Do you use public transport? Why does everyone smell?

Bambi985

I spend 2 hours if not more on the London tube every day. I have yet to make a journey without being subjected to the foul smell of someone’s B.O, their vile garlic hangover sweats (incredibly common that one), their stale fag smell or their halitosis.

A lot of these people are business men in suits, or travellers with rucksacks, or just people that otherwise look like respectable members of society. Until I’m forced to hang out in their proximity for up to an hour and get actively angry at their insistence at not showering or washing their clothes.

What is wrong with people? Does the average person not wash themselves every day? Am I the only person that experiences this?

_Roz_

I have absolutely no sense of smell at all, so am not affected by it. I am always wary of my own stank appalling others, though, as I can't smell that either! :pac:

stimpson

1. No
2. Because people are disgusting. This is why I don’t use public transport.

razorblunt

I would normally say I’ve never encountered anything that bad but this morning on the morning tram a woman sat next to me. She was a mouth breather and clearly didn’t brush her teeth after getting out of bed. Horrific.

Richard Hillman

2-3 minutes in a shower makes a world of difference, 1 minute to dry and away you go to get dressed. All they have to do is wake up 5 minutes earlier. Annoys the piss out of me

munster87

Richard Hillman wrote: »

2-3 minutes in a shower makes a world of difference, 1 minute to dry and away you go to get dressed. All they have to do is wake up 5 minutes earlier. Annoys the piss out of me

The piss surely just adds to the smell

Oldtree

Been there

As an addendum to your plight, you will notice that as a tube train is coming toward a station a breeze will proceed it. The breeze can be somewhat dusty. That dust is made up mainly of human tissue, skin and hair and you inhale it. Wipe the inside of your nostril with a tissue before you leave the tube the next day and clearly see the dark residue.

The buildup in the tunnels of the skin and hair from the millions of travelers is such that teams go around hoovering it up, as it clumps together causing a fire risk from the sparks from the electric tracks.

Anyway the point of the story is - to avoid being a cannibal, don't pick your nose and eat it on a tube ride!

Roberts has seen all sides of it, having started his Tube career as a cleaner then being promoted to a fluffer — removing the tonnes of human skin and hair that settle under the rails

https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/london-life/tunnel-vision-but-how-will-the-150-year-old-tube-cope-with-late-nights-8472288.html

freshpopcorn

I haven't got the bus in a few years now but I found there was different levels of smelliness.
I rarely uncounted terribly smelly to be honest maybe not the freshest but what I always found sickening was people with loads of perfume on.

PandaPoo

I don't use public transport during rush hour, so I'm not usually close to the other people on it. Never noticed a bad smell, unless it's a homeless person and they can't help it.

When I cool with garlic and onion my fingers smell vile for about 24 hours. I'm always very self conscious because I feel like everyone can smell it off me a mile away. I must look into stainless steel soap, I've tried everything else.

Anyway, maybe they were cooking with garlic?

SuperSean11

Why are yous smelling people anyway, is it a fetish thing OP?

Oldtree

SuperSean11 wrote: »

Why are yous smelling people anyway, is it a fetish thing OP?

I think the op is more a passive actor on this stage, unlike this thespian:

SSr0

I won't ever give a smelly person a chance, they will be forever ignored and avoided.

No excuse for being a manky cúnt.

Foweva Awone

PandaPoo wrote: »

When I cool with garlic and onion my fingers smell vile for about 24 hours. I'm always very self conscious because I feel like everyone can smell it off me a mile away. I must look into stainless steel soap, I've tried everything else.

Anyway, maybe they were cooking with garlic?

I feel your pain, I always have a box of those plastic disposable catering gloves in the kitchen for exactly that reason! Wouldn't go near the garlic without them on.

Doctors room ghost

Half the fcukers using public transport should be made stand up on a ramp and powerwashed and sprayed with jeyes fluid.smell is only going to get worse when the weather warms in summer op.they will be making maggots then.some of the fcukers are too lazy to breathe.

