The wacky lady my step dad married after my mom passed away does this. She also brings her own stack of cutsey towels, sheets and an assortment of decorative soaps. Plus the air fresheners. She just likes to make any place she stays feel like home. I had to put the breaks on the plug ins because they made me ill.

My mil is addicted to those too. Buys them when we travel and sticks them in every room. I have a sensitive sense of smell but whatever she smelling I am not picking up. It makes me think maybe she's got a sinus or breath issue that she's thinking is everywhere in the world but her. She will say she put them in empty houses because they smell bad like our Beachhouse that we are only in a few times a year. I will ask what did it smell like? Do we need to be worried about something? And she will state no that it just smelled empty. Thing is, that's not a bad smell.

Those things pollute the air more than any pet.

Those things irritate my asthma. She wouldn't be able to use it here!

Oh geez, I hate those things. Instant migraine headache.

Why not straight up ask her about it?

Anonymous wrote:I suspect your house smells a lot worse than you think. I have a large dog, but all hardwood floors that are vacuumed daily. Dog is washed bi-weekly, unless he gets into something, in which case he's washed instantly. House is aired out (all windows opened) as often as is feasible. I have friend that have SWORN they will tell me as soon as it smells like dog...but I don't really trust that. Ha.

On a similar note, my mother brings a portable carbon monoxide detector when she visits. Really. (We have them in the house already, but not right.by.her.bed.) WTH.

That's hilarious!

That's offensive.

I hate those things, but homes with dogs usually smell worse.

I suspect your house smells a lot worse than you think. I have a large dog, but all hardwood floors that are vacuumed daily. Dog is washed bi-weekly, unless he gets into something, in which case he's washed instantly. House is aired out (all windows opened) as often as is feasible. I have friend that have SWORN they will tell me as soon as it smells like dog...but I don't really trust that. Ha.

On a similar note, my mother brings a portable carbon monoxide detector when she visits. Really. (We have them in the house already, but not right.by.her.bed.) WTH.

Ew

If she just did it without mentioning it at all, it's not rude. Odd, but not rude.

Your house probably stinks.

My inlaws have an enormous shaggy dog - I forget the breed but it weighs more than me. I suspect they never wash it other than the occasional hose-down outside in summer. The poor dog smells worse than anything I've ever encountered. I can't even describe the scent - it's worse than a pile of durians in a market next to a sewer in Bangkok (which, before making the acquaintance of this dog, was the worst thing I'd smelled). I see my SIL and nieces bury their faces in its fur when petting it though and am astounded (and utterly grossed out) that they can't seem to smell the dog. I know that you get used to smells after a while but does that count for things like rotting corpses too? I feel like there's got to be a limit and this hound from hell would be it for me.

Cats are nasty. I can immediately tell if someone has a cat when I go to their house. I have two dogs and I am fully aware that they likely have a smell that is stronger to everyone else than to me (though my mom has never said anything about it when she comes over, and she is definitely outspoken and would if it was very bad). It seems to me like you're in denial of your pets' smell and also that you're just looking for something to be pissy at your MIL about. It's really amazing, the levels that DCUM women will go to in order to be offended by something. Even the way you describe the scent plug in is condescending. You really Ned to get over it, and yourself, and move on.

Anonymous wrote:Your house probably smells like pets. For people like me, who don't have animals, it's gross.

Yeah I can handle dog scent but that cat stank really lingers. Ugh so gross.