Dreading visit from smelly ILs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else paranoid that they stink now?

a little, I admit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had better all be from the same ethnic and cultural background for you to be writing this, OP. If not, have the sense to have Jeff delete this thread.

+ 1

Huh?

Yeah, i don't get it either.

You really are so dense that you don't get how deeply offensive it would be if OP were a white woman commenting on "the smell" of her black, or Indian, or Mexican American ILs? Or if OP were an Indian woman commenting on "the smell" of her white or Japanese ILs?

Only to people who want to read racism into everything. How is this any more "offensive" (your favorite word, I know) than what OP has already written?

[Anonymous]

Could it be from moth balls? They stink up my cousins entire house. And the smell trails her too even when outside the house .

[Anonymous]

Agree with PP about the washing of clothes when they arrive. Ideally husband can handle this—say you have allergies or doctor recommended for baby everyone’s clothes be washed in dreft or something.
Also buy a few good quality air filters for around the house. They are really good at scrubbing bad smells from the air. There are also some air fresheners that are sort of a gel that absorbs bad smells—those work well and we used them in an elderly relative’s room.

[Anonymous]

I’m not fully caught up on this thread, so maybe it’s already been suggested, but clothes that sit wet too long REEK.

DH lived with grandma for a while when she had mobility issues and she’s get a load in the wash then take a couple of days to have the energy to move it to the dryer. It was not good. Like sort of old cheese meets mildew?

[Anonymous]

I can always smell staph or strep on my older daughter. She will not even have any symptoms, but I say, "I smell it," and we go in for a culture, and, yep, it is positive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my mother and MIL would be totally mortified if they smelled for years and I never let them know.

Not easy to do but nice ways to tell people you notice an odor.
People who love people do not let them stink.

OP here. So what nice ways would you tell people you love that they have a terrible stench?

As wonderful as ILs are, I don't see any way to tell them without them feeling completely humiliating them and DH being mad at me forever.

I don't have any ideas. But would love to hear if you do.

Pull her to the side , "Mom Janice, I notice a little odor today. I hate to even mention it but figure you would hate it if I didn't. My girlfriend Theresa had to tell me the other week. I think my deodorant stopped working and I'm trying a new one . So let me know if it's not working( make big eyes)
we girls have to stick together and help each other out(wink)'
Hey, have a family that will tell you in a heartbeat if you stink. DH has no filter and my mom either. Plus we are all obsessive about personal hygiene and want to smell clean.

This poster needs to start an AMA. Gifted!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both my mother and MIL would be totally mortified if they smelled for years and I never let them know.

Not easy to do but nice ways to tell people you notice an odor.
People who love people do not let them stink.

OP here. So what nice ways would you tell people you love that they have a terrible stench?

As wonderful as ILs are, I don't see any way to tell them without them feeling completely humiliating them and DH being mad at me forever.

I don't have any ideas. But would love to hear if you do.

Pull her to the side , "Mom Janice, I notice a little odor today. I hate to even mention it but figure you would hate it if I didn't. My girlfriend Theresa had to tell me the other week. I think my deodorant stopped working and I'm trying a new one . So let me know if it's not working( make big eyes)
we girls have to stick together and help each other out(wink)'
Hey, have a family that will tell you in a heartbeat if you stink. DH has no filter and my mom either. Plus we are all obsessive about personal hygiene and want to smell clean.

This poster needs to start an AMA. Gifted!!

????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they have a strange diet? Rotting teeth? Colostomy bags? Smokers?

What’s the smell and maybe we can offer a solution.

For example, my mom bathes herself in a smelly perfume and it gives me a terrible headache. When I’m at her house, what can I do. But when she where, it lingers on the furniture. I have started asking her to not wear it, it causes me headaches for days. She was moderately offended, but agreed she doesn’t like my choice of perfume either.

OP here. I can't put my finger on the smell. FIL does have bad teeth, and I believe he has diabetes - but would that cause BO? Like I said earlier, I'm not sure about their personal hygiene habits. As I'm thinking about it, I'm not so sure the smell is coming from their bodies. It might be from their belongings...their luggage, clothes, etc. seem to be the culprit. Believe me, it's a suffocating smell.

And I am truly not a terrible DIL. But I admit this is distressing for me when we're all together. I've always had a very sensitive nose. I'm also borderline OCD when it comes to my own personal hygiene/home cleanliness.

People with diabetes sometimes have a vey distinct, sweetly smell, so it is entirely possible this is the case with your FIL.

[Anonymous]

My MIL uses the stinkiest detergent ever, and all her and FIL's clothes reek of it. On top of that, she uses some sort of a perfumed powder that makes me gag. Every time they come over, or we go to their place, I seriously wish I had a gas mask at hand that I could rapidly pull on.
Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You had better all be from the same ethnic and cultural background for you to be writing this, OP. If not, have the sense to have Jeff delete this thread.

+ 1

Huh?

Yeah, i don't get it either.

You really are so dense that you don't get how deeply offensive it would be if OP were a white woman commenting on "the smell" of her black, or Indian, or Mexican American ILs? Or if OP were an Indian woman commenting on "the smell" of her white or Japanese ILs?

Only to people who want to read racism into everything. How is this any more "offensive" (your favorite word, I know) than what OP has already written?

+1. Getting really tired of it. Must also be an miserable existence trying to find racism in every single DCUM post.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Health issues? My dad has permanent open sores that reek. He knows and won’t sit on anything fabric covered outside his own home, but it’s nauseating to be indoors with him.

What?

I have precisely the same question.l about this. My goodness!

[Anonymous]

FWIW, eucalyptus oil in the wash eliminates all orders. Use about 10 drops or a capsule.

[Anonymous]

Maybe pay for a cleaning service to deep clean their house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If it’s their house, too, and not just them, is it possibly a mold odor?

mold and humidity smell and it sticks to the clothes.
My apartment in Adams Morgan is very humid and moldy (the walls get dark green/ the paint peels and need to be repainted every few months). I need to keep the place very clean or else the smell sticks to the clothes.