As little kids we all quickly noticed grandma smelled funny when we gave her that mandatory hug and kiss. 
Not necessarily a bad smell. Just different.
Turns out its real. Interesting study.
article in Scientific American
It just occurred to me that grandma was only 58 when I was 10. Yet, she very much had that old person smell even then.
Brings up the question of when the smell develops. I only notice it these days with people obviously past seventy.
I thought old person smell was due to their house cleaners and various ointments they used in olden times. Very strong BenGay type odor. Couldn’t possibly be coming from the person, IMHO. It permeates the whole house.
God yes, it’s real. I moved into a house this year that had been built in the fifties by a couple who lived there until they passed. They were very particular and it was sparkling clean and well maintained, but the old person smell was so incredibly strong. Even now, 6 months later, I quiz friends when they come over, since you tend to get used to smells. “You really can’t smell it anymore? You’re sure??” They assure me it’s gone, but it took months of candles, air fresheners, open windows and carpet cleaning.
It’s a combination of moth balls and Weed and Feed fertilizer. Every once in a while I get a whiff of it from myself, and I’m only 55!
That’s what I was going to say. Body odor? I always thought it was just mothballs.
+1 on mothballs. That’s the “grandma” smell I remember.
If you read the link, it’s not mothballs or cleaners or perfumes - they removed all environmental odors and the “old person smell” remained.
I sometimes notice it from my own urine. No idea, and I’m not that old, but once in a while - generally if I’m feeling really run down - it smells like Grandma’s house when I pee. It’s not the smell of urine in general, though. It’s another smell within that smell.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, it’s a smell associated with the Kidneys. Kidneys hold the energy known as Jing, strongly associated with what we would call “life force” or something similar. You’re born with so much Jing, and when it’s all gone, you die.
My dad has started to smell Old, and I haven’t told him yet. It’s like, how do you break the news that you now smell like you’re in the last stage of your life and will continue to do so until your end? It seems like a heavy reality check to lay on someone.
He’s had that smell for at least a year, maybe more, so I’ve been sitting on this for awhile.
What’s 20 feet long and smells like urine?
Line dancing class at the nursing home.
I apologize in advance.
My god, why would you tell him??
One obvious flaw in that study was the odor samples were armpit pads worn for 5 days. How do we know that armpits are the main body odor generators, and why would a 5 day, non-bathing odor be exactly the same as a one-day odor?
To elaborate, if urine is a main component of body odor, just how much urine will there be on armpit pads? And since bacteria may be a factor in smell generation, the possibility of a bacterial component might make 1-day smells different from 5-day ones.
Wait, I am a bit confused here; you smell your pee?
<snort!>
That’s because you are starting to develop old person smell yourself, so you don’t notice it as much. It is creeping up on you, and you don’t even know!
My mom is in her seventies, my dad in his eighties. Neither have that small, nor does their home.
Just how small are they?
Not that small, actually.
Nor that smell. Gracious. What a silly typo. 
You snort your pee?
That’s nothing. Some people drink it.