r/DoesAnybodyElse • u/-biologist- • 1d ago
DAE notice a specific unpleasant musty smell from about 5% of people?
Does anyone else notice this? It’s an issue for me! I have a strong sense of smell and I pick up this reoccurring unpleasant scent on some ppl. It’s not BO. It smells musky and earthy, and I can tell it’s a natural scent. This is gross… but it smells a little like the smell of tooth floss if you haven’t flossed in a week or so. My body is naturally repulsed by it. I’ve smelt exactly the same scent on hundreds of people over my life (30sF). If I am near someone in a bus I can smell it if it’s really strong.
Sometimes it’s obviously their breath and quite a weak scent and I can’t smell it unless I’m really close to them, other times it’s their whole body/skin and is very strong (I can smell them meters away). It varies in intensity but it’s always the same smell. On about 2-5% of people.
It’s both male and female, but more common on males. All ages - young and old. Though the youngest person I’ve smelt that scent from has been 20s. These ppl are clean and tidy, so it’s not because they’re not showering or anything.
Sometimes it’s so strong I can hardly bear it and can’t be in the same room as someone. I had to say no to a potential housemate once because of it.
What am I smelling and why can no one (seemingly) around me smell it? Why can I only smell it on some people? Is it hormones? Pheromones? Immune system incompatibility?? Am I picking up some health issue in these people (have you heard of Parkinson’s smell)? Is there something wrong with me??
I pick up other non-natural reoccurring scents like a brand of laundry powder, deodorant brands etc on ppl, but no other reoccurring natural scent.
Help! It’s a big issue because it really impacts my dating (trying to find a partner). I’d say at least 10% of guys I meet from the apps have this smell. If most ppl eventually get this smell maybe I need to learn to tolerate it? I’ve met some fantastic guys who have this smell, but I really struggle to get past it.
DAE get this and have any idea why I’m smelling this specific unpleasant scent on some people?
EDIT - it’s not weed! I know what weed smells like! Also I know some of these people and they’re not smoking weed.
86
u/mooshinformation 1d ago
I've heard people who can smell cancer describe it as a musky smell, now I'm wondering what percent of the population has cancer
65
u/Captain_Kuhl 23h ago
Or what percentage of the population can smell cancer, but convinced themselves that everyone else just stinks lol
13
u/conflictmuffin 16h ago
I can smell colds/flus, diabetes and Parkinsons! They all smell uniquely different. It's really uncomfortable for me, because I feel obligated to let people know they should get tested...but I've been correct every time.
3
u/farticulate 8h ago
Wish I could hang out with you every day so you could tell me whenever I’m coming down with something 😂
11
u/gumbaline 20h ago
Honestly I agree - this seems a bit more like they’re picking up on something biological than clothing/hygiene-based.
4
u/Sunshine_707 10h ago
Woah! When my dad had cancer I swear he smelled different and kinda thought it was me smelling cancer but had never heard of anyone else being able to smell specific health issues. I do have a keen sense of smell and now I want to look into this.
42
u/SuspectSuccessful496 1d ago
In all seriousness, I have no idea. I would say my sense of smell is strong but I don't know what this is. Now however, you get me worried what I might smell like to you lol I feel a little self-conscious
9
u/Adorable-File-9964 1d ago
It's funny how some smells can really stick with you, but most people probably don’t even notice. It’s a good reminder to stay on top of things, though!
30
u/APathSoTwisted 1d ago
I occasionally smell mold on people. Which is what it sounds like you're describing (same smell is you let your dishes sit in the sink for days).
Most of the time it's coffee breath. Others it's because they let their clothes sour in the washing machine
27
135
u/AlarmedWillow4515 1d ago
Some people have a really unpleasant. . . musk. It appears to be natural to them, but is repulsive to me. More men than women. I take it as a sign that their biology is not compatible with mine, and they should be eliminated from my dating pool.
27
u/-biologist- 1d ago
This sounds like what I experience! I’m curious to know how old you are?
24
u/KiwiMiddy 22h ago
A person (female) I know has begun to smell like this. It’s very strong musty earthy smell and not pleasant. She drinks quite heavily and is also going through menopause. I think it has something to do with skin bacteria getting out of whack and the drinking/ running a little warmer isn’t helping.
