Someone said I stink

[Jen871]

This is more like a rant. When I'm doing the school run I wear the same clothes as I work 12 hour nights 8-8 and my son starts school at 8.45. I wear the same clothes to work because I work in a factory and I don't want to ruin good clothes.

The other day I was waiting for the teacher to open the door with some other parents, when I heard one of the parents say to the other that I stink. This annoyed me but I didn't say anything.

The annoying part is that these women don't work. They drop their kids off to school and then god knows what, they have no idea the 12 hour shift I've just done and how hard me and my husband work to be able to afford the luxuries we have.

I don't want my son picked on at school because parents are going around saying I stink. It's annoying as hell. I can't get changed after work because there just isn't time.

I think you're amazing. You work hard in a physically demanding essential role so you can pay the bills and bring your family up. You should be proud of yourself.

I just give it a good old wind your neck in you self important bag 😂

i think id mostly ignore them, but i may start febreezing myself before school drop off

wear overalls at work but mainly the smell just lingers because of what I've been doing. There's no blood or anything on my clothes, it's cooked meat I clean

Erm, sorry if I'm being thick but how do you clean cooked meat...and why does it need cleaning?

@EstuaryBird

After the kids have gone in I’d just tell them exactly what you’ve told us here and advise them not to stand downwind of me.

At least you can go home and wash the smell off, they can’t remove the stench of their rancid souls 😇 💐💐

Yeah tbh I would be tempted to speak to the person you heard commenting and just explain to them. Hopefully it will embarrass them into never saying it again, plus they can pass it on to anyone else.

@Piglet89

Knowing you stink very badly and being round other people is really a situation you should try to find a solution for.

Why? She works in a meat factory, not a uranium plant. Smelling a bad smell isn't gonna kill people!

So rude to make the comment, I think. However, there is a practical consideration about whether her son might be bullied because the other children hear about this and start picking on him (which is unacceptable too, but the sad reality is that children can be cruel).

Im really surprised that there are not hygeine rules. Surely you dont wear normal clothes in this environment, get them contaminated, then leave wearing the same clothes? Sounds like policies are either non existent or op isnt following them. If someone smells that bad from 2m away it must be bad. At the very least people will move away. No idea why op is snarking about SAHM either.

Becayse if you smell so bad that you need to put coverings in your car and other people are offended it’s likely going to end up being an issue for the child

maybe the middle class mummies who don't need to work could not say anything to their kids? There's nothing worse that the witches coven of school gate mothers transferring their views to their kids which in turn find their way into one child bullying another.

So it's smelly. Put a clothes peg on your nose and shut up if it's that bad. Presumably they're not that stupid that they can't see the OP has clearly just come from work. Stupid enough to make offensive comments though.

Ignore the Febreze comment OP. It's got horrible chemicals in and should be banned.

@TinnedPotatoesRock - If i ahve understood correctly she cleans the machinery not the food.

No idea why op is snarking about SAHM either

because they are privileged not to have to work, but not classy enough to keep their mouths shut?

That’s a very particular smell though. I can see why people might notice. Rude of them to say anything though, just tell them you’ve just come off a 12 hour shift in the meat factory.

Sorry but I'm with them. There is nothing worse than having to stand near smelly people. And there is just no need for it.
Change your clothes at the end of your
Shift, quick wash and spray. Takes a couple of minutes.

To those who never had to work in that kind of environment.
The smell lingers in hair and skin - the clothes are not the problem.

Fuck them you are out working hard

How old is your DC op ? After I had an op , I'd park up in the drop off zone and watch the door while DD walked in hate the school gate vibe a, she now goes to breakfast and after school club so there's not 100s of parents on pick up.

@HarlanPepper

When you're cleaning a meat processing plant you get covered from head to toe in waterproof PPE because you're working with extremely strong hazardous chemicals and very hot water. You've got wellies on, it's rubber gloves, waterproof overalls, waterproof head coverings, mask and googles as well. All this PPE is handed in and cleaned at the end of every shift. So it's not like in this scenario OP is arriving at the school covered in meat. It's hard to know what exactly is going on, I imagine most people would pong a bit after 12 hours doing tough physicla work in waterproof overalls but beyond that who knows.

