# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/41 "2018-06-19T18:20:12Z")
I notice a slight BO after showering at my house. It tends to go away quickly but it is the only time I notice it is right after showering and shaving. I have always attributed it to the warm moist air in the bathroom after showering. does you bathroom stay more humid immediately after showering? ---
**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, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/42 "2018-06-19T18:46:37Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I notice a slight BO after showering at my house. It tends to go away quickly but it is the only time I notice it is right after showering and shaving. I have always attributed it to the warm moist air in the bathroom after showering. does you bathroom stay more humid immediately after showering? No, if anything its the opposite. At my apartment I leave the bathroom door open when showering because I live alone. At my parents I shower with the door closed. The humidity after a shower is higher at my parents. I’ve showered with both the bathroom door open and closed at my apartment, no difference in BO. Also FWIW, I noticed this same issue at my brothers place. And his shower doesn’t even have a vent, so that place was very moist when I was done. But my BO was still more under control at his house than my apartment. I think I’ll just move when my lease is up for multiple reasons. > [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > 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. Nope, not an issue. My commute was low stress. And even in summer I’d have the AC on full blast. Also this is an issue year round. It happens when it is 10 below out as much as during summer. Also if I took a shower saturday morning, I would stink by saturday afternoon at my apartment from sitting and playing on the computer all morning. That wasn’t an issue at my parents. > [@Telperion](#): > > 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? I don’t know honestly. I wear the same clothes at my parents as I do at my apartment. They are laundered at my parents. So I’m not sure why the clothes would cause the funk at the apartment but not my parents. If I shower at my parents and wear the same shirt and pants I wear at my apartment, at my parents I will keep my BO under control all day. At my apartment the BO will be back in 2-4 hours. Same soap, same clothes, clean towel each time, laundry always done in the same place, etc. ---
**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, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/43 "2018-06-19T18:53:38Z")
It has got to be the water. For some reason the water supply at your apartment is fouled. I would try to move, also. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/44 "2018-06-19T19:19:15Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > What about water pressure? This is my thought as well. I never realized how good my water pressure was until I moved somewhere with bad pressure. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/45 "2018-06-19T19:42:22Z")
OK, what happens if you bathe at your parent’s house, then come home, DO NOT BATHE, and then leave the next day? Do you stink? ---
**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, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/46 "2018-06-19T21:07:45Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > OK, what happens if you bathe at your parent’s house, then come home, DO NOT BATHE, and then leave the next day? > Do you stink? I’ll try that. > [@Quimby](#): > > This is my thought as well. I never realized how good my water pressure was until I moved somewhere with bad pressure. How is the water pressure going to affect things though? ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2018, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/47 "2018-06-19T21:19:44Z")
Try deep cleaning your shower head (you don’t have to remove it). Google for directions. It’s easier and cheaper than moving so I think it’d be 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, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/48 "2018-06-19T21:39:53Z")
> [@Missy2U](#): > > Try deep cleaning your shower head (you don’t have to remove it). Google for directions. It’s easier and cheaper than moving so I think it’d be worth a try. 🙂 I looked online, supposedly I can use vinegar and baking soda in a plastic bag to do this. I will try it when I am home again and see if it helps. Thanks. Sadly I can’t remove the shower heads, they are attached. But using the plastic bag method will work. ---
**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, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/49 "2018-06-19T21:44:06Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > There are commercial bath salts. Best not to buy from a “quicky mart” or a head-shop, though. :eek: ---
**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, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/50 "2018-06-19T21:51:51Z")
On the plus side if I chew someone’s face off the bad body odor will be a nice sexual deterrent in prison. ---
**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, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/51 "2018-06-19T22:47:33Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Best not to buy from a “quicky mart” or a head-shop, though. :eek: Yep, I thought of that too. Good water pressure will rinse you better. Think how high pressure sprayers clean siding or cars. ---
**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, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/52 "2018-06-19T23:09:20Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Yep, I thought of that too. > > Good water pressure will rinse you better. Think how high pressure sprayers clean siding or cars. The only thing I can really see that working for is the top of the head. Most everything else I need to clean doesn’t face upwards. ---
**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, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/53 "2018-06-19T23:30:46Z")
> [@Telperion](#): > > The only thing I can really see that working for is the top of the head. Most everything else I need to clean doesn’t face upwards. Huh? I don’t understand you. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/54 "2018-06-20T05:49:09Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Huh? I don’t understand you. I believe she’s saying your head is the only part of you close enough to the shower head to benefit from the increased water pressure. The rest of your body is further away and/or the water just moves down your body with gravity. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2018, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/55 "2018-06-20T07:29:52Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Huh? I don’t understand you. I assume he has a fixed shower head. ---
**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:** [November 11, 2018, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/56 "2018-11-11T01:29:05Z")
I’m going to update this, just because I know everyone is deeply interested in my hygiene habits (don’t lie to me or yourselves, we all know its true). But I’m more interested in the ‘why’. So anyway, I moved out of my old apartment a few months ago. Once I moved the BO problem went away. I even did some experiments over a weekend at my new apt where I went 3 days w/o showering (took a shower friday before work, didn’t take another until monday morning) and my armpit BO was pretty minor. Meanwhile at my old apartment, I could take a shower at 8am, and have armpit stench by noon. Nothing else about my hygiene patterns changed. Same soap, same shampoo, same towels, same laundry facilities, same regularity of bathing. The only thing that changed is I moved. Also the showerhead at my new apt is low pressure, but it doesn’t make a difference. At my parents they have a high pressure one, and they both work the same at controlling BO. So it was either the water or the showerhead. But what was happening? Was there just a bunch of bacteria in the water and showerhead? Any particular strain that would cause these BO issues? Also, I used to get peeling, flaky skin between my fingers. I thought I was allergic to the soap at work but even when I quit using that, I still had it (just not as bad). That went away too after I moved. I assume that was from washing my hands with the water at that place. ---
**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:** [November 16, 2018, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/57 "2018-11-16T19:55:45Z")
Does the new building have water softeners? ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-stink-even-after-bathing-at-one-location-but-smell-clean-after-bathing-at-another/816327/58 "2018-11-16T21:09:29Z")
How often is your bathroom cleaned vs. your parents’? Regards, Shodan [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=2)