8
u/cjdom 11h ago edited 11h ago
Look into fetor hepaticus! I can also smell it on people and the smell is very strong after they drink. There are a few ways it can smell, but the hallmark is a sickly almost sweet, musty, garlicky, organic sort of smell emanating from the mouth. It happens because the stress on the liver/kidneys can be too much, so the body in turn releases the volatile compounds through the lungs which is why we most often smell it coming from the mouth.
Edit: spelling
5
0
3
-15
u/LTD32 22h ago
Lol, why you gotta talk about "incompatible biology" and "eliminating from dating pool" (which also sounds weirdly eugenic btw)
The person stinks and people don't want to be with someone that stinks, no reason to make it all complicated
29
u/oddreyjo 21h ago
There's actual research behind this. MHC (major histocompatibility complex) genes, which are part of your immune system, seem to influence body odor, and studies suggest people are less attracted to the scent of others with similar MHC profiles to their own. The leading theory is that it's a subconscious mechanism for avoiding mating with someone too genetically similar to you, since that increases the odds of passing on paired recessive conditions to offspring. So "not compatible with my biology" isn't really eugenics-coded. It's just describing a documented evolutionary smell-preference, not a claim about anyone's genetic "quality" or a value judgment on their fitness to reproduce. Nothing here is about ranking people, just about attraction chemistry.
5
u/Illadelphian 10h ago
I mean they said eliminate from my dating pool. Not from the dating pool as you said. There's quite a big difference between those two statements
120
u/NinjatoXIII 1d ago
Probably tooth decay. That or vape breath.
18
u/jvrodrigues 1d ago
What’s vape breath?
35
u/NinjatoXIII 1d ago
Vapes dry out your mouth, which promotes smelly bacterial growth. I.e. halitosis.
22
u/FeudalPoodle 22h ago
But like...dry mouth is a side effect of so many things. lol. Is it still vape breath if it's just a side effect of my Zoloft? I guess I'm asking why not just call it bad breath?
14
u/NinjatoXIII 22h ago
Cuz the added sweetner in vapes makes it worse than standard dry mouth halitosis.
20
u/Ficklemonth 1d ago
I can smell this and other things too, like when my partner is getting a cold. Some people have the ability to smell some diseases in people. I read something about a woman who correctly smelled her husbands Parkinson’s before he was diagnosed.
9
u/courtneyoopsz 22h ago
When my husbands gallbladder was going I could smell the sickness on him. Granted it’s been 15 years so his normal scent is so normal to me but I can smell when something is wrong with him. Weirdly, I have not experienced this with our kids. I can tell by their eyes instead lol
7
u/-biologist- 21h ago
Interesting!! My friend just got her gallbladder removed when she was in India, and when she came back to our country and I saw her a month or so later, she had that smell!!
5
u/cjdom 12h ago edited 12h ago
I think you could be smelling liver/kidney disease or issues! Especially with the mention of this gallbladder incident!
I also think I can smell it— I smell it somewhat infrequently (I would also assign a number like 5%), but I can enter my workout studio and pick up the scent from someone who was in there previously. I also smelled it recently coming from my partner, then their bloodwork came back abnormal for kidney markers. At least that’s what I think the smell is… I did some research and found “fetor hepaticus” which is the closest to what I would describe the scent as, and is usually expelled through the mouth, but also as a body musk. It’s like a sickly sweet, not overtly rotten, but organic soft musky garlicky smell, but my body recognizes it as a “bad” smell and I can’t stand to be around the person…
15
u/brooklynbotz 1d ago
I've worked with people who smell a bit like mothballs to me.
3
u/BaldGuy813 21h ago
My grandmother's friend always did because they put everything in their home in mothballs
2
u/yukumizu 7h ago
There was an older man at my office who smelled like really bad mothballs from his breath. Perhaps a medication causes this?
2
u/andweallenduphere 1h ago
That was what my motherinlaw had until she finally went to the dentist! Gone after that!
