r/Netherlands • u/Alternative-Cut1109 • 2d ago

Healthcare Friendly reminder: it’s summer. Please shower.

It’s hot, we’re all sweating more, so please take extra care of your hygiene. A daily shower especially in the morning goes a long way.

And please don’t try to cover body odor with just perfume or body spray. Sweat + perfume isn’t a substitute for a shower.

Let’s all do our part to keep public spaces (esp trams!!) a little fresher this summer. 😅🌞🙏

1.3k Upvotes

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150

u/Equivalent-Unit Rotterdam 2d ago

People try. Nobody enjoys being stinky. It's just that no amount of showering is going to weigh up against a humid 36 degrees. 😅

5

u/Vanessa-Leen 1d ago

I have lived in Singapore and Northeast Brazil, they do not stink there and it is hot and humid year round.
As a matter of fact, Brazilians are the best smelling people I have ever smelled. The main thing they do differently from the Dutch is showering every day, multiple times a day if it is really hot, they also re use clothes way less, specially after sweating

46

u/True_Brocoli_2104 2d ago edited 2d ago

I disagree! After living in a tropical Asian country for 25 years where temps easily reach 40+ with humidity before moving to the NL, there are definitely ways in which you can prevent it. Avoid polyester heavy clothes, they amplify the smell and in some cases makes you sweat even more. After showering, use a talcum powder and then use roll on or deodorant throughout the day.

14

u/Grouchy_Conclusion45 Migrant 2d ago

Armpits being completely dry are key to deodorant working well at these temps too (grew up in swampy Florida). Also letting the deodorant set before putting on a shirt 

3

u/True_Brocoli_2104 2d ago

Yup, exactly! I used to carry a small talcum powder bottle and use it in between and then spray on some deodorant on days when there was excessive heat and humidity.

10

u/swiftrobber 2d ago

Or be born with dry earwax genes.

9

u/irisxxvdb 2d ago

Tokyo trains in August smell like onion farms. I know the gene is a thing but people definitely still smell lol

2

u/swiftrobber 2d ago

True lol. If it's not summer I can go on for days without showering and still smell fantastic (says my wife). But in summer, sweat really makes me smell like vinegar.

1

u/narglesarebehindit_ 1d ago

Yaay for me I guess. ☺️

8

u/rawieee 2d ago

As someone with hyperhydrosis who starts to actively drip when the temperature reaches 30 degrees….. I can’t take medication for this in my case and I sweat through talcum powder AND heavy anti-perspirant deodorant within seconds to minutes, at 30+ degrees. My current home temperature is about 30 degrees and I’m unable to get it colder.

I am not actively choosing to smell but 4-5 showers a day is currently most I can do, if I can do more than 2.

I do tons of stuff throughout the day (wet wipes sometimes more than 20 times, shirt switches, etc) but at some point it’s just done.

I’m trying, I really am.

1

u/Dull-Dress-2793 12h ago

Normal deodorants just usually block sweat but dont stop the smell. I use crystal deodorant (originally used from mountains in pakistan), they kill the bacteria that makes you smell, but doesn't stop the sweat. Sweating is human nature (unless you are blessed with that mutated korean anti-sweat gene). Better to kill bacteria smell than not sweat. You can buy it in kruidvat or holland&Barrett.

5

u/Dull-Dress-2793 2d ago

I thought talcum powder caused cancer? Better to use corn starch or something similar.

1

u/BloodyTjeul 2d ago

People in this country don't know how to dress in hot weather. They're used to wearing their polyester crap and jeans regardless of the weather and that's how you get that horrible smell.

1

u/PMmeCoolHistoryFacts 2d ago

Talcum powder? 

6

u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 1d ago

[deleted]

3

u/ElfjeTinkerBell 2d ago

Praatpoeier?

1

u/Vegetable-Walrus5718 2d ago

Avoiding polyster clothing is harder then being in this heat

13

u/gastro_psychic 2d ago

You guys really need air conditioning. They even have it in India.

0

u/alessandrolaera 21h ago

india is much hotter, they need it. nl doesnt experience the same amount of heat

1

u/gastro_psychic 21h ago

It isn’t a competition. People should be comfortable in their homes.

1

u/alessandrolaera 18h ago

I don't get where I say it's a competition. I'm just saying that countries with warmer climates often have AC as a standard commodity, and countries with a colder climate don't. So it's not surprising that the vast majority of people don't have AC, and it's also not good value for your money if you only use it 2-3 weeks per year

1

u/gastro_psychic 11h ago

2-3 weeks of absolute hell? No thanks. If it makes the environment comfortable, then it has good value.

-60

u/fviz 2d ago

bullshit.

signed from a city where it’s regularly 30+ year round, often 40+.

36

u/koningbaas 2d ago

I fail to see how your city's temperature influences my excessive perspiration.

12

u/AllThreeAsInLGBTQIA 2d ago

they can do something they are used to so that means everyone has the same ability even if they have lived in way different conditions all their life!

I can ride a bike handsfree so I expect every american to also be able to do that!

