This is a serious offender. So many man-made materials these days pick up odors and don’t let them go. I had a beautiful blouse do that and I realized the odor it was picking up came from something other than me too, possibly the washing machine itself.
There are odor neutralizers out there for man-made fabrics. The cheapest and most effective don’t even cost much. Add vinegar to the wash. Or add baking soda. Just do not add both, especially for the same load of wash!
Me too. My brother first laughed at me for having a Dremel tool in my bathroom and then discovered that I have a bottle of Dawn in there too. It’s perfect for getting grease stains out of polyester clothing. Pre-treat in the sink and then into the laundry basket it goes.
When we were teens and had very oily hair, my sister and I used dish liquid on our hair. (This was before the Dawn of time.) It was cheaper than shampoo and left our hair shiny clean. As my scalp got drier, I moved on to real shampoo, though I just use water and conditioner every other day. A relative who was a hair stylist told me you can thin down shampoo, and it’ll still clean well, so that’s my 
-saving tip for today.
Ya know, kids can stink for all kinds of reasons unrelated to hygiene and laundry. If you’re feeling bod, Beck, sniff their shoes (when devoid of feet). Kids’ feet sweat more than adult feet, which can stink up their shoes and socks. If their breath is bad despite brushing, they could have icky tonsils even without sore throats. Some kids’ ears stink due to wax buildup.
Too bad Bayliss can’t give each boy a full-body sniff-down and indicate when he’s hit, er, pay dirt.
Speaking as someone who worked for a haircare company for seven years: shampoo and dishwashing liquid use the same sort of cleaning agents (surfactants). Generally speaking, shampoos are formulated to be substantially less harsh than dishwashing liquids (lower surfactant levels, as well as other stuff to reduce irritation).
But, overall, “thinned-down dishwashing liquid” makes for a pretty good shampoo. 
Lots of people did not get the joke when Mel Brooks called his character Governor Lepetomane in Blazing Saddles…
Which bit do you use? This one?
Or these?
So they were scrubbed up this evening with hibiclens.
The Lil’wrekker gave them their own little zip bag for holding the deodorants and mouth wash and a new toothbrush. They were ecstatic.
The older boy sprayed and applied half his can to his body. There was a visible fog coming from the hall bathroom. Then he chased his little brother all over the house spraying and screaming, " his butt stinks"
He was wrassled and the can was put up for now.
Mid-daughter called the pediatrician the nurse line called her back and told her to get yellow Dial soap. Bathe everyday and have ears and throats checked.
Oh and the foot skunk is horrid. I have a shoe rack in the mud room. Their shoes are not allowed in the house.
Clarence was mortified
not really he likes skunky smells, Alot.
That’s really interesting information! I’ll have to ask my relative again–the one who recommended thinning shampoos. She also said dishwashing liquid strips too much oil from the hair and is too alkaline. Maybe dish soap and shampoos have the same surfactants but shampoos add other stuff to make them more acidic?
Maybe instead of asking her, I should get a second opinion from my stylist. He’s very down-to-earth and sells no hair products because he says they’re mostly hype. I think I could trust him.
I read somewhere that in addition to washing feet with Dial and changing socks often, you should try using Crystal stick deodorant on kids’ feet. I don’t recall what was so different about that kind. I also don’t recall where I read it except that it was by a doctor at some big hospital.
I have to admit, I guffawed over the older grandson chasing the younger around the house and spraying him. And next spring there’ll be two more with their own special smells. 
Could be; it could also just be that the surfactant/detergent level is a lot higher. Remember Prell shampoo? Back in the '60s and ‘70s, it was a popular brand, because it was capable of cleaning several days’ worth of hairspray off of women’s hair (in an era where most people didn’t shampoo every day), as it had the highest detergent level of any shampoo. As one of my chemists at Helene Curtis described it: “Prell! It’s a stripper!”
Along with tonsil and adenoid check, there is another ENT stink monster notoriously famous for attacking innocent children.
Many kids are fascinated with the various orifices of the body. The nose is a handy one, right there in the middle of the face! Shiny foreign objects, like holly berries, beans and pennies mainly just obstruct breathing. Squishies are a different story. They soak up the nose juices and ferment pure evil.
Back to dish soap shampoo: my hair is ridiculously healthy. It takes FOREVER to perm. My sister went to cosmetology school and explained that the two step process of permanent waving is first to damage the hair to accept the curl, and then “hardening” the hair in the new, curly state. The Sister said that some shampoos were so alkaline, theoretically you could perm hair with them.
Well, not my hair.
When Sgt VOW was transferred to Germany, one of my many concerns was the fact my own personal, cosmetologist wouldn’t hop in my suitcase. She told me to tell the Post Exchange Cosmetologist to treat it like Asian hair.
Asian hair and my hair are made of titanium.
The dish soap that cleaned my hair in my high school years was Lux Liquid. It was a pink, creamy liquid. From Lux, I graduated to Crystal White.
~VOW
We’ve decided the youngest boy has a ear issue. He’ll see the doctor before Christmas.
He’s always had many ear infections.
The older boy just needed a good wash.
But, Mid-dau will take him in as well to be checked.
I think we’re on the right track.
BTW, @VOW and @nelliebly, I want tough hair.
I think maybe I’ve damaged it too much.
I was a pale blonde till I started getting grey. An ugly grey. So I started having it bleached and toned to my natural color.
My blonde days may be over.
I could live with an Emmylou Harris silver.
Alas, I’m too chicken to ask a beautician to do it. Maybe one the girls will ask for me.
Here’s what you do, at least while they’re at your house.
Bake some cookies, and explain that only non-stinky boys get those cookies. Then provide them with all the soap, shampoo and water they need.
And follow through- if they’re stinky, no cookies. If not, then cookies. Within reason each day… like don’t give them a dozen between them in the first day- give them 2-3 each day that they smell civilized.
I’ve got 10 and 7 year old boys and they’ll work like hell for positive incentives like cookies; bathing, cleaning up, whatever.
I do too.
Yes, they’re extremely food motivated.
That can work. I think.
I went upstairs to bed. I smelled a nice floral scent. I looked around and the Lil’wrekker has stuck those plug-ins in every plug in the hall. I thought: that’s nice.
The longer I laid in my bed the stronger the smell got. I went in the hall and unplugged them all.
I confiscated them.
Kept smelling it. I got up to open a window. (Crazy how warm it is in December)
I saw a tiny red light. She had plugged one in my bedroom. I unplugged it.
I’ll have a discussion with her tomorrow.
She got another speeding ticket today. Mr.Wrekker gave her a long lecture. She had a fight with Hamza as well, over it.
I felt too sorry for her to give her any more grief tonight.
You have a pet possum. Sounds legit.
Prell doesn’t look particularly unusual in terms of ingredients.
Granted, shampoos and dishwashing liquids are pretty close in terms of ingredients, so the devil must be in the proportions or something like that.
Yeah, it’s not that it’s got a different ingredient; it’s that it (at least historically) had a higher level of detergents than other brands.
I have to say the air smells a great deal better this morning.
Stink clouds are brewing.
Miss Gripey/super nose aka the Lil’wrekker is in a mood.
I think she’s had too much Drama.
Drama? In Chez Beck? Over the past two years? Surely, you jest!
hugs