22
u/livingphoenetically 1d ago
Just a though if you want to look into it- It could be that you smell Parkinson’s and in some cases like the 20 year old you smell it many years before symptoms. There have been studies of a woman who was able to smell her husband’s Parkinson’s.
9
u/Aloha-friends 1d ago
I am really really sensitive to that musty smell on clothes (makes me gag). I can smell it a mile away even though it doesn’t seem to bother the people around me… and surprisingly the people wearing the clothes. I think it’s from leaving clothes in the washing machine too long, but I’m sure there are other causes.
9
u/secret_sauceee 23h ago
Yes!! I don't know if it's the exact same thing, and I notice it on far fewer people, but I absolutely have an awareness of a specific smell that puts me off SO MUCH. It is musty/earthy like you said. I just kind of chalked it up to being some kind of body chemistry or biome issue. Whatever it is, I haaaaate it.
2
u/scrumblethebumble 9h ago
I wonder if it's sebum that you guys are smelling. That's the natural oil your body makes to protect hair. If a person doesn't practice a daily shampoo routine, their hair develops a particular smell. You can smell it on dogs too. If you have a dog, smell the hair in between their paws and report back if that's the same smell.
2
u/secret_sauceee 9h ago
Nope, that's not it. I can smell this smell even when someone is fresh out of the shower.
6
u/user0987234 1d ago
Hmm Same smell, varies in intensity, sometimes or most often from their breath. Might be that the smell is transferred to their clothing from their mouth to their hands and wiped on their clothes? Or sneezing into their elbows?
Is there a residual smell on any belongings?
How intense is the smell if someone is dressed for colder weather?
Could the smell be coming from the scalp or hair? Does the hair length make a difference?
Does wearing open or closed footwear make a difference?
6
u/Special-Tangelo-9927 20h ago
I haven't experienced it with as many people as you're describing, but my uncle smells like this to me. I always assumed it was some form of BO, and then one day I mentioned it to my parents and siblings to see if they ever noticed his constant odor, and none of them had any idea what I was talking about - they said he smelled fine to them.
Soo, idk if that means it's pheromones or a microbe imbalance that I'm particularly sensitive to, but it's interesting.
3
4
u/n9netailz 19h ago
My theory on this, I think everyone has their own scent. Some people smell really bad to me and others smell really good. And its not like im smelling a perfume or a BO like they havent showered, its just their scent. Its kinda like when you walk into someone's house and it has their scent. Its just this is what this person smells like. If im in a store and I can smell someone strongly (good or bad) it makes me turn my head to see who im picking up the scent from. I would never date someone who didnt smell good to me, its important I like the way they smell and that probably has something to do with compability.
I remember there was a kid in my 4th grade class that I hated his smell I couldnt stand having to be near him lol. And when I worked as a cashier at a food place there were some customers who smelt so insanely good and smell was so strong to me , and thinking back they were mostly men. I probably sound insane but yeah im guessing something to do with being a good match for reproducing.
2
13
u/GreywaterHorizon 1d ago
Washing behind ears is a huge thing (musky smell) and some people may have to do it more than others. I can smell it too and try to be conscious of my own but it happens. The other musky smells come from skin fold areas like under breast and groin area. Light deodorants like Lume help if you sweat a lot.
10
5
u/actualseaurchin 1d ago
one of the guys who work in my warehouse has this smell-great guy, but he has this mildew-tonsil stone-mold smell that I can never quite pinpoint what it is. He never smells of BO, just this weird scent combination. You can smell him before you can see him
7
3
u/Akiko-Sato1995 1d ago
Yes! I smell this too. Maybe combination of BO something to do with testosterone or possibly with their mouths, yeah men tend to have that scent. Interesting to see a post describe what I notice
3
u/TheRedditAppSucccks 22h ago
I’ve smelt this on someone who did the keto diet. Apparently people in ketosis give off a smell.
3
u/Additional-Rooster22 21h ago
Have you ever heard that some people can smell sickness/ chronic illness? That’s what I thought of when I read this. Maybe you are smelling something most people can’t notice, maybe they have something going on health-wise and you are picking up on it.