Jack Kanoff

I think Bambi is forgetting the one universal truth when it comes to foul odour.

"Whoever smelt it, dealt it"

sjb25

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

Half the fcukers using public transport should be made stand up on a ramp and powerwashed and sprayed with jeyes fluid.smell is only going to get worse when the weather warms in summer op.they will be making maggots then.some of the fcukers are too lazy to breathe.

Thankfully I drive my diesel guzzling car to work

Mongfinder General

I used to take the bus to and from work every day. I would get sick cold/flu at least 3 or 4 times a year. I started cycling and the problem went away.

Dakota Dan

Richard Hillman wrote: »

2-3 minutes in a shower makes a world of difference, 1 minute to dry and away you go to get dressed. All they have to do is wake up 5 minutes earlier. Annoys the piss out of me

munster87 wrote: »

The piss surely just adds to the smell

Especially stale piss.

topper75

sjb25 wrote: »

Thankfully I drive my diesel guzzling car to work

You can do that in Laanhndaaahn yes.

but you'll be setting off at 2.30 a.m. innit.

Franz Von Peppercorn

The abiding smell I remember on the tube was cheap (and expensive) deodorant.

GT_TDI_150

Badly disguised "I live in London" post

clancywigam

Foweva Awone wrote: »

I feel your pain, I always have a box of those plastic disposable catering gloves in the kitchen for exactly that reason! Wouldn't go near the garlic without them on.

The garlic and onion smell can be removed completely by rinsing your hands under cold water the minute you finish chopping. Warm water doesn't work at all but cold water completely removes it.... for me anyway.

splinter65

Richard Hillman wrote: »

2-3 minutes in a shower makes a world of difference, 1 minute to dry and away you go to get dressed. All they have to do is wake up 5 minutes earlier. Annoys the piss out of me

No shower? Strip naked in front of the sink full of a kettle of boiled water, facecloth , shower gel , toothpaste, brush.
8 minutes to wash and rinse face armpits front bum back bum feet, clean teeth.
Off to work you go you lazy dirty bollix.

splinter65

clancywigam wrote: »

The garlic and onion smell can be removed completely by rinsing your hands under cold water the minute you finish chopping. Warm water doesn't work at all but cold water completely removes it.... for me anyway.

The garlic comes out through the pores in your skin over 24 hours or so. It also wafts out of your mouth from you digestive system .

DaeryssaOne

A friend of mine (who is very clean) can't help reeking of garlic/ alcohol the morning after, I noticed it in the lift at work a few times that I could always tell if she had been out for dinner the night before. It's pretty gross but it would go away soon after.
Some people can't help that no matter how much they brush their teeth, though chewing gum before getting on the tube would go a long way and definitely not being a disgusting mouth breather!

Doctors room ghost

DaeryssaOne wrote: »

A friend of mine (who is very clean) can't help reeking of garlic/ alcohol the morning after, I noticed it in the lift at work a few times that I could always tell if she had been out for dinner the night before. It's pretty gross but it would go away soon after.
Some people can't help that no matter how much they brush their teeth, though chewing gum before getting on the tube would go a long way and definitely not being a disgusting mouth breather!

No excuse,she would still qualify for the powerwasher and jeyes fluid treatment.above on a ramp or car lift just so it’s a thorough washing.
Might even throw in one of the Christmas tree air fresheners as part of the deal.new car smell or royal pine.her choice

splinter65

Doctors room ghost wrote: »

No excuse,she would still qualify for the powerwasher and jeyes fluid treatment.above on a ramp or car lift just so it’s a thorough washing.
Might even throw in one of the Christmas tree air fresheners as part of the deal.new car smell or royal pine.her choice

Garlic should be a weekend thing.
If your loved ones are happy to share space with you stinking to high heaven then that’s fine but don’t inflict it on strangers and colleagues.

