan or an air freshener and that's the smell or as PP said a food smell he recognises

Children are very perceptive when it comes to smells, so maybe there was just something that he recognised, maybe a food smell like PP have said? When I was teaching, I would pick up stray sweatshirts off the floor and the children could sniff them and straight away say who they belonged to!

@Bluntness100

Every house smells. As the first poster said, you only notice it when you’ve been away on holiday and come back. Becayse you’re no longer nose blind to it

I use a humidifier with essential oils when folks are coming over or if I just feel like it. My current favourite is ylang ylang and amber. The house is clean, soft furnishings, carpets cleaned regularly,, as well as towels, bedding etc and all flooring. But it will still have a smell.

Oh I hope not. The house always smells when we come back (nothing awful but 'stale') and we always put it down to the fact that no windows have been open in a while etc., not that it's just our general house smell!

After holidays ours always smells a bit too especially from the sink, I put it down to not having used it for a week or two

It'll be something like the same washing up liquid, perfume, disinfectant etc rather than a general smell