<p>I don’t agree with most here. I would definitely mention that you noticed a disagreeable smell when you entered the suite, and then leave it up to her if she wants to confirm that or do something about it. I think people living in the midst of an odor get accustomed and become unaware of how it might strike other people. Just as I would tell my daughters in private if they had food in their teeth, I would tell them that their room stinks.</p>
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<p>Or just ignore those who have overstepped their bounds by questioning when and how often and for what reason you see your kid and what advice you choose to give. Perhaps these parents who took the laissez faire attitude with their stinky kids at home are contributing to the problem of stinky kids at school. I think you do tend to get used to odors in your own immediate environment so many might appreciate a little hint that things are getting stinky.</p>
<p>^ :D</p>
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<p>I feel for your DD</p>
<p>My student is a neat nic–and would be horrified to have nasty food stuff etc around…
Clothes are always hung up/folded. Kiddo has been gone for 2 full summers and does weekly laundrey including sheets and towels…
We had expectations in our home and that training helped.
Looks like housing matched an equally neat-nic kid with my kiddo.
Now praying the communal bath isn’t horrid…</p>
<p>Hopefully your DD will be able to voice her expectations about sanitation/health issues.</p>
<p>Febreze and Glade will only mask the odor, not eliminate it. Air fresheners are petroleum-based chemicals resemble natural fragrances, but are not at all healthy. Continued or over-exposure to the chemicals will aggravate asthma and allergies. Would you want to set out a dish of paint thinner all day to sniff?</p>
<p>If the daughter asks about ridding the room of odors and does not want to consider actually cleaning and doing laundry, then a few opened boxes of baking soda can actually absorb some of the smell without any toxicity.</p>
<p>I really like Wildwood’s comment. It would be kind to make her aware that there is a problem. It would be even kinder if somebody would tell the boys on the stinky halls. Isn’t that what an RA is for.</p>
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<p>This. I would have walked in and said “Damn, it stinks in here!” Then again, my kid thinks spraying his sheet with Febreze is a good substitute for washing it… :eek:</p>
<p>I want to second what fauve said about possible toxicity of air fresheners.</p>
<p>For any of you who use them, please consider taking a look at this link <a href=“http://www.nrdc.org/health/home/airfresheners/fairfresheners.pdf[/url]”>http://www.nrdc.org/health/home/airfresheners/fairfresheners.pdf</a><br>
"NRDCs independent testing of 14 common air fresheners, none of which listed phthalates as an ingredient, uncovered these chemicals in 86 percent(12 of 14) of the products tested, including those advertised as all- natural or unscented.</p>
<p>The chemicals can actually be absorbed into one’s blood stream… </p>
<p>If it were my daughter, I would probably mention that I smelled something and ask if she did also, and then go from there.</p>
<p>I agree with stevensmama. I wouldve said something at the time. To go home, mull it over, and bring it up later makes it into too big of a deal. Just keep it to yourself. If you visit again and it’s still dirty/stinky then say something right away as though you were surprised by the situation.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d add my 2 cents. Last year DD lived in an all girls dorm that was near a parking lot and next to a heavily used walking path. After the first 2 weeks, the hallways started to smell like an uncleaned bathroom as boys had been urinating on a grate outside on their way home late at night and the grate was some sort of air intake for the dorm.</p>
<p>On top of this lovely eau du parfum, DD and roommate were lazy about taking out the trash. Think pizza boxes and the uneaten ends of sub sandwiches. And dirty laundry and wet towels. </p>
<p>The 2 aromas combined to create a near toxic fume in their room every time they opened the door. Neither one cared or improved on their cleanliness during the year and we moms had quite a job on our hands at the end of 2nd semester directing the cleaning efforts in order to assure no surprise charges ended up on their dorm billing accounts.</p>
<p>This year, DD and new roommate are cooking in their room 2 -3 lunches per week due to class conflicts with dining hall hours. She skyped us at an extended family gathering (she couldn’t leave school to be there with us). Her room was immaculate! I asked her what made the change. She said she enjoyed living in a clean house over the summer. She could smell the difference in the new dorm wing (away from the path) and didn’t ever want to go through what we had to at the end of last year. They are being very meticulous about taking their trash out on days they cook, they clean up right away, and are hanging the towels up to dry instead of leaving then in soggy piles in the bottom of the closet.</p>
