My sense of smell is way too keen; I smell everything well before it happens. I'm used to being the only one around whose nose gets assaulted while the scent is barely tickling the hairs of those around me. It's probably hardest on me when I smell someone's body odor. It's not always a bad scent, just a strong one. Because smelling other people's personal scents has an intrinsic ICK factor for me, it's doubly unpleasant.
Here's the issue: My sofa stinks in one section. My nanny is a sweat-er, and I smell her. My husband doesn't ever smell it, but I do. It's not that she's not clean; she just gets hot and sweats. In the past, when she's been holding the baby for a while in a blanket, I've had to switch blankets because I could smell her on the blanket and not my sweet baby. Again, not a bad odor, just a personal one.
How do I address this? I'm not necessarily looking for a way to say it to her. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to deal with it. The sofa is my husband's old fake leather stuff from his apartment. I wipe it down in the evenings and spray it with Lysol. We're talking now about buying real furniture, and I don't want anybody stinking it up. Again, I'm the only one who ever smells it, and I do not think that it is a hygiene issue. Maybe we don't get new furniture until he goes to school?
Thanks, everybody! I'm gonna go online now and find some sofa covers. I want to lighten up that room, anyway! (The furniture is black.)
I don't have any more suggestions for you, but I'm glad I'm not the only one with this issue! I have such a sensitive sense of smell that is causes discomfort in many situations.
You could try covering the couch with a slip cover (get several) and keep washing them frequently.
http://www.surefit.net/shop/categories/sofa-loveseat-and-...
I know that this isn't addressing the couch or nanny, but have you considered rubbing a tiny bit of Vaseline in your nostrils with a Q-tip? That might help "filter" the scents?
Just a thought. I knew a lady many years ago who got into a car accident and was injured severely. One of the downfalls of it was she lost complete sense of smell and taste. Either way, I'm sure it's difficult to deal with; good luck!
I also vote for a sofa slip cover that can be taken off and washed. The stretchy ones that fit snuggly are really good.
~My Mother has your kinda nose...so I totally get what you are saying!
Get a sofa cover.
That can be washed.
Wiping it down is fine... but then you will have... Lysol on it too, plus the sweat smells etc. And all of these substances combined... will cause the smell to still exist. Because... the sofa "fabric" even if it is fake leather... is probably absorbing whatever is on it. Regardless if you are wiping it down. It is not, impervious. So you will still... smell smells on it.
You need, sofa covers... that can be washed.
Also, you might want to try and use herbs, in flower vases, around your house. Things like Basil, mint, Thyme, etc. Just cut them like you would flowers from a flower garden, put the stalks in a vase and place them around your home. It smells GREAT! I do that. I LOVE putting Herbs in a vase. I even put nice herb bouquets in our bathroom. And it is all natural. And to make the nice herb smell come out more, you just gently rub the leaves.
But you need, a WASHABLE sofa covering.
The poor woman. Everyone sweats... some more than others. They can't help it. Me... I sweat a lot when doing busy things in the house. I can't help it. I can't put deodorant over every inch of my body. No one can control their sweat output or when.
And I live in a hot climate place.
But at least you know, your sense of smell is just more.... intense than the normal person. But so, I would just cover the sofas with a washable cover. And sure, just keep switching the baby blanket to another one after the Nanny leaves.
That would bug me too, so I completely understand.
Either wait to buy the furniture, or buy leather, or fake leather, that can be wiped down, as you have been doing. I think leather is great anyway, because now that I have a leather sofa, I can see all the stuff that gets on it, that you don't normally notice with a fabric sofa.
Does the sofa stink, even after wiping it down? Try wiping it with some Nature's Miracle. But other than that, I guess you should wait till he goes to school.
Yeah, and Lysol is probably not the best thing to clean it with. If you buy leather, get a proper leather cleaner, so it doesn't ruin it.
Real leather might work better for you, I'm not sure. I do know that the fake leather seems to absorb and hold onto odors more. I don't know why that is, but I notice it, too. (We have fake leather stuff in the family room that we bought as "disposable" when the kids were babies.) The Lysol might be drying the couch too much and causing it to break down somewhat, also? If you get real leather, you can actually clean it with baby wipes and they work great.
Aside from changing out the furniture, you could just get a few slip covers and swap them out as you wash them. Although slip covers kind of drive me crazy, because they never stay put. :-P Maybe if you get the kind that cover each cushion, that would be easier.
That's what we did. When our little son was born, we needed new living room furniture too BUT we knew it was hopeless to buy an extravagant set considering our child would be drooling, spitting up, perhaps drawing all over it, etc. before he reaches his double-digit years. So we only spent around a thousand dollars for our set. Once he is in his teens and has gained some sense of responsibility and realization of value (of things), we intend to replace what we currently have with a much nicer living room set.
Don't you just love the mom nose?
I think you are handling it fine. I might switch to Febreeze over lysol. It may do a better job of getting rid of body smell.
I wouldn't change the baby in front of her. It may offend her.
Since your son is still a baby, I would wait on any new furniture until he is at least in upper elementary school. Toddlers and young kids are notoriously messy.
The nose should calm down after awhile. It is an evolutionary adaptation to protect our kids from bad things :)
I want to add, the removable and washable sofa covers also will mean you are not adding Lysol and Febreze etc. to your environment all the time. Neither you nor the baby needs those chemicals in your air and in your systems. When you wash the sofa covers, use baking soda in the wash too. Put the dirty cover in a plastic tub, cover liberally with baking soda, let it sit a while before putting the cover and the soda into the washing machine.
In fact -- I would get a couple of sets of covers! When you remove one to wash it, you will have another clean one to put on immediately and won't have to rush to wash the first one and get it back on the couch.
I like the suggestion of putting fresh, cut herbs (cutting the herbs' leaves will release the oils and their scents) in your home, if you like the smells of them. If there are essential oils that you find appealing, use those around your home; there are ceramic rings that hold them and can be placed around the house (but be careful-- a little one should never get hold of these oils even though they're natural. They're highly concentrated and could be dangerous if ingested or put into an eye, etc.)
I truly feel for you. My mother was also a sensitive "super-smeller" and it can make life very unpleasant -- headaches, fatigue, running past the perfume counters of department stores, detecting a ton of chemical smells in new clothing, feeling sickened by the fragrances of people's laundry detergents and shampoos and make-up....If anyone ever tells you to "get over it," just know that your sensitivity is for real and you do not have to apologize for it or excuse it!
My guy cousins had really old hand me down sofas in college. Febreeze kept everything from smelling funky.
Try also getting her a fan or kicking the ac down a couple notches. If i get so hot in a house i sweat i start feeling bad also. Also giving her some of your favorite sents or lotions for Christmas might help. I know when ppls perfumes - not a body oder- are present and linger after they are gone I hate it! Smells are smelly and bother me unless its one i really like. I like Paris Hiltons ChaCha perfume (it smells like cotton candy ) and there is a all natural lotion J.R. Watkins brand in Lemon Cream smells exactly like a lemon filled cookie (like oreo but with vanilla cookie and bright yellow filling) oh yummy baby! also burts bees natural milk and honey smells nice. This way your mostly smelling her lotion not her sweat...or body powder. I really like http://www.lushusa.com/Silky-Underwear-Dusting-Powder/036...
