Smells

I’d imagine in someone of that age, it’s what they grew up with and continues the habit. They’re probably immune to the smell.

When we lived in Indonesia moth balls were used widely in domestic drains and plug holes to deter vermin. I’m sure we stunk of it but everyone’s house help used mothballs prolifically so we all smelt the same!

I’ve come across this at large meetings as well and sometimes there can also be a whiff of inco pad.
I have also sat at the back of meetings wondering why some women, who probably visit the hairdresser once a week and never wash their own hair, pay little or no attention to the back of their heads. Unkempt hair probably adds to the fusty smell mentioned in the OP.

I’m 79 and I’ve worked out that the time spent on personal hygiene/appearance etc., is creeping up towards that spent on other routine tasks. Thank goodness we live in an age of heated shower rooms, washing machines, easy hair care etc.

As Maw says though, we need to be aware and not nose blind.

We just smell cannibis here

I don’t have a heated shower room Merlotgran or any heat upstairs at all, but it’s what you are used to isn’t it ?

I love the smell of moth balls - Amazon, here I come ……

Maw I think to some extent you do lose your sense of smell and taste as you get older...I cant smell perfume at all now.I love perfume and I still wear it myself, but I can't smell it , not even if someone else is wearing it ..

Where can you find mothballs?
Since the very powerful ones containing naphthalene were banned I have been relying on expensive but fairly useless moth prevention methods such as ceder balls, lavender and cheap soap.

I still have moths 😡
Sorry what was your question again? 😅🤣

Maybe increasingly skyrocketing costs of the utilities - notably electricity and water - have a lot to do with it? Each time I decide to put on a wash, these days, I find I'm automatically doing mental calculations to determine which programme on the machine will be most economical.

It never used to be this way - never before has health and cleanliness had such a premium slapped on it.

Or it could be what is called the aging odour.
According to CHATGBT:
‘2-Nonenal: A naturally occurring chemical produced when skin oils break down. It can create a distinctive musty, greasy, slightly grassy or stale smell’

I can sometimes smell it in the morning in the bedroom if it’s been too chilly to leave the window open. 😱👵🏻
Lots of places online selling a soap called Persimmon soap which is supposed to eliminate it but doesn’t seem to live up to the claims according to reviews.
Advice is to wash clothes, bedding and oneself regularly. I would imagine a frail older person might find that difficult and would likely be unaware of it anyway.

I think ‘smells’ can be an accumulation of several things. As the colder weather approaches a person would naturally get out their warmer coat that’s been stored at the back of the wardrobe all summer long. It has not seen the light of day for months, pockets stuffed with soiled tissues, old sticky sweets, and a variety of perfume traces that the wearer used over the previous winter……….hope you’re getting the picture GNetters.
Add this scenario to someone who probably has their hair washed weekly at the salon, wears the same shoes every day, dons a favourite warm sweater/cardigan/body-warmer and a generous spray of that eau de toilette they’ve had on the dressing table for a decade and of course they are nose-blind to all of it.

I’m thankful that I am in the fortunate position of not having to worry about whether to put a load of washing on, cost wise.

I can see, however, that as we age, jobs such as this are just that, jobs to tackle, and as we get older, changing beds, hanging washing out, get harder and make us less likely to do them. Same with changing our clothes, easier to keep wearing the same stuff, even if they are a bit sweaty and stained.

I hope never to get to that stage, but who knows?

I have noticed elderly men stinking of urine on the bus ,but I detect body odour on teenage boys and skunk on older men every time I travel .

I have a keen sense of smell, the house is aired daily with windows open for an hour or so, even in bad weather. Car windows open for part of every journey.

Shower daily, hair wash every other day, clean clothes daily.

FigsandGrapes
Unless your clothes are dirty all washing products work at 30 degrees.
That temperature with your shortest cycle will be the most economical.
If you have a stain, washing up liquid removes most of them.

The charity shop where I volunteer will not put out for sale clothes or articles which smell unpleasant. If it is practical a volunteer might take smelly clothes home to wash and return. Saleable bric-à-brac is cleaned in the sink at the shop.
I do recall a thread about ‘the aging odour’ on GN a short while ago. Like GG13, I have a keen sense of smell and keep my home well aired and like natural oil fragrances. I detest nasty smells! 😩

I'm sure its fusty clothes that need airing/cleaning perhaps kept in a stuffy house probably to keep her heating bills down. You rarely notice it yourself.
The more I think about it the worse I feel - guilt because there but for the grace of god etc but also she is a lovely lady, sharp as a pin and highly intelligent - but on the other hand I was practically gagging and had to go outside for a short walk and some fresh air instead of joining the others for coffee.

My sense of smell has definitely decreased quite a bit. Himself used to pick up smells and I’d say I can’t smell anything 🤷‍♀️

I read once tgat this can be a sign of dementia which spooked me so I try not to think about it.

We need a sense of smell to ‘taste’ our food. I’ve noticed I have to concentrate more nowadays to discern the taste of some foods. Shame really. I wish my sense of smell was stronger.

We have that problem of cannabis too bluebell.
I was waiting to cross over the road when I large white van passed, window rolled down. The smell of cannabis smoke was so overwhelming that when I got to the shop across the street they could smell it off my clothes when I told them.
How people in government want to legalise this odious stuff is beyond me.

Worst smell for me was in a German supermarket, it smelled like a dead body.
I just left as I was wretching.
Turns out a lady was in half hour earlier who had gangrene.
They said she comes in every day & they have to follow her round with an air freshener 😳
Obviously not really her fault.

petra

FigsandGrapes
Unless your clothes are dirty all washing products work at 30 degrees.
That temperature with your shortest cycle will be the most economical.
If you have a stain, washing up liquid removes most of them.

I asked AI this and the answer was that the Eco programme was more economical than the short wash as the main cost is heating the water. The Eco wash heats slowly to minimum temperature and uses less water.

Should save between £20 and £50 a year. Never tried mine as it is 3 hrs!

It made me wonder: how old do you have to be before you start buying mothballs? I've never bought them in my life (nor suffered from moths!). I just clean/launder everything regularly (not just clothes). Maybe, with the growth of Let's-Scent-Everything-To-Within-An-Inch-Of-Its-Life-In-Spite-Of-The-Environmental-Damage movement, Mother Nature just has to redress the balance by producing a number of humans who don't wash at all...?

CarrotTop

It made me wonder: how old do you have to be before you start buying mothballs? I've never bought them in my life (nor suffered from moths!). I just clean/launder everything regularly (not just clothes). Maybe, with the growth of Let's-Scent-Everything-To-Within-An-Inch-Of-Its-Life-In-Spite-Of-The-Environmental-Damage movement, Mother Nature just has to redress the balance by producing a number of humans who don't wash at all...?

Made me laugh 😂

Tizliz

petra

FigsandGrapes
Unless your clothes are dirty all washing products work at 30 degrees.
That temperature with your shortest cycle will be the most economical.
If you have a stain, washing up liquid removes most of them.

I asked AI this and the answer was that the Eco programme was more economical than the short wash as the main cost is heating the water. The Eco wash heats slowly to minimum temperature and uses less water.

Should save between £20 and £50 a year. Never tried mine as it is 3 hrs!

I prefer to get my information from a human.
This subject was discussed extensively on Sliced Bread
I did put a link up some time ago when this subject was being discussed.

There's one human I know who frequently smells pretty bad. Just sweaty and unwashed. I'm plucking up courage to say something before someone else does.

Yeah mothballs smell is pungent ! I think she is probably so used to it, if it's in her wardrobe her whole bedroom will most likely smell of it.