distinct old people house smell

[Anonymous No.1213579]

I've been to a lot of estate sales, and it's not uncommon for their to be a specific kind of almost mildewy smell all through the house. It's not like they're all filthy degenerates either...

My first guess might be mold?

Got some free bagels (new package, they looked okay) at a house that was being cleaned out to be sold, and eating one was like tasting what the house smelled like....it permeated even the food.

[Anonymous No.1213582]

>>1213579
mothballs?

[Anonymous No.1213597]

>>1213582
yeah, that might be a contributor sometimes....my grandparents used to use mothballs a lot

I didn't see any sign of them in the most recent house

[Anonymous No.1213673]

>>1213579
It depends on what they own, how long they've owned it, and how long they lived in the same house.

'Old person smell' comes from dust (which includes dead skin cells) and the bacteria/fungi that eat said dust, and the bacteria that eat the dead bacteria, and so on built up over decades.

Old people from the Boomer generation in particular tend to accumulate tons of stuff that that just leave in storage for years. All that stuff is basically a giant collection screen for dust and it's fragrant assortment of bacteria and fungi.

It shouldn't be potent enough to permeate into a sealed package of food, although bread is known for picking up odors. Maybe your picking up hints of it from the outside of the bag?

[Anonymous No.1213686]

>>1213673
>Maybe your picking up hints of it from the outside of the bag?
nope, the bag was not nearby

although I will eat another one and see if it happens again

[Anonymous No.1213688]

>>1213673
This Anon knows his shit. Speaking of which, they also don't do much, so they don't get as dirty as younger people, so they don't shower as much. Add in that their bathroom habits degrade some (we leak more as we get older), and it all combines to generate old people smell. But through a bag of bagels? Damn.

[Anonymous No.1213800]

>>1213579
holy shit i know exactly what you mean my mom makes those green things and they smell just like death
she tried adzuki bean and they literally smelled like rotten meat

[Anonymous No.1213982]

>>1213686
op again

yup, I tried to eat another bagel and sure enough it had the same smell when tearing it apart....I pitched em

[Anonymous No.1213994]

>>1213982
Solylent green bagel company.

[Anonymous No.1213998]

>>1213994

[Anonymous No.1213999]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_person_smell

[Anonymous No.1214196]

>>1213999
Even supposing that were the case, it's abnormal for body odor to permeate an entire house and bag of bagels.

[Anonymous No.1214198]

'I once ate some weird tasting food' : the diy thread

[Anonymous No.1214202]

>>1214198
the real question, would a shipping container protect some imitation shrimp from being affected by the smell?

[Anonymous No.1214204]

>>1213982

you are a sick fuck

[Anonymous No.1214281]

>>1213579
People themselves have their own unique scent, and a lifestyle those people settle into does the same thing. It could be any number of things and not necessarily related to cleanlyness. The real thing is they don't smell it, completely noseblind to it, and you smell it because you are new to that enviroment. That's the best explanation I can give you for it, but where are you going with it from there as a DIY thread? How to fix it? Or just a curiosity?

[hi guys im tory No.1214282]

yum ;)

[Anonymous No.1214287]

>>1214281
>Or just a curiosity?
basically....it's hard to believe some people just naturally cause worse smells over time

something tells me there's likely another factor contributing to it, like a mold/moisture problem

I don't know how they could expect to sell a house in that kind of condition....I'm guessing it is like trying to get cigarette smoke out....the carpet, any furnishing, even the drywall would all be saturated with it

I got some clothing from the same place and of course, it smells the same
if washing and airing outside doesn't help at all, it will be thrown out

[Anonymous No.1214307]

>>1214202
Underrated post.

[Anonymous No.1214354]

I just bought a house which had a damp smell downstairs (it's built into the side of a hill so my kitchen is essentially underground at one end, felt like a cave) and the smell of years of accumulated perfumes upstairs.

I ozonated each room sequentially for two days and installed an 18l/day dehumidifier downstairs. The smells were taken care of and haven't returned and humidity downstairs dropped from 95% to 60%.

A side effect of the dehumidification was a woodlouse holocaust, I'd find dozens dessicated to death each morning.

[Anonymous No.1215067]

>>1214354
>holocaust
means burnt offering
They were not burnt, they were not sacrificed to a supernatural being.
The right word is shoah.

[Anonymous No.1215085]

>>1215067
Thank you for the etymology lesson.

[Anonymous No.1215091]

>>1214287
You would be amazed at what an ozone generator can do.
>cigarette smoke
That and more. They're used professionally by hotels for exactly that purpose, and I imagine cigarette smoke penetrates deeper than old person smell.

[Anonymous No.1215200]

>>1213579
I know one weird smell comes from paneling of any kind.. Whether it be on the walls or furniture.

You know that cardboard kind of stuff used on those brown clipboards from back when you where in school (assuming your above the age of 20 here) that material oxidizes and starts to get a weird smell that never goes away. Formaldehyde glues do the same thing too, commonly found in old plywood sheeting and OSB.

Running the central air with a new filter on there. And giving everything a deep clean. Should net you some smell removal.

PS: my friends parents use this type of laundry detergent that everytime they bake something for holidays, it literally taste like the detergent their house smells like. Its so disgusting. Even store bought food left in the fridge absorbs the smell.

[Anonymous No.1215215]

>>1213579
Old people often have lots of books which have that smell. My library smells like that every time I open the door.

Every time someone gives me home baked goods, I can "taste" their house. If they are a smoker, a plug-in air freshener user, Febreze user, etc, I can literally taste it. Same goes when they have a black mold problem. It is terrible. Only like 2 people out of 50 have given me food they made at home that actually tasted 100% like food without some weird lingering flavor due to the smell of their houses. Oddly enough both are gay men.

[Anonymous No.1215383]

>>1215200
I think the house may have had some of that, I don't remember

I have never noticed any particular smell from a clipboard...maybe it's not the same thing

> laundry detergent
yeah, that sounds pretty gross

>>1215215
I didn't see many books, at least there weren't many left, but I do know that smell

[Anonymous No.1215445]

>>1215215
I remember this thread. It was pure gold

[Anonymous No.1215534]

>>1215215
>shipping containers
>bunkers
>no imitation crab meat
2/3 ain't bad, i guess the greenhouse and smoke shack references predate my time on /diy/ but I always thought I had joined up early in /diy/'s existence.

the more you know.