Urine Smell at Memory Care Tour

[Anonymous]

Is urine smell and automatic NO after a memory care tour? Or is that just ubiquitous? I have toured a few places, and noticed the stench. What are your opinions?

[Anonymous]

It shouldn’t smell any worse than a daycare.

[Anonymous]

For memory care you’re going to have a really hard time finding someplace that smells consistently fresh. It’s just the nature of the beast.

[Anonymous]

It's ubiquitous. With that many people in a small space, it's really, really hard for the staff to change people quickly enough to make it not smell.

The only way to avoid a smell is to change people right away (i.e., waking them up if they pee when they are sleeping, and doing this in the night as well as the day), and that's not necessarily in the person's best interests. Replacing mattresses and sit-on furniture helps too, but that's costly. So at anything that's not a very high-end place, you'll have the smell.

[Anonymous]

I’d certainly keep looking.

[Anonymous]

I went to one place and the smell was overwhelming and permeated the entire facility. There were other things I didn’t like about that one so I kept looking.

I love where my mom ended up and 90% of the time it doesn’t smell or it smells fresh. But about 10% of the time there’s a urine or feces smell. Only in part of a hallway or one area, and whatever caused the smell is cleaned quickly.

[Anonymous]

My mother is at a high-end place and most of the time it doesn't smell. Common areas never smell but sometimes her hall smells because I think a resident has had a recent incident they are cleaning up or dealing with. But sometimes I think they really just can't avoid it.

[Anonymous]

Yes they smell and they shouldn't for the price they cost.

[Anonymous]

I would question whether their HVAC system is working well, is it replacing stale air with fresh air as well as it should.

If someone soils big furniture, a couch or mattress, that may take the staff a while to have removed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It might have been you. Check yourself.

No need for this! OP is trying her best.

[Anonymous]

Even with aging in place and a 1-1 aide, there are urine smells. Our neighbors are aging in place and one has 24-7 care. They run laundry often and spray stuff, but because it's a townhouse we get unpleasant smells coming from their house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It might have been you. Check yourself.

Found the cleaning lady at the nursing home!

[Anonymous]

I’ve looked at a bunch of places in nova for my dad recently. None were the locked down memory care wings. The only one that smelled like urine on one floor was the Kensington in falls church. A lady had just had an accident and her room was being cleaned as she waited. My dad gave that place an automatic no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve looked at a bunch of places in nova for my dad recently. None were the locked down memory care wings. The only one that smelled like urine on one floor was the Kensington in falls church. A lady had just had an accident and her room was being cleaned as she waited. My dad gave that place an automatic no.

As would anyone in his position :o

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve looked at a bunch of places in nova for my dad recently. None were the locked down memory care wings. The only one that smelled like urine on one floor was the Kensington in falls church. A lady had just had an accident and her room was being cleaned as she waited. My dad gave that place an automatic no.

As would anyone in his position :o

Does your father's pee not smell? If he lives long enough, he too will have accidents. Adult diapers don't always catch it all.

My mother snubbed every place for dad. Her house smelled like urine, she was having rage fits on a regular basis because she couldn't cope with more than 8 hour a day care in her home and he was miserable. We got him into a day program and he was much happier and then he had a caregiver when he was home and she was still furious with him. His doctor even had her get a dementia screen, but she passed. She still refused memory care despite the fact he clearly enjoyed interacting with people who weren't furious with him.

There is no perfect setting and you have to also look at what is happening to the family members dealing with them and make sure they are not falling apart. My uncle was so content at memory care once he adjusted and it was a blessing for my aunt.