_Dara_

Well, garlic is delicious so the garlic sweats aren't going anywhere soon, OP! I've never taken the tube at peak time but I've taken many a rush hour city bus, Luas and Dart where lots of people are standing and I very rarely encounter smelly folk. I don't have the best sense of smell though. I honestly think some people have very sensitive senses of smell. I don't believe that shower only alternate days renders someone automatically smelly except if they have exercised in that time. I've noticed that some people sweat way more than others. My mother is a ridiculously unsweaty person. I came back from a cycle once, a short jaunt around the neighbourhood and my mother was amazed at how wet my lower back was with the sweat. This was totally alien to her. She showers alternate days. I wouldn't assume that anyone non-smelly showers daily.

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I haven't got the bus in a few years now but I found there was different levels of smelliness.
I rarely uncounted terribly smelly to be honest maybe not the freshest but what I always found sickening was people with loads of perfume on.

+1. People smelling way too strongly of whatever perfume/aftershave/fake tan/whatever they have doused themselves in is a far more common problem on public transport.

Alun

_Dara_ wrote: »

+1. People smelling way too strongly of whatever perfume/aftershave/fake tan/whatever they have doused themselves in is a far more common problem on public transport.

+1, and I'd wager that most of the people complaining about "everyone" else smelling rotten are some of the worst offenders in this regard.

Bambi985

DaeryssaOne wrote: »

A friend of mine (who is very clean) can't help reeking of garlic/ alcohol the morning after, I noticed it in the lift at work a few times that I could always tell if she had been out for dinner the night before. It's pretty gross but it would go away soon after.
Some people can't help that no matter how much they brush their teeth, though chewing gum before getting on the tube would go a long way and definitely not being a disgusting mouth breather!

It's the worst smell ever, just putrid garlic sweats that are unavoidable to anyone in your company. It's definitely the most common smell to assault my nostrils on the tube - mostly professional looking and otherwise clean looking folk who have obviously been out on a heavy session the night before and it's seeping through their pores all day the next day. So gross.

_Dara_ wrote: »

I've never taken the tube at peak time but I've taken many a rush hour city bus, Luas and Dart where lots of people are standing and I very rarely encounter smelly folk. I don't have the best sense of smell though. I honestly think some people have very sensitive senses of smell.

I might have a strong sense of smell I dunno, never really noticed it before until tube travel became a daily thing for me. I'd shower at least once a day and would actively notice the difference on my own body/smell if I didn't so I'm also hyper aware of it on other people. A phenomenal volume of people just evidently are not arsed with that morning shower it would seem

ETA strong, overpowering perfume or cologne smells are annoying, but not nearly as offensive to me as someone who reeks of their own body filth tbh.

_Dara_

Bambi985 wrote: »

I might have a strong sense of smell I dunno, never really noticed it before until tube travel became a daily thing for me. I'd shower at least once a day and would actively notice the difference on my own body/smell if I didn't so I'm also hyper aware of it on other people. A phenomenal volume of people just evidently are not arsed with that morning shower it would seem

Well yeah, I'm unapologetically generally an evening showerer. I don't think it's uncommon to do so. I think there is much more to it than "if you don't shower in the morning, you smell". My OH would need to shower every morning or he will smell. Whereas my mother showers every other day in the evening and BO has never been an issue for her. It depends on how much you sweat (some people DO sweat much more than others), your toilet hygiene, what you eat, whether you've exercised and not showered; all kinds of factors. Of the non-smelly people on public transport, I bet a decent proportion of them have not showered that morning.

Fann Linn

Bambi985 wrote: »

I spend 2 hours if not more on the London tube every day. I have yet to make a journey without being subjected to the foul smell of someone’s B.O, their vile garlic hangover sweats (incredibly common that one), their stale fag smell or their halitosis.

A lot of these people are business men in suits, or travellers with rucksacks, or just people that otherwise look like respectable members of society. Until I’m forced to hang out in their proximity for up to an hour and get actively angry at their insistence at not showering or washing their clothes.

What is wrong with people? Does the average person not wash themselves every day? Am I the only person that experiences this?