<p>I’d say the experience of living in squalor during the past school year has been the greatest motivator for her.</p>
<p>I had sent Febreze, swiffer and disposable cleaning cloths with her to school last year. They all came out of their packaging the day we moved her out. This year she requested the same items, which indicates she may actually use them this year.</p>
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<p>LOL…except son didn’t appreciate this until his sophomore year, when the one item he asked me to buy for him was a can of Febreze. Apparently, it takes them a while to catch on but once they do, Febreze becomes a very valuable item to have on hand.</p>
<p>I think they use Febreeze instead of washing sheets…yuck but it really is the go to item for all college kids. Get the extra heavy duty sports version of the product. I suspect my son (the one who now lives on the other side of the world probably used febreeze instead of washing his clothes. Now he has a maid that does his laundry so I guess he will not learn the importance of cleaning your own clothes until he is back in the states.</p>
<p>I have to admit my S’s bedroom used to smell like a locker room. I thought it was his sneakers and bought those fresheners and washed his sneakers. Nope. I started bringing his dirty laundry downstairs to the laundry room daily. That didn’t help either. It wasn’t til he moved to college last month and asked me to ship his numerous ball caps out to him that I found the source of that horrible smell…his caps. Absolutely horrible. I bought him 2 new caps at Lids and told him I will not send the others til I have them dry cleaned (god forbid I launder them!). Thank goodness I have a groupon for 50% off drycleaning. I tried all kinds of air cleaners and fresheners, nothing worked, except removing the source, in my case the caps.</p>
<p>It is not a smelly room, but . . . my daughter moved into a house with four other kids this weekend and sent me this text:
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<p>D had a roommate freshman year who didn’t wash her clothes very often and it smelled! It was gross and she knew it but didn’t feel comfortable confronting the roommate. Used alot of Febreze! She didn’t feel comfortable having people hang out in her room either. It was a long year!</p>
<p>I think I would mention about throwing out the trash and what can happen (smell, bugs, etc). If it were my kids they get lazy and don’t want to do those chores. </p>
<p>As far as the smell, is one of the roommates on a sports team? My D talked about athletes and how their stuff smelled. Maybe they can store their equipment somewhere else if that is the case. When it’s hot out and when kids are not used to dealing with their laundry and personal stuff, they may need to be reminded that things do smell when you don’t take care of them. </p>
<p>Personally, I would say something. But I would have said it when I was there. Visit again and if you smell something, say something.</p>
<p>My 23yo moved home for a month this summer before starting his job. His room smelled. I did every piece of laundry and it didn’t smell before he came home. Now I remember how teenage boys smell! Ugh!</p>
<p>Wow, I’m quite surprised at all the responses to my post. My daughter’s room at home never smelled. She is neat and tidy. I’m assuming that the odor is coming from one of her suite mates. It could be wet towels, stinky shoes, dirty clothes, who knows. She is shy, so she may be reluctant to approach one of her suite mates about the problem. But that is something she will have to do tactfully.</p>
<p>I included Febreze (the type you spray on fabric) with the laundry supplies we packed before she moved in. Should she spray Febreze on the source of the odor (if she can determine what it is) or just spray it on everything in the suite? I’ve never used it before. How long will it continue to work? I’m assuming just a few days then it has to be reapplied.</p>
<p>I like the idea of Febreze but it just doesn’t work well for me. I sprayed every cloth surface(bed, couch, chair, curtains,etc) until they were wet with Febreze. Within a day the febreze scent was gone. I got some air fresheners(the kind you put on a shelf) and that works better. When they run out I think I’ll try the plug in kind.</p>
<p>I loathe the smell of Febreze, I’d much rather smell locker room or better yet prevent the problem in the first place.</p>
<p>^^I’m with mathmom. </p>
<p>The cloying smell of Febreeze just closes up my throat. Plus, everyone is familiar with the scent of Febreeze and knows exactly what it means…that something should have been washed and has not been!</p>
<p>I explicitly told my boys that the odor of Febreeze on their clothes/in their dorm room told girls all they needed to know about them…</p>
<p>I would have said to my kid, “The room smells disgusting, and I didn´t raise you to live like this.” It is not healthy to be so unclean that a place smells. I don´t see why I wouldn´t tell my kids that?</p>
<p>OP´s daughter should certainly speak with her suitemate about cleaning up and putting away their dirty dishes.</p>
<p>I’d rather smell febreeze than that awful Axe boychild use to pour over himself when he was in 8th grade. Thank god that phase only lasted a year. Ugh.</p>