How do you go outside... and not smell like outside?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I lived with a guy in DC who complained about this nonstop; super annoying. I would walk home from work (literally I’d walk ~12 blocks down 17th, office to home) or the gym — anywhere — and he’d complain about the “outside” smell. Not just on me, but on everyone. It drove me batty. He worked from home, never had windows open, and drove everywhere.

I love the smell of “outside”. I love when my kid smells like he’s been having a blast in the hot sun, when my backpack slightly reeks like the river I crossed on foot, when my dogs smell like snow, etc. I mean, I wash things so they don’t get nasty and stink forever, but it’s just our world — not dog poop. If I lived by a factory it would surely be a different story. There was a paper factory in my university town; that was beyond horrid.

Interestingly, dirt and the river smell different than "outside," though when you smell like outside, you might have a little dirt or river on you. But the outside smell is its own smell, and to me smells like an interaction between the air and the body.

[Anonymous]

There is a difference between smelling the air outside and the smell people have when they come in from being outside. The latter is the one that is a bit unpleasant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the "outside" smell?

I like how outside smells? Fresh air is not a bad odor to me.

There are things outside that may smell nice, but the "outside smell" you pick up, is not a nice smell. It's like a mix of cut grass, pennies, pollen spores, and dirt. If it's above 70 degrees, I will get that smell on me after just a few minutes outside, whether or not I sweat. It's an air contact thing.

Going outside makes you smell a bit like a dog. If you sweat or get wet, you’ll end up smelling like wet dog.

[Anonymous]

I know exactly what your talking about. It’s not that it smells bad outside it smells great and I love being outdoors but when you come in from being outside there’s this nasty smell that clings onto me. And anyone else that’s been outside and everyone smells almost nearly the same. So I tend to call it an outside smell too... I have no idea what it is I wish I knew how to explain it more. But I’ve noticed body odor covers it up good. Like for example if my family and I step outside and walk around for a bit (cuz it’s a beautiful day) and we don’t even break a sweat or have body odor when we go back in, I can smell a stench on everyone and I associate it with being outside. Now you CANT smell it when your outside, everything smells good and normal and fresh BUT when we go back indoors it’s very gross to me I tend to tell everyone to get in the shower or no dinner. But if we work outside and get stinky it’s like you can’t smell that “outside” smell that I’m talking about you just smell like body odor or whatever even though I’d say my husband and my body odor isn’t that bad or strong, it only takes a small amount of body odor to completely cancel out that nasty “outside” smell. I don’t know what it is my best guess is some kind of bacteria on our skin reacts with the clean fresh air outdoors good but when going back indoors it reacts badly.
I wish I knew. I’d love to get rid of that nasty “after smell” or figure out a way to keep that smell from coming out like the fresh air and outdoors got it figured out.

[Anonymous]

Ps. Another thing I noticed living in the city that outdoor smell is different from living in the country. Slightly different but you can definitely tell.. they’re both still gross smelling and another important thing I forgot to mention is that living near the ocean seems to get rid of that nasty smell we talk about. Like when I’m outside just relaxing and walking around all day with the family when we lived near the ocean we never got that gross outdoor smell. Mainly just a smell of like sweat but not a bad scent. I was thinking maybe the salt water that’s in the air living near the water gets rid of that outdoor scent.
Either way wouldn’t it be great if someone would research this and solve this weird mystery hardly no one talks about. I swear i didn’t even know other people noticed it.
I just happened to think of googling it now cuz my son and I just came from outside cuz it’s the first beautiful warm day after this spring/winter/rain/still freezing weather we’ve been having since like ... last summer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know exactly what your talking about. It’s not that it smells bad outside it smells great and I love being outdoors but when you come in from being outside there’s this nasty smell that clings onto me. And anyone else that’s been outside and everyone smells almost nearly the same. So I tend to call it an outside smell too... I have no idea what it is I wish I knew how to explain it more. But I’ve noticed body odor covers it up good. Like for example if my family and I step outside and walk around for a bit (cuz it’s a beautiful day) and we don’t even break a sweat or have body odor when we go back in, I can smell a stench on everyone and I associate it with being outside. Now you CANT smell it when your outside, everything smells good and normal and fresh BUT when we go back indoors it’s very gross to me I tend to tell everyone to get in the shower or no dinner. But if we work outside and get stinky it’s like you can’t smell that “outside” smell that I’m talking about you just smell like body odor or whatever even though I’d say my husband and my body odor isn’t that bad or strong, it only takes a small amount of body odor to completely cancel out that nasty “outside” smell. I don’t know what it is my best guess is some kind of bacteria on our skin reacts with the clean fresh air outdoors good but when going back indoors it reacts badly.
I wish I knew. I’d love to get rid of that nasty “after smell” or figure out a way to keep that smell from coming out like the fresh air and outdoors got it figured out.