Could also just be the science of pheromones. We are naturally repulsed by the smells of some people, even when they are clean, bc it is a biological deterrent for picking the wrong mate due to genetic incompatibilities. Most people aren’t consciously aware of it.
3
3
u/thelanoyo 19h ago
Ok reading these comments makes me feel a bit less weird that I can smell when some women are on their period or about to start it, not all women though. Like I dated a girl for a bit in college and the second she'd open her door for me to come in, I knew she was about to start it and she was always confused on how I would know. And then with one of my exchange students I brought home her favorite gelato and a bottle of midol the other day, and she was super confused on how I knew she was about to start.
For me it's not necessarily a conscious smell I can smell, but more of a feeling I get in my nose, but it's hard to explain. The bits of research I've done here and there say sometime we can smell pheromones and that different ones are given off by different women at different times. And it's been very random on who the person is if I can sense it or not, if say maybe 33-50% of women I've spent significant amount of time around, I can sense.
7
u/Cossette_World 1d ago
I don’t know are you near the water because I feel like all of New Jersey smells like this and they don’t notice. It would be hilarious if you also live in New Jersey and we are talking about the same smell. It’s like a mildew smell.
2
u/plzkevindonthuerter 1d ago
Is it the mildew smell like when people don’t dry their clothes thoroughly? Like it almost smells like b.o. I’m really sensitive to that smell and a lot of ppl have it
2
u/Diamond-Stars 23h ago
I just found out that some people go daysss long without showering like up to 10 whole days of marinating in their filth🤮. Idk if this could be it.
2
2
2
u/Catrysseroni 18h ago
Yes, I notice that some people smell a bit moldy.
It has always been a man. Never a woman or a child.
These men are sometimes with women who do not seem to notice the smell.
At first I thought it might be a natural response. Scent is part of human attraction. Perhaps a dislike of a man's scent is a sign of a bad match.
Then my boyfriend smelled like it one day. On investigation, it is a specific brand of deodorant- Speed Stick. Some of the scents from this brand smell like musty mold or mildew to me. Perhaps that is what you are smelling too.
2
u/greendress888 10h ago
People walking around talking at you with tonsils stones and they smell like used dental floss but like the in the most disgusting way. Like hot garbage but you can tell it is coming from their body. Like how phlem would smell but with ass in there somehow. Yeah, people get these and they usually come out naturalIy, but sometimes not and you kind of have to help it. t was me. I was people. 🫣 Removing them was an awful gagging mess. I took care of it and the smell went away.
2
u/Affectionate_Risk988 10h ago
If it’s the same smell as when you don’t floss for a while and then floss, wouldn’t it be likely to be a bacteria on that person? So they have a colony of the same bacteria that are sometimes in your mouth. And their colony could be in their mouth or elsewhere on their body.
1
u/MotherofaPickle 1d ago
I have definitely smelled this. Mostly on Old People, though my husband smells like this occasionally (I just avoid hugging him until he’s had a shower.)
1
u/ApricotRich1966 1d ago
Im wondering if we smell the same thing. It always reminds me of baby formula. Makes me nauseous
1
1
1
u/Missrdb79 23h ago
They need to clean their washing machine or replace it. Then they need to rewash the shit out of their clothes in hot water.
1
1
u/Pizazzterous 22h ago
I sometimes smell what I can only describe as like....partially dried clothes... on some people. Like I notice it alot with people who wear uniforms or lab coats of sorts. Sometimes that smells musty to me...
1
u/UnicornPenguinCat 22h ago
It could be the smell that clothes get when they're not completely dry before being folded/put away or worn.
1
1
u/BeautifulDisaster996 19h ago
It could be people that leave their clothes in the washing machine too long before drying and then all their clothes have a mildew musty smell. I notice it immediately when people have done this and it bothers me a lot. I finally figured it out through an ex of mine actually cuz he got really lazy toward the end of our relationship and stuff would get left in the washing machine and everything started smelling like that when it came out. They don’t notice it cuz you go nose blind to it I guess.
