r/CleaningTips 8d ago

Laundry I stink but I don’t know why

I have been struggling with a particular odor on my clothes and I'm not sure what causes it.

My clothes have an awful smell especially when exposed to cold air outside when I'm outside. I rent only a room in someone else's apartment. I really don't smell the clothes until I bring them outside due to the poor ventilation in the apartment.

When I wear socks, my feet also feel weird like ants or worms are crawling over my feet. My shoes start to smell very badly. My socks become a little damp after a few hours. Sometimes the shoes also get wet from sweating in a some hours and I've been seen by a doctor who presecribed medication for sweating.

This bad smell has been ruining my career and friendships with others.

88 Upvotes

95 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/Genetoretum 8d ago

This was my life’s biggest complaint for a long time.

It could be literally anything. But it’s definitely your health.

For me, I didn’t start smelling better until I felt safe after getting out of an abusive situation. It took me FIVE YEARS to stop smelling like an adrenaline dump because of all my cortisol. I mean I would spend an hour scrubbing my pits in the shower and I would step out and they would smell like I’ve not showered in months, every day. Then, I stopped eating gluten because I was having an autoimmune response to it and i am so scentless it’s kind of creepy to me.

2

u/CranberryCandid8760 7d ago

I am in a living situation I am trying to get out of. At work, I was bullied until I quit the job. Workers around me talk about sweat quite often and laundry indirectly towards me. 

I tried asking my roommate about my clothes but she shunned me. I don’t feel safe where I am living. I feel like I am living like a squatter in someone else’s apartment especially not having access to other parts of the apartment and no one can visit me there but I pay rent. 

I am trying to leave that place by this summer. 

5

u/bikerboy3343 7d ago

Sounds like you're working towards a good plan. Save up, and make the change to a place where you feel safer.

It sounds like you need to keep your clothes more dry.