# I stink even after bathing at one location, but smell clean after bathing at another **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2018, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327 "2018-06-18T17:41:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/21 "2018-06-19T02:22:27Z")
Do you clean your shower/tub regularly? ---
**Author:** ![ethelbert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@ethelbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ethelbert)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/22 "2018-06-19T02:49:36Z")
You can get a shower head with a filter on it. I have crap in my water that dirties my shower. The filter has eliminated that. It is worth a try. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/23 "2018-06-19T02:59:45Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Quite the mystery. Are all your clothes laundered the same? Yes. Laundry is done at my parents house. Same towels, same clothes washed in the same machine. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/24 "2018-06-19T03:00:47Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I’m betting it’s bacteria in the mattress. Try getting one of those dustmite-proof mattress covers for your apartment, and see if that makes a difference. Be sure to launder all the bedding (blankets too!) before re-making the bed. Possible, but I don’t know. My mattress has a cover. Plus if I take a shower in the morning I will start to smell by midday when I shower at my apartment. At my parents I can shower in the morning and still smell fine the next day. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/25 "2018-06-19T03:03:04Z")
What about water pressure? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/26 "2018-06-19T03:52:28Z")
Do you, umm, have some _strenuous activity_ you do in the shower at home but would feel guilty/too self-conscious doing at your parents? (Well, we gotta start reaching!) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/27 "2018-06-19T04:06:59Z")
Maybe it’s all psychological. Maybe you’re depressed and feel disconnected from your loved ones. When you’re alone at your place, dammit you can’t even wash the stink off, you just suck. But when you shower at your parents’, who love you, suddenly that same shower gets you fresh and clean and you smell good to yourself. 🙂 /armchair psychologizing ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/28 "2018-06-19T04:40:52Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Do you, umm, have some _strenuous activity_ you do in the shower at home but would feel guilty/too self-conscious doing at your parents? (Well, we gotta start reaching!) No, I do that outside the shower. AS THE BIBLE SAYS YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO!!! > [@Ambivalid](#): > > Maybe it’s all psychological. Maybe you’re depressed and feel disconnected from your loved ones. When you’re alone at your place, dammit you can’t even wash the stink off, you just suck. But when you shower at your parents’, who love you, suddenly that same shower gets you fresh and clean and you smell good to yourself. 🙂 > > /armchair psychologizing No, its honestly not psychological. I could take a shower at 8am and start to smell by noon at my apartment. That fact also makes me doubt its the mattress. Normally I’d just rewash my armpits during midday (using rubbing alcohol and some cotton rounds) to help with the smell. But if I take a shower at my parents, the BO is contained all day. I really don’t know. Its probably something to do with the water, but I don’t know what. Maybe the shower head is full of crap like others have said. Problem is the aren’t removable shower heads. Maybe its the pipes. I don’t know. Maybe there are chemicals in the water. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/29 "2018-06-19T04:47:08Z")
Salt. The salt in your parent’s water softener is retarding bacterial growth and keeping you fresh. Try making a mild salt solution and keeping it in a spray bottle. Spray yourself down when you finish your shower and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/30 "2018-06-19T04:54:47Z")
You can test the salt theory. Make a bucket of diluted Epsom salts and rinse your stinky bits after your shower. And see if it helps. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/31 "2018-06-19T05:07:12Z")
Hotter showers at home? Longer showers at parents? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/32 "2018-06-19T05:21:09Z")
When you are at your parents house, do you eat their food? It ain’t the shower, it’s body chemistry. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/33 "2018-06-19T05:43:47Z")
Stay away from garlic. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/34 "2018-06-19T05:45:00Z")
I’m going to postulate that it is not you that you smell. There is something else going on that is triggering phantom smells that you wrongly attribute to your own hygiene. It could be something physical in house, or in your mind. Or there could be some other odoriferant in one house or the other that is masking or intensifying a body odor that is constant. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/35 "2018-06-19T14:08:19Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I’m going to postulate that it is not you that you smell. There is something else going on that is triggering phantom smells that you wrongly attribute to your own hygiene. It could be something physical in house, or in your mind. Or there could be some other odoriferant in one house or the other that is masking or intensifying a body odor that is constant. I don’t think so, because if I take a shower in the morning at my apartment and go to work, I have to rewash my armpits with rubbing alcohol and a cotton round during my lunch break because of the odor. Compare that to when I shower at my parents. I can take a shower in the morning, and even by morning the next day my BO is still under control. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/36 "2018-06-19T14:18:21Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Salt. The salt in your parent’s water softener is retarding bacterial growth and keeping you fresh. Try making a mild salt solution and keeping it in a spray bottle. Spray yourself down when you finish your shower and see what happens. Thank you, I’m going to try this next time. Does anyone know if the kind of salt matters (epsom vs table)? Also what ratios should I use? If I use 16oz of water, how much salt do I add? Also my diet is the same at both locations. ---
**Author:** ![Telperion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telperion/32/509_2.png) [@Telperion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperion)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/37 "2018-06-19T14:20:52Z")
I had a bit of a mold problem several years back and my clothes would sometimes smell a bit funky even when they were newly washed, which only got worse from wearing them throughout the day. Since you do your laundry elsewhere, could it be the clothes hanging in your apartment that cause the smell? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/38 "2018-06-19T17:16:30Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I don’t think so, because if I take a shower in the morning at my apartment and go to work, I have to rewash my armpits with rubbing alcohol and a cotton round during my lunch break because of the odor. > > Compare that to when I shower at my parents. I can take a shower in the morning, and even by morning the next day my BO is still under control. Is the commute to work longer from your house? Maybe you’re sitting in your car longer, baking in the sun or otherwise experiencing greater stress due to more traffic. More stress=more sweat and more BO. ---
**Author:** ![adhemar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@adhemar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adhemar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/39 "2018-06-19T17:31:01Z")
take water form your parents house and bathe in it? See if it the water or some other environmental factor. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/40 "2018-06-19T18:14:14Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Thank you, I’m going to try this next time. > > Does anyone know if the kind of salt matters (epsom vs table)? Also what ratios should I use? If I use 16oz of water, how much salt do I add? > > Also my diet is the same at both locations. There are commercial bath salts. But Epsom salt is cheap as dirt. Get a 1 gallon bucket dissolve about a 1/2 cup of the salt in warm water in it. After you shower, rinse the areas with the salt water. If you have an open sore or scratch avoid that area. And your man parts might not like it either. I am not sure this is the problem, but it’s worth a try. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327.md?page=3)