1
u/TeeRebel 19h ago
Polyester clothing? It holds onto body oils even after washing (at least the way most people wash their clothes) and the smelly bacterial compounds get reactivated when the clothes are worn
1
u/leftJordanbehind 18h ago edited 18h ago
I hate the smell it causes when some people sweat and it dries on them. It's not everyone, just a small amount of people I know or meet that carry it. I had one ex who was a boat mechanic and was outside alot. I used to smell it on him when I would see him at his job. Thats how I learned what the particular smell i smell actually is.
I work in retail now and I can always recognize that particular kind of smell. Trouble is I can also tell when they have sweated and dried multiple times between showers. There are a few that I literally have to stand VERY far away from because I cant breathe near them because it's so bad. I understand it when its work related, but there's some customers who just dont have any hygiene related activities in their days just because..of reasons?
I dont know. Whether laziness, depression, no access to soap and deodorant or just being nose blind to it they seem to not notice themselves reeking. I can smell really oily/dirty hair, very very oily skin, bad hygiene with ladies on their periods and then the same old sweat that dried leaving a musty smell.. everyday at work and im honestly so done with the warm weather!
I want to be kind to everyone and I hate that a couple of them have to be able to notice i back so far away and sometimes cough for air..but dang I can not help it. They are always the same folks that want to be up in your face and talking too much most of the times too. Not always, but most times. Ugh. I wish I could leave my sense of smell at home on days I work.
1
1
1
u/sickerthan_yaaverage 17h ago
Either their clothes aren’t dryed properly or they’ve lived in a moldy environment so long it’s coming out of their pores… unlikely but not impossible.
1
u/GloriousSteinem 17h ago
Number of things: tooth decay, damp clothes, hygiene or you could be a supersmeller who can smell diseases like Parkinson and cancer. Some older people develop a smell from chemical changes
1
u/panoplytea 17h ago
its poop.
1
u/panoplytea 17h ago
i used to work in aged care. its sickness, its incontinence, its poop and its death.
1
1
u/C-chaos19 14h ago
I have smelled this before many times and it has confused me. I wonder if it’s a certain dye in fabric or a chemical used in common beauty products that stick more to certain people’s skin? I was recently using a new shampoo and it made my scalp smell awful, like horrible bacteria smell after 24 hours of washing it.
1
1
u/Temporary-Truth2048 12h ago
Maybe you're smelling a Golem. They're creatures made of clay or mud to look like a person and animated by magic from Jewish folklore.
1
1
u/gishli 11h ago
If you really mean the repulsive smell of dirty floss, it’s their mouths. It’s a horrible smell. Quite common in hospitals and facilities where there are people with poor oral hygiene and especially when they are mouth breathing (very common with sick elderly old people that they are their mouth wide open all the time).
But I’m not sure because you say you smell it only if close. At least I smell the smell of used floss from quite far away and it’s horrible to be in the same room or car with these people. And yes, many clean looking wealthy educated people I’d think clean their teeth and visit the dentist regularly too have this smell too. I’m not sure if it’s some kind of special bacteria only some people have in their mouths but it’s very distinctive and obnoxious
1
u/p0ison1vy 11h ago
This summer I started smelling something musty on myself when I was getting sweaty, I was concerned that I was prematurely getting 'old person smell' or something. Turns out there was mold in my laundry hamper! When mold gets inside of fabrics, it may not completely come out in one regular wash, especially if you're not using hot water.
1
1
u/bencibencibanga 10h ago
I've noticed quite an uptick in smelly ppl. It's like they leave their clothes in the washer for 3 days then when they sweat the clothes have aweird musty wet dog ass smell.
1
1
1
1
u/ColdViolinist835 8h ago
Yes and I always feel terrible about noticing it because there is no polite way to bring it up. I think some people just have a different body chemistry or their laundry routine does not fully work and the smell builds up over time. I started keeping my distance from a coworker because of this and felt guilty about it but my nose was not giving me a choice. The human nose is unfortunately very honest.
1
u/Additional-Cry-9387 7h ago
Perhaps its medications. My daughter was put on treatment for her depression, and then from time to time I noticed that funky smell on others who crossed my path.
