My roommate never showers at night and never changes her sheets unless we go on a holiday break. The next one is in the middle of March. Every time she comes in the room, it starts smelling like sweat and outside odors. It hits worse at night. Oddly enough, I start to smell it in my sheets that I always change. We cannot use plug ins or candles so I have to use febreeze and these little packets of fresh scents but they can only do so much . What else can I do? We are definitely not close so I can’t really tell her without coming off as rude and it’s already awkward co existing in silence.
Does she shower at other times of day? Not everyone showers at night.
What do you mean by outside odors?
Are you sensitive to odors in general more than the average person? Is this enough of an issue that visitors to your room would notice and be put off as well?
I’d probably use some kind of plugin air freshener anyway but I’m a bit of a rebel.
You can broach the subject with your RA to see if he/she has advice.
Invite a friend over and have them loudly announce while the roommate is in the room “HOLY CRAP WHY DOES IT SMELL LIKE SH- IN HERE”
And then reply “idk but this febreeze isnt helping”
What are outdoor scents? Isn’t that a scent that we all WANT to smell?
Maybe open the window a crack and let in more outdoor air.
Happened to me in college. I talked to my RA, who talked to my roommate. D1’s BF had a roommate like that, too. BF learned to say to the roomie, “Hey, I am going to do laundry. Want to come and play cards? Oh, I am taking my sheets, why don’t you bring yours? Mine start to smell kind of funky after a little while.”
My best friend from high school went to veterinary school and had roommates who were in other (non ag) grad programs. Apparently the “outdoor scents” she brought into the room, after a day working in the barns were something that roommates would be justified in complaining about. That was my first thought when I read OP’s post: that the roommate is an athlete or ag major…two groups that really do need to shower in the evening (preferably before returning to the room at all).
Hard to explain, but think of someone who has been outside walking quickly all around the place and mix that with average body odor.
Funny how she’s neither an athlete or ag major
Our windows can’t open at all sadly
My RA said as long as she doesn’t see the plug ins during room checks, we are good so I’ll try that. Hopefully they will work better.
You RA should have a chat with her. That is part of the RA’s role.
So, before you get your RA involved further, let’s resolve a few things:
Does she shower at other times of the day?
Would you consider yourself having a more sensitive sense of smell than average?
Has the smell been confirmed by anyone else? Friends, visitors to the room?
I don’t really get the outside smell, walking around thing.
Is it possibly an item of clothing? I am guilty of owning a few somewhat pungent pieces of apparel, particularly footwear.
Certainly, what comes across is that you don’t like her. Is this the way you are legitimizing that? Or put differently, would you tolerate the odor from a friend? If the smell goes away, will you be totally fine with her or will it be something else? If there is any ambiguity in your answer, you might be asking the wrong question. …
Easy. Go over to your roommate and say, “Seriously. You stink. Shower and clean your shit. Thank you.” Voila. Problem solved. It is simple but you don’t want to do it.
She showers around 8 in the morning. When my mom and best friend were helping me move things in when Christmas break ended, they said it smells funny & asked if plug ins are allowed, but they are not.
I would not tolerate the smell from a friend. It would be easier to tell a friend anyway, since we can laugh at it or something. Not so simple with someone you have never met in your life until last November. No it is not an item of clothing because when she comes in the room, so does the smell when she walks around. There is no issue between us, we just do not talk as friends would, but we still manage to co exist.
^Maybe she has a medical condition. Unless she’s coming back from the gym, most people don’t sweat enough between 8am and whenever they get back from class to stink up an entire room.
She’s showering daily, she doesn’t play sports, and she’s not into farming or some other smelly activity. Could it be either the food she eats or the personal care items she uses such as her shampoo or fabric softener?
Do you come from different cultural backgrounds? Sometimes that can be an issue when people are used to different smells that are normal in their homes, such as strong spices or perfumes. What you may experience as a weird smell may be something people in her family wouldn’t notice.
Like a few other posters I’m not certain what the part about outdoor smells means. Usually the smell of the outdoors is considered a pleasant smell. She’s not a weed smoker, is she? That’s a smell that might cling to her clothes.
I agree that she should be washing her sheets more than once a month. That’s something that’s fair to address and a few posters have given you some ideas as to how to approach her. If you’re really bothered by it you could even offer to throw her sheets in with yours when you do your laundry.
Just tell her straight up and buy her a 90 pack of soap from Sam’s Club.
Sounds like she doesn’t do laundry. Encourage that maybe.