• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Odd Smells

I am waking up in the night quite frequently (see my thread about Vivid Dreams...) and when I do it's almost as though my sense of smell is in overdrive. But it's not a 'real' thing, if you see what I mean, it's an 'imagined' thing. For example, my dog has a habit of..err...well, sometimes she can't wait until morning, put it that way, and she'll do it on the landing outside my bedroom. And I often wake up convinced I can smell it. Even though I can't, and there's nothing there.
. . .
So it must be something to do with my sleeping brain. But the smells are always in context, I never smell coffee or chocolate or anything else that is unlikely to be in my room.
Or maybe it's from anxiety? You smell unpleasant smells, not pleasant smells, which you might associate with, well, pleasure.

Sheesh! 4 in the morning is now an adjunct of 3 in the morning . . . :worry:
 
Geez, now I'm experiencing odd smells (well, one odd smell). This morning when I was still asleep there was a very strong aroma of vanilla. It didn't smell like a scented candle, it was more like vanilla extract or some kind of decent quality perfume. It was so strong it became part of my dream; it woke me up and I could still smell it for a few minutes. My window was open, but I'm on the second floor (first floor in Britain), and the only window near mine opens onto a staircase. I can hear if anyone is on the staircase, but no one was there . . .
 
I walk the dog most nights around 21:30- 22:00, for the last few weeks I have been getting random whiff of incense. We live in a small village in Mendip, dog is walked along g a small road with scattered houses on each side. Some streetlights, little traffic.

My first thought though was a furtive bonfire, but it has been going on for while and the smell is not smokey ( and I have not seen any smoke or flames) just puts me in mind of being in a Catholic church. Does not seem to be any pattern to it , my best guess is it is a plant that attracts moths?
 
I walk the dog most nights around 21:30- 22:00, for the last few weeks I have been getting random whiff of incense. We live in a small village in Mendip, dog is walked along g a small road with scattered houses on each side. Some streetlights, little traffic.

My first thought though was a furtive bonfire, but it has been going on for while and the smell is not smokey ( and I have not seen any smoke or flames) just puts me in mind of being in a Catholic church. Does not seem to be any pattern to it , my best guess is it is a plant that attracts moths?
 
There's a strong, bright scent of rosemary in the kitchen this morning. We can both smell it.
There is no rosemary in the kitchen (or anything scented thereof).
Was you window open at all, even just a little bit?
Are there other houses near by? Could anyone have been cooking?
Some people make tea from rosemary. Could a neighbor have brewed some and the scent drifted over to your place?

My first thought though was a furtive bonfire, but it has been going on for while and the smell is not smokey ( and I have not seen any smoke or flames) just puts me in mind of being in a Catholic church. Does not seem to be any pattern to it , my best guess is it is a plant that attracts moths?
Why moths?
Was the scent like Frankincense or vanilla, was it woody, spicy, sweet?
Daphne is an evergreen shrub with small, sweet smelling flowers, and it blooms between January and March (Northern Hemisphere). From the quick search I did it seems like all the early spring aromatic flowers have sweet scents, but some trees also have fragrant bark and leaves. Some mulch has a nice woody scent, so maybe it's something like that in your neighborhood.
 
I walk the dog most nights around 21:30- 22:00, for the last few weeks I have been getting random whiff of incense. We live in a small village in Mendip, dog is walked along g a small road with scattered houses on each side. Some streetlights, little traffic.

My first thought though was a furtive bonfire, but it has been going on for while and the smell is not smokey ( and I have not seen any smoke or flames) just puts me in mind of being in a Catholic church. Does not seem to be any pattern to it , my best guess is it is a plant that attracts moths?

Have you had rain after a long dry spell, Eyespy? That can sometimes release smells from compost/mulch?

Or someone is burning joss sticks in one of the houses during the day, and by the time you go by it's retreated into a 'background' sort of scent near to the house?
 
I though Joss sticks as well, but it is quite powerful whiffs so it would it is someone sitting in the dark under the bushes which is a bit creepy when you ae out on your own at night.

Ibis- I am familiar with daphne- all finished flowering her a couple of weeks ago.

I shall take a stick on next walk to poke the bushes just in case. ;)
 
The smells reappeared again today, a smell of tobacco in the kitchen, and perfume in the lounge.. I tried to locate the source of them by sniffing in a grid pattern, no luck they only lasted for a couple of minutes..Thankfully nobody saw me or it would have been lock up time..:hide:
 
That was very scientific of you to scout (snout?) out the smells in a grid pattern. Alas it would be impossible to not disturb the air by doing so, and that's maybe why the smells didn't last long. But only the non-scientific folks would have hauled you away.

Maybe the smells can be accounted for by the same conditions that Eyespy discovered: smoky smells absorbed by insulation and that get released when the weather's damp.
 
The smells reappeared again today, a smell of tobacco in the kitchen, and perfume in the lounge.. I tried to locate the source of them by sniffing in a grid pattern, no luck they only lasted for a couple of minutes..Thankfully nobody saw me or it would have been lock up time..:hide:

If it keeps happening, try to remember to note what the weather conditions were, specifically humidity and temperature.

l’d be confident that peak pong coincides with warm, humid, calm days, as smells locked into your paint, plaster and soft furnishings seep out.

maximus otter
 
If it keeps happening, try to remember to note what the weather conditions were, specifically humidity and temperature.

l’d be confident that peak pong coincides with warm, humid, calm days, as smells locked into your paint, plaster and soft furnishings seep out.

maximus otter

One thing I have noticed is that in the absence of over 90% of traffic on the roads in the UK, I can detect totally different odours when out and about (with strict compliance obviously!). The extent to which we get used to vehicle pollution obliterating everything else has amazed me.
 
I'm still getting smoke in the middle of the night. The other night I woke up convinced that the house must be on fire, but the smell faded as I 'came round'. I suspect it was because the weather has turned cooler, my neighbours are lighting their fires. My brain doesn't really register the smell during the day but at night when I'm asleep (I sleep with my window open), fires are dying down and sending out more smoke and my sleeping nose registers this.
 
The trees of Paris smell wonderful, and the pee of Paris yields a scent that is not unique to that beautiful metropolis. The fetid perfume of the Paris métro, however, is something I have never encountered anywhere else; weirdly, I am nostalgic for it.
 
Yesterday I went out in a facemask which had a sort of chemical aroma. Dunno why it was like that. Later I was watching TV and started to smell the same thing again. Couldn't pin down where it was coming from but the mask was nowhere near.

Techy thought it might be something electrical getting fizzy but nothing seemed amiss,.The smell slowly faded and it's gone now. Weird.
 
First thing I thought of on reading your post, Escargot, was how covid affects the sense of smell. I thought maybe you were suffering from an after affect. Since I've only heard about the total absence of smell, though, and not a distortion of what things smell like, I did a quick search and found this interesting information:
"Anosmia (complete loss of the sense of smell) is probably the most common abnormality. Hyperosmia (increased sensitivity to odors) usually reflects a neurotic or histrionic personality but can occur intermittently with seizure disorders. Dysosmia (disagreeable or distorted sense of smell) may occur with infection of the nasal sinuses, partial damage to the olfactory bulbs, or mental depression. Some cases, accompanied by a disagreeable taste, result from poor dental hygiene. Uncinate epilepsy can produce brief, vivid, unpleasant olfactory hallucinations. Hyposmia (partial