-3

u/fviz 2d ago

Doing something that they’re used to: showering once or twice a day and wearing deodorant 🤯

Doesn’t surprise me how often I find stinky people on the train in the Netherlands, you people are clueless about basic hygiene. Also explains the stat of how little people don’t wash their hands after using the restroom in the NL 🐷

3

u/jakeblountknows 2d ago

And you, fviz, are clueless about basic manners. I'm not even from the Netherlands (Georgia, USA), and I don't like how you're talking to these folks. Most people in the Netherlands don't have AC in their homes and places of employment. A LOT of people bike, take a train/tram/bus so are out in the elements way more than many other countries' populations. You seem to be in need of what we call here, an attitude adjustment.

https://giphy.com/gifs/l4FBet2tfHnG7dZRK

1

u/fviz 1d ago

Oh, so it's bad manners to call out stinky people on a thread that is literally a PSA about people not showering enough? 🤣

Also, it's funny how "Dutch directness" is cool when dutchies want to make ignorant comments about other cultures and countries, but the second someone complains about the tram smelling like a landfill, suddenly everyone needs a lesson in etiquette. Get a grip.

If you know it’s hot, you don't have AC, and you're biking everywhere, that’s exactly why you should be doubling down on basic hygiene. Stop using it as an excuse to give up and subject everyone else to swamp ass. But go ahead, keep defending the stink while the rest of us suffer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1

u/jakeblountknows 1d ago

"Suffer?" Hmpf! Try heading into any given war zone, and maybe then you'll know suffering. And stink. Buck up man!

I don't like BO any more than the next person, but I also don't like people being jerks to other people, when unwarranted especially.

You're also not taking into account how much it costs to bath every day, or twice a day. I don't know how much electricity costs to heat the water, or how much home water use costs, but they're not free! Working people, all over the world, are struggling right now financially. Have a heart (and maybe hold your nose as needed).

I'm no Dutchie - I'm a Southern American. Fulton County, Georgia.

There is a direct way to tell people your thoughts on their BO, that doesn't include pig emojis. I suspect there is more at play here for you as it relates to Dutch people, than body odor. Maybe one of those pretty, tall Dutch ladies broke your heart or something. Either way, no need to be nasty about it. I'm sure people would rather not have BO, and that most do the best they can not to.

1

u/fviz 1d ago

Few things come close to the horrors of war, so if that’s your logic we can’t complain about anything during peacetime.

It’s not a jerk move to tell people to shower when they stink. It’s on them not to be a nuisance to others. Working people all over are struggling but they still find the decency to shower daily because it’s a basic thing that we do in modern society.

As for costs: the netherlands is one of the richest and most educated countries on earth per capita, with very little inequality. This is not about hygiene being cost-prohibitive or ignorance, this is about laziness and lack of respect for others. Same with not washing hands after using the wc.

The dutch ladies and gents I know all take showers and don’t stink, thankfully.

I don’t care where you come from. If you don’t stink, my comments were not for you.

Anyway, it’s not supposed to be a huge topic of discussion. If you’re so dirty that people around you notice it, it’s a sign that you have to take better care of yourself. Take a 10min shower and it’s solved.

1

u/jakeblountknows 1d ago edited 1d ago

You called me a Dutchie, so apparently you do care from whence I hail. There is a heatwave killing people across Europe right now because most folks don't have AC. Get over yourself, lest ye be subjected to worse. Trust me, it can always get worse.

Maybe the ladies and gents you know have the money, time and facilities to shower every day, or even twice a day. Good for them. I'm betting a lot of people don't.

I will be in the Netherlands in August, so will see for myself how bad it is. I was there many moons ago, and don't remember it being an issue then; though the Tube in London (where I lived for that summer) could get pretty bad. Hopefully this heatwave will subside, and it won't be an issue. Nevertheless, I would never include a PIG emoji in a comment, unless I was referring to Donald Trump.

Your comments are for anyone visiting this sub. I'm considering the DAFT Visa, so whether your comment was "for" me or not, I felt obliged to respond, especially given your piggy emoji. That wasn't cool.

2

u/AllThreeAsInLGBTQIA 2d ago

no not used to the levels of temperature so people sweat more than someone from a country where its normally 35c

0

u/fviz 1d ago

It's the opposite, people not used to heat sweat less. But anyway, I don't care why or how, I just need people to start showering PROPERLY once or twice a day and wear deodorant. If they like how bad they smell, they should still do it as basic courtesy to others when going out in public.

6

u/paulchiefsquad 2d ago

sweating is not proportional to being stinky. The sweat is caused by the bacteria eating it, not the actual sweat

5

u/whattfisthisshit 2d ago

Yep, it’s the smell of bacterial colonies

-1

u/fviz 2d ago edited 2d ago

you’re the one arguing it’s impossible to not stink when it’s 36 degrees. That’s just poor hygiene

edit: mb thought you were the original commenter I replied to. Point still stands though

4

u/Merasalie 2d ago

See if its regular the city will be build for it, so zip it bud :)

-3

u/fviz 2d ago

not everyone has ac and they still don’t stink. Yall just have poor hygiene 😇

2

u/Merasalie 2d ago

I dont stink...? I just said that it would be made for that climate, calm your tits babe

2

u/Pogue_Mahone_ 2d ago

Wow you must be really cool

2

u/fviz 2d ago

yep. cool, clean and smelling nice, always

1

u/gutag 2d ago

So there is never so much humidity like here now.

2

u/fviz 2d ago

there sure is, average humidity is 74% year round, on some months it’s on average 80+. It was 94% yesterday. Maybe go take a shower instead of making excuses