Women should close their legs.

Greentopia

I take the tram here quite a bit and don't ever notice any bad smells really. Germans are much cleaner than the English? :pac:

biko

Why does everyone smell?

Is that you, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille?

eigrod

- people with B.O.;
- people eating putrid smelling muesli;
- people eating popcorn or crisps;
- guy this morning next to me constantly drawing heavily back through his nose while chewing gum with his mouth open;
- people who don't know how to (or don't want to) turn off the keyboard clicks via 'sounds' on their phones and texting furiously;
- people with earphones that send the sound outwards;
- people with pathetic ringtones who don't realise it's their phone ringing and only after 3 minutes of loud ringing does it dawn on them;
- people conducting a phone conversation for the entire journey (minimum 30 mins and an extremely common occurrence);

All form part of my daily DART commute.

So many of us simply don't have standard manners anymore.

5rtytry56

eigrod wrote: »

-
- people who don't know how to (or don't want to) turn off the keyboard clicks via 'sounds' on their phones and texting furiously;
- people with earphones that send the sound outwards;
- people with pathetic ringtones who don't realise it's their phone ringing and only after 3 minutes of loud ringing does it dawn on them;
- people conducting a phone conversation for the entire journey (minimum 30 mins and an extremely common occurrence);

All form part of my daily DART commute.

So many of us simply don't have standard manners anymore.

prevalent and rampant on Dublin Bus.
Highlights of these conversations:

"I'm just about to run outta credit..Call me back.......My battery's aboutta die. .....Wha?.......Wha?.......Yes. that's right that's what he done..........Wha????"

_Dara_

eigrod wrote: »

- people conducting a phone conversation for the entire journey (minimum 30 mins and an extremely common occurrence);

So many of us simply don't have standard manners anymore.

I don't see why people have a blanket issue with people using their phone on public transport. If they are speaking as low as someone who is having a conversation on the train, what is the problem? Who cares if it's the entire journey? Would someone talking to a travelling companion for the entire journey bother you?

Someone speaking loudly into their phone; yes, that's rude. Being annoyed at someone having a quiet phone conversation makes no logical sense.

eigrod

_Dara_ wrote: »

I don't see why people have a blanket issue with people using their phone on public transport. If they are speaking as low as someone who is having a conversation on the train, what is the problem? Who cares if it's the entire journey? Would someone talking to a travelling companion for the entire journey bother you?

Someone speaking loudly into their phone; yes, that's rude. Being annoyed at someone having a quiet phone conversation makes no logical sense.

It's the loud ones that are the main problem, but not exclusively.

I can't articulate why, but two people on the train who know each other having a conversation doesn't irritate me; one person talking on the phone to someone else for anything upwards of 3 minutes irritates the ****e out of me.

_Dara_

eigrod wrote: »

I can't articulate why, but two people on the train who know each other having a conversation doesn't irritate me; one person talking on the phone to someone else for anything upwards of 3 minutes irritates the ****e out of me.

Well, then it's not a lack of manners, as you said. It's your own personal issue. Someone speaking quietly on a phone on public transport - not rude.

Based on your extensive list, you've very likely done something yourself on public transport to annoy someone else. Nobody ever thinks that they themselves are annoying though.

eigrod

_Dara_ wrote: »

Well, then it's not a lack of manners, as you said. It's your own personal issue. Someone speaking quietly on a phone on public transport - not rude.

Based on your extensive list, you've very likely done something yourself on public transport to annoy someone else. Nobody ever thinks that they themselves are annoying though.

I'm sure I have, but never any on that list.

ThinkProgress

razorblunt wrote: »

I would normally say I’ve never encountered anything that bad but this morning on the morning tram a woman sat next to me. She was a mouth breather and clearly didn’t brush her teeth after getting out of bed. Horrific.

Huh??

Is this actually a thing?

Wouldn't that mean you'd have to brush your teeth twice every morning? (unless you're super-dooper manky and don't brush after your breakfast) :eek:

5rtytry56

ThinkProgress wrote: »

Huh??