ugh.. i hate that smell, and I think only some people smell it. I can smell it, but my DH can't.

I tried to air dry my clothes outside, and it would have that horrible outside smell. I couldn't stand it, but DH could't smell it.

I smell it on my kid when they've been out.

I think someone (on this thread?) said the smell is due to the bugs in the air, esp. in spring/summer. I don't smell it very much in the winter. There is even a name for the odor, but I can't recall what it i.

[Anonymous]

It's officially "smell like outside" season, after just sitting on the deck for 10 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ps. Another thing I noticed living in the city that outdoor smell is different from living in the country. Slightly different but you can definitely tell.. they’re both still gross smelling and another important thing I forgot [b]to mention is that living near the ocean seems to get rid of that nasty smell we talk about. Like when I’m outside just relaxing and walking around all day with the family when we lived near the ocean we never got that gross outdoor smell. Mainly just a smell of like sweat but not a bad scent. I was thinking maybe the salt water that’s in the air living near the water gets rid of that outdoor scent.
Either way wouldn’t it be great if someone would research this and solve this weird mystery hardly no one talks about. I swear i didn’t even know other people noticed it.
I just happened to think of googling it now cuz my son and I just came from outside cuz it’s the first beautiful warm day after this spring/winter/rain/still freezing weather we’ve been having since like ... last summer

Outdoor smell in the city is different from living in the country? Get outta here!
Get your gown ready, the next Nobel prize is yours.

[Anonymous]

I never used to smell it in the 1980s or 1990s. But now smell it on lots of people all the time in the spring and summer months. We’re in south eastern PA.

[Anonymous]

I didn’t get this thread all the times it’s popped up, but finally realized I’ve been smelling this on DH for years. I thought it was an inoffensive perspiration smell when he’d go for a run. Then a couple weeks ago I noticed it on the cat. We live a couple blocks from the beltway. It’s a fairly metallic smell, I don’t think it’s anything good.

[Anonymous]

It must be like cilantro - either you like it or you don’t. Maybe it is genetic - I have read that negative reactions to cilantro are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

This.
Get a life, OP.

[Anonymous]

lol!

When I go outside for bit, in burbs, and go back inside, I can smell my hair. But maybe I'm not smelling an outside smell.

After leaving your house for 20 minutes, your normal surroundings, maybe what you are smelling is your own normal smell!!! You couldn't smell it indoors. Not until you were outside in an odorless setting. It's like sniffing coffee beans between perfumes. You get immune to perfume, go outside 20 minutes or sniff coffee, then you can smell perfume again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It must be like cilantro - either you like it or you don’t. Maybe it is genetic - I have read that negative reactions to cilantro are.

Yes, 23andme claims to test for genes for cilantro aversion (it tastes "soapy"). I'm supposed to have a higher chance of not liking it, but actually I LOVE cilantro.

I also like the "outside smell" and had no idea people didn't until I read this thread.

[Anonymous]

I believe this metallic smell comes from high flying airplanes that leave contrails. Are they dropping some kind of waste from up there like they do when they put fluoride in our drinking water to dispose of it? Flouride is a waste product derived from the making of aluminum. The Metallic smell in the air, whatever it's from, gets on you immediately after being outdoors for just a few minutes. It's NOT a natural occurrence.