[lovelee]

OK, I really need some advice.

Last year DH and I told a friend of mine (that was hosting an exchange student at that time) that we would host her (the exchange student) for this year. In the mean time I found out I was pregnant about 1 week before she was to arrive. So here is the scoop:

From the moment she unpacked I noticed a "smell" from her things. I let it go at first, thinking that it would disipate, but it hasn't. It has grown stronger. I have to say that even when NOT pregnant I am VERY sensitive to many smells, good or bad. WE have to use unscented shampoos and soaps, no perfumes etc. Anyway I have had bad morning sickness and smelling this smell makes everything worse. I finally had to talk to her about it and DH and I and she all tried to find whatever was causing the smell, but we couldn't find anything. I've come to the conclusion that I don't think that It's any ONE thing but just a cumulation of things from another country.

So it has gotten to the point that she has to keep her door closed, but now I smell it starting to seep into the kitchen (we have a very small house), our bathrooms are back to back and I'm smelling it in "my" bathroom also. Her bedroom was joined with the bedroom that my daughter was in and I had to move her (my daughter) out of there, simply because I could not go into that room either.

So we are a family of four squeezed into one bedroom and sharing one closet, while our exchange student has the other two bedrooms. I have to say that I'm a little resentfull about that.
I don't know where we will be able to put our baby things.

I also think the smell is going to get worse once we turn on the heat. And this is causing me great ammounts of stress. I'm here all day (we only have one car), and I feel like a prisoner in my own home!

So my question is, is it "wrong" to try to find her a new place to live? Or is it our responsibility since we originally said that we would take her, and I just have to live with it?

:

 

[Quirky]

Wow, what a terrible situation! Have you tried having her switch to soap and shampoo without scent, washing all her clothes in unscented detergent, etc. to see if that helps? Also, do you think it's her body? Maybe she should go to a doctor and see if there's a medical condition that's causing her to give off an odor?

Does your sensitivity to smell abate after the first trimester? If so, can you wait it out to see whether things get better?

If all else fails, I think you need to find her a new home. It sucks, but it sounds like it would be the best thing for you and for her.

I'm sorry. This is a really tough spot for you to be in.

 

[lovelee]

It is a tough situation.

She is already using our unscented shampoo and soap, and I don't notice a smell on her or her clothes. She uses the same detergent as we do. It's just her "stuff" that I smell.

I'm already in my 4th month and I don't expect my smell sensitivity to change as it didn't with either of my other two pregnancies.

I feel bad about it, but I feel worse for me. Is that selfish?

 

[sagewinna]

You might try some Ozione (I think that's what it's called), and odor nuetralizing spray. It even works on Cigarette smoke, and it leave no scent of its own.

 

[Chelly2003]

So she's been in your house now for about 3 months? I'd say the odor will not go away, normally odors from the body are from food eaten, but after three months of eating what you eat, washing with the same soap etc...... I don't think the smell will go away any time soon.
Have you spoken to her about it? Perhaps she has something with herbs or whatever in it thats emitting the smell.

I would say try find her somewhere else to live, you can't be couped up in a small house and try to avoid those rooms, and it might take a while to get the smell OUT once she's left. you don't want to be cleaning everything when you're 8 months pregnant!

 

[lovelee]

She's been in our home 2 months and the odor isn't going anywhere (to me it's getting STRONGER). The odor isn't comming from "her" it's from her things, I don't smell any "smell" on her. I have spoken to her about it and she has tried to find it along with my husband and I but none of us could find any one thing that had "the" smell.

And, I AM very concerned about the "smell" going away if and when she leaves. My friend said she can still smell the "smell" in her closet although it doesn't bother my friend as she is not "sensitive" to the "smell".

Geesh, could I possible type smell one more time??

 

[Sustainer]

Try Smells Begone:

http://housewares.aubuchonhardware.c...ber-618772.asp

 

[USAmma]

Would she agree to air her things outside for awhile? What is it that's smelling exactly, her suitcase, her clothes?

My dh is from India and I notice that all their stuff smells like mothballs when they first arrive. When they send packages that also has the same smell to it.

Darshani

 

[bebe luna]

If it is only the smell that is driving you nuts, and not her personality, her habits, her needs, etc...
then I'd ask her to hang her belongings in a sunny breezy open-aired spot. Also I would ask her to wash her clothes several times w/ your laundry soap.
I'm sure she must feel terrible knowing her scent is upsetting you, she may even feel a bit embarassed...
If it is actually the person more than just the scents that are driving you crazy then you should adress that, but it doesn't seem fair to ask her to leave because of her scent w/out some serious attempts at airing stuff out.

 

[lovelee]

I do notice the mothballs, but that isn't "the" smell. And I don't know what exactly is smelling, she has a room full of stuff. It could be the suitcases, I don't think it's her clothes, I don't smell it on her and shes already washed her clothes many times, I don't know how we could move her whole room outside?

And I wouldn't say the smell is "driving me nuts", it actually makes me sick, "sending me to the toilet and puking sick". And no she herself doesn't bother me she is a nice girl. She has tried to help find the smell, but she can't smell it.

We keep her window open and the fans going in there all the time when she isn't there in an attempt to "air it out". But I don't know how we could take everything she own outside?? She has a ton of stuff, like any teenager. She only brought 3-4 suitcases with her, but already had a TON of other stuff at my friends house that she brought too.

 

[gaffa]

I owuld try an air purifier in the room, they work really well. Also try the sun/fresh air thing. I'd just try to be really sensitive in suggesting it so she doesn't feel rejected or belittled. It's REALLY hard to be away from your family like that, ESPECIALLY as a teenager.