Is this actually a thing?

Wouldn't that mean you'd have to brush your teeth twice every morning? (unless you're super-dooper manky and don't brush after your breakfast) :eek:

Indeed there certainly is a solid cohort out there on public transport who don't brush their teeth after breakfast.. "Eggy breath" is a prominent sign.

Jack Kanoff

splinter65 wrote: »

The garlic comes out through the pores in your skin over 24 hours or so. It also wafts out of your mouth from you digestive system .

Not to mention your hole

Herb Powell

splinter65 wrote: »

Garlic should be a weekend thing.
If your loved ones are happy to share space with you stinking to high heaven then that’s fine but don’t inflict it on strangers and colleagues.

Erra fuuck off outta that. Garlic is delicious and very healthy.

razorblunt

ThinkProgress wrote: »

Huh??

Is this actually a thing?

Wouldn't that mean you'd have to brush your teeth twice every morning? (unless you're super-dooper manky and don't brush after your breakfast) :eek:

Ok, I didn't actually mean just out of bed, read it as a "before she leaves the house", with or without breakfast.

Chrongen

Bambi985 wrote: »

I spend 2 hours if not more on the London tube every day. I have yet to make a journey without being subjected to the foul smell of someone’s B.O, their vile garlic hangover sweats (incredibly common that one), their stale fag smell or their halitosis.

A lot of these people are business men in suits, or travellers with rucksacks, or just people that otherwise look like respectable members of society. Until I’m forced to hang out in their proximity for up to an hour and get actively angry at their insistence at not showering or washing their clothes.

What is wrong with people? Does the average person not wash themselves every day? Am I the only person that experiences this?

You have to single out some lovely Afro-Carribbean beauty or polished London bombshell and sidle up next to her. Her cocoa butter body lotion, perfume and fragrant conditioned hair can be used as a filter for the stenches around you so get in close for maximum effect. Failing that smear some Vicks on your upper lip to mask the gut-wrenching odour of the rest of the passengers.

Riskymove

Bambi985 wrote: »

What is wrong with people?

Sartre was right


L'enfer? C'est le autres

I read a book once about a guy who was writing a piece on nutrition habits and he noticed that when travelling on the subways of new York and London, they basically stank. when he did it Japan standing in a comparatively equal size cabin, there was no such smell. He puts a lot of it down do diet, meat, general shyte going into the body...Now consider that, then add your garden variety smelly non teeth brushing, shower avoiding, same shirt and jocks wearing skankbag, and you know why public transport stinks!

Capt'n Midnight

Oldtree wrote: »

As an addendum to your plight, you will notice that as a tube train is coming toward a station a breeze will proceed it. The breeze can be somewhat dusty. That dust is made up mainly of human tissue, skin and hair and you inhale it. Wipe the inside of your nostril with a tissue before you leave the tube the next day and clearly see the dark residue.

Saw a TV documenatry on the Tube about how they clean the trains.

Train drives into a long corridor with air locks, and then they open the doors and massive fans just blow right through, and lads in space suits and high pressure air hoses blast away at a months accumulation of dirt in the filters and upholstery and what not. It's like a sandstorm.

andekwarhola

_Dara_ wrote: »

I've never taken the tube at peak time but I've taken many a rush hour city bus, Luas and Dart where lots of people are standing and I very rarely encounter smelly folk.

Yes, but that kind of equanimity doesn't provide grounds for the 1050th iteration of a Trivial Things That Irritate Me thread does it?

JupiterKid

Unless you do physically exerting work or cycle a fair distance to your workplace, there really is need to shower every day. I myself shower every second day. I don't have a problem with smelling bad.

Showering more than once a day is OCD in my opinion and indicates that a person who does this religiously has issues with any sort of dirt.

Some people on public transport smell bad, but I'd wager these people only shower or wash once a week or even less. There are also unfortunates who have naturally very strong BO /bad breath/etc and no amount of washing helps that.