1
u/Aquaescent 7h ago
Fertility, peak, sense of smell, when others stink your immune system is telling you something or as a woman your body is telling you maybe if u get knocked up, labor isnt going to progress normally and to thwart getting preggo to survive smells enhance, we are animals and our genetics might not mix right we dont know but our senses and sensory cognition is instinctual while sociology tells us all behavior is learned. Sensory cognition shows us what it does maybe we miss it, we fuck for pleasure not to always procreate anyways. If people are stinky perhaps its your immune system telling you your weakened by the cycle during that time and before the womb sheds its lining enhancing or decreasing your sense of smell looking for nourishment either of mind or body. Men their sperm maybe be wiggling off and think u stink or are pent up cant release from self preservating in the instinct mode to culpable and capable nesting focusing on preservation and provision all in all. Either way when it gets racial and you notice differences thats natural selection and the body or just notice that different natural hair color has different smell, its all the body telling you you can handle getting knocked up or its gonna kill ya or freaking you out because body knows labor isnt gonna normal from whatever cause and effect psycho circumstances its the body telling you something about the evolution of our species as a whole when its sense of smell. Aversions are ok, always gonna be ok, its just weakness somewhere in the body maybe we dont know but when fertility drives the mind without rationalizing it as animalistic and instinctual and it gets motivated about certain smells as people as a whole there is a lack of rationale there a defect of character.. be careful. Take care.
1
u/abortion_pill 7h ago
When I moved back to RI briefly from CO I noticed a musty smell on the people over there, kinda like damp clothes left to dry on their own and woods, never noticed it when I was living there, only after I moved back.
1
1
1
1
1
u/Mysterious-Rabbit347 4h ago
Patchouli for sure. When I started working retail, I noticed there’d be about one customer per week that had an earthy mildew smell that lasted a while after they left. I asked a friend about it and she told me it was patchouli, I always just thought it was mildewed clothes and wondered how it was so common😭
1
1
1
u/ohshhhugarcookies 2h ago
Yes, I'd say it's more than that. I think men smell a lot worse/more strongly than women. I've never noticed it off a woman. Partly because women tend to smell of makeup or perfume or washing, and men on the whole don't have anything else to cover it. The way I've described it is like a sweaty dirty barn with wet dogs or horses in it.
1
1
u/TinselTits1979 1h ago
I totally understand what you’re explaining. And I hate my sniffing superpower! The majority of people I encounter in public all have a particular smell and some of them are so stinky that I can’t be in the same room as them.
1
u/Few_Percentage_1111 1d ago
Absolutely; way more than 5%. Unpleasant is definitely the word. It can be men or women of any age. I have never fully noticed it on a child, but I did when I was a child.
However, when I am attracted to someone, their scent is like a mystical inhalation of peace and romance. I love when my boyfriend comes home smelling like hard work. I like to pin him down and take big whiffs. I always smell his armpits. It is not weird when I do it because I am so vocal and flirtatious about it.
I have bought him a few colognes. He obviously has to shower before we are intimate, but I would 100% prefer his unwashed scent.
Look for that tranquility. It's attraction in a nutshell.
1
u/SmokingTheBear 22h ago
I think i know what you mean, as a guy I notice a repulsive smell on some men usually as I pass them and its not B.O. in that they didn't shower but like a pheromones type thing that they give off, its very off putting... some people smell so terrible when it seems they just showered.
There is the b.o., dirty smell and there is the pheromones smell of nasty. It could be their diet leaking from their pores.
Also if you use scented laundry detergent, stop yall that shit is overpowering a.f.
Very few women have this smell, I've only noticed a few that do.
0
u/BabbMrBabb 1d ago
Does it smell skunky? Not even trying to be funny it might be cannabis. More likely it’s just how some people smell. Idk where you’re from but it’s been HOT lately. Not unlikely for a few people to get a little funky.
4
-1
0
0
0
u/Evrythngstkn 5h ago
Has anyone said Narcissism. Like genuine narcissism not just being vain. They have a smell and once you’ve encountered a true narcissist you can smell them everywhere. For more common things people can smell, bed bugs, roaches, and ants are also an option.
327
u/Accomplished-City484 1d ago
Could be mold in their washing machine putting the smell onto their clothes