office odors

[chiver78]

there was a funky aroma in the office yesterday, sort of a faint whiff of cabbage. none of us could figure it out, but it wasn't awful enough to really complain about it. it wasn't anybody's lunch or anything, so we did our best to ignore it.

this morning, the guy next to me comes in and asks "who do you call about a mouse problem??" he's been working at another site for awhile, so his desk has been empty for a few weeks. apparently, the trap under his desk is flipped over, with contents. we have no idea how long it's been there.

what's the worst smell you've had to deal with in your office?

[jospaced]

Coworker who hadn't been to the dentist in 30 years.

[pig]

Xylene gives me a headache. Glacial acetic acid and hydrochloric acid are brutal if you get a good strong wiff.

[kimber45]

When I worked for a road construction company it was diesel fumes and asphalt fumes coming from the back shop.

[pig]

Amines in general are among the most nasty smelling substances. You will reek like dead fish for hours or even days.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

what's the worst smell you've had to deal with in your office?

It's got to be when someone harvests liters of F. nucleatum. It smells like someone hurled. Second would be T. denticola since it salvages sulfur. P. gingivalis smells like dirty feet.

FWIW - all these bugs grow in people's mouths.

[pig]

"FWIW - all these bugs grow in people's mouths."

Not in this Pig's mouth! My mouth is so clean you could eat off of it. Here try some of this half chewed bread.

[jospaced]

Mar 9, 2011 10:12:19 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

what's the worst smell you've had to deal with in your office?

It's got to be when someone harvests liters of F. nucleatum. It smells like someone hurled. Second would be T. denticola since it salvages sulfur. P. gingivalis smells like dirty feet.

FWIW - all these bugs grow in people's mouths.

Oh, believe me, I know. They must have all been growing in my coworkers mouth. I couldn't even talk to him without putting my hand over my nose and mouth.

[sapphire12]

fumes from the tarring of a building roof.

[Bluerobin]

You are all lucky not to have been there when I dropped an SBD (silent but deadly). Now they could clear out a room!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

In that case, I'd be using a chlorhexidine mouth rinse (Peridex is one brand name), Stablest......you have to get a prescription from your dentist, but it should take care of any bacterial odor. Just be aware that you MUST brush your teeth meticulously beforehand as it can cause staining of any remaining plaque on your teeth. The stains can be removed with a dental cleaning.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

S. Fecalis (yep, that's where it comes from!). I was pregnant to boot while growing it and the summer student would have to listen to me dry heave every time I opened up the culture.

Next in line is whatever the hell keeps coming out of the sewer and up the emergency shower drain. It smelled like spoiled milk in our lab for a week. We called matience, they came in and said "yep, that stinks" and left.

[alabamagal]

I work for a chemical company that manufactures food flavorings. It is amazing how bad some can smell in high concentrations. Last product was a potato flavoring, it smelled bad and would linger on clothing/shoes. My truck started smelling bad.

This week it is fish! Its actually not as bad, you can get a whiff but it doesn't linger or get into clothes. Just not eating fish for a while.....

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

I used to be a field engineer with an environmental remediation company. One site where I had to draw ground water samples from was at a landfill. A couple of the wells had so much bacteria in them the water was at 85F from 150 feet down. The smell was so foul I had to wear a respirator when I sampled them.

[ZaireinHD]

Construction workers welding in the basement and I guess near the air vents. there was a Burning Smell or something IS on fire smell coming up through the air vents but NO SMOKE?
I made the complaint to facilities and they let the contractor know and suddenly it stopped...

[Jake 48]

911 calls for medical emergencies, people laying around in urine and feces. The hoarders all seem to have multiple cats with multiple litter boxes, never empty the litter box just start a new one

[KaraBoo]

Mar 9, 2011 11:02:02 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

S. Fecalis (yep, that's where it comes from!). I was pregnant to boot while growing it and the summer student would have to listen to me dry heave every time I opened up the culture.

Next in line is whatever the hell keeps coming out of the sewer and up the emergency shower drain. It smelled like spoiled milk in our lab for a week. We called matience, they came in and said "yep, that stinks" and left.

Drama - next time that happens, just pour a bucket of water down the drain (at least a gallon or two). What happens is the p-trap dries out and sewer gases come through the pipe. I'm surprised the maintenance people didn't do that before they left.

[pig]

Not Quite is quite right, the water will stop it.

[KaraBoo]

At my job it has to be the Sand Trap Truck - the truck that pumps the gross stuff out of the sump area. It's really, really bad. It's so bad, maintenance calls us when the truck shows up so we can brace for the field of calls we're going to receive about how the whole hospital reeks.

[flopsy]

used to work with an older lady who doused herself in something awful. if she came into a room the door had to stay open for fear of suffocation and at one point my eyes and throat swelled up and i had to leave the building. i couldn't place the smell other than that it lingered and it was nasty.

[chiver78]

wow, you guys are making me feel a lot better about a little dead mouse. thanks!

as far as lingering smells, I worked at a movie theater in college. after awhile, I started keeping a locker at the place to keep the clothes I would wear for concession stand shifts...including shoes. whatever that nasty "butter-flavored" oil is - I can't remember, I think canola? - you cannot get it out of your clothes without some serious chemicals. I pitched everything in the locker when I quit.

[KaraBoo]

I can't decide if one of our new managers is letting one rip right before/after I walk into any office he is in. It may be something else, but I've smelled an awful odor around him at least 3 different times.

Bed enough to make me want to gag (so far, I think I've controlled it....).

[KaraBoo]

Also - when I first started working in the hospital, the ICU/Dialysis unit area would make me gag. I was too embarrassed to ask, but I think it was the smell of concentrated blood. Very metallic smelling to me.

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

A hospital I worked at had to get the kitchen grease trap pumped out about every three months. The smelll was really horrific.

[KaraBoo]

MDW - you know the smell I'm talking about!! I couldn't remember the exact name for it, but you're right, it's the kitchen grease trap (although the sump pit stinks too) that smells so God-awful.

Karma for you!

[Mad Dawg Wiccan]

Backatchya!

[KaraBoo]

[Artemis Windsong]

I don't know what was used but one coworker dosed another's vitamins with something that caused a rectal smell. This bully thought it was hilarious. He moved on to more and more victims.

Diesel fuel, poor oral hygiene, sewer problems, poor body hygiene, foot odor, perfume.

[Bob Ross]

Either a used diaper filled with Indian food, or Bigfoot's d*ck. Don't ask.

[pig]

I don't know if this counts as an "office odor" but when I was in the military we did a joint exercise with some Marines. It was bitter cold in the middle of winter so we were pretty much stuck in a tent. This one Marines feet smelled so gross I can't describe it but it was a sickly sweet fetid odor that seemed to coat the inside of your nose, mouth, throat and lungs. It made me want to vomit.