Yes I don't really get this either. It sounds like the OP is wearing her work clothes home (if she has a seat cover in the car) but that's crazy.

I understand there isn't time for a shower or even a wash, but it takes 30 seconds to change your clothes and that alone will help a lot.

DH and I have both worked in stinky food sites so I'm sympathetic but it's not like there's nothing at all you can do.

@lockdownmadnessdotcom

No idea why op is snarking about SAHM either

because they are privileged not to have to work, but not classy enough to keep their mouths shut?

Oh don't be so ridiculous. Many SAHMs would love to work but simply cannot afford childcare so have no choice but to give up their jobs.

So many snarky comments about mum's who "don't have to work" on this thread.

OP has said she wears overalls at work but the smell still lingers, so she's not just walking out of work in exactly what she's been working in.

I'd honestly just keep a tracksuit or similar in the car/at work to quickly change into before leaving for the school. Either that or wear something that clearly indicates I've come straight from work, like a badge/branded clothing, or whatever you may have.

It's unfair that you'd even have to think about it but I'd be worried if the mums are picking up on it then the kids may too and be mean to your so about it.

"Change your clothes at the end of your
Shift, quick wash and spray. Takes a couple of minutes."

There might not be the facilities for Op to do that or even time.

Plus sometimes a shower & hair wash is needed to get rid of the smell!

Sounds like there is nothing you can do /want to do about it. Maybe keep your self well distanced at drop off.

Unfortunately if you do stink then people are going to notice and someone will say something......

I can only presume the people saying just to change your top or spray yourself are lifelong vegetarians who were home schooled as children and have never been to a pub that serves food. The smell of cooked meat (actually, most cooked food, but meat particularly) can’t be hidden by body spray or a change of clothes out of a bag in your car/locker - OP would need a proper shower and to wash her hair and get changed into clean clothes that have been nowhere near the place to avoid smelling of meat after a 12 hour shift in a meat factory. She doesn’t have time to do all that without affecting her child’s education. It’s not ideal for anyone, but it’s a few minutes of an unpleasant smell outdoors - these other women (who one assumes get their food from the same supply chains as the rest of us) will just have to put up with a few minutes of an unpleasant smell outdoors, and perhaps try to bring their children up better than they were.

Re SAHMs, OP is obviously upset and hurt by the attitudes she's encountered, which is totally understandable, and that's why she's saying what she's saying, in the heat of the moment while posting here.

In reality, she can't really know if these women work or not, they may be working from home, they may be heading into work right after DO, etc etc.

She's just reacting to something hurtful.

I'd just make sure I stood well away from the other parents whilst waiting for your DS. If you hear a parent commenting again I would just own it and say, I'm sorry if I whiff a bit, but I've just finished a 12 hour shift and don't have time to go home and shower before dropping my DS at school, if I did he'd be late every day.

[quote Prokupatuscrakedatus]@TinnedPotatoesRock - If i ahve understood correctly she cleans the machinery not the food.[/quote]
AH right, that makes sense

I've worked in food factories and regardless of hygeine you DO smell ,untill you get home shower and change . There are very few bosses who will allow folks to waste the last five minutes of a shift washing/changing in the loo ......usually on the basis if one person is allowed everyone will want to have the same concession.
Even the nicest food leaves a lingering smell , and even working with chocolate leaves it too

It's not that the OP is a dirty person who just need to use deodorant. Just spending 12 hours in that environment and the smell permeates everything.

I used to take a bus to school that picked up workers from the overnight shift at the local fish factory. They'd all changed their clothes after the shift but by god the smell. Suggestions they'd tried included very tight hair caps, almost like swimming cap style (a bit uncomfortable after a while but apparently quite effective) and lemon juice. But it's hard, like a previous poster with the pig men or slaughterhouse workers there is often a lingering whiff despite best efforts.

Kids and parents can be very cruel, is a drop off point possible perhaps? Tons of body spray won't really help, then you'll just smell of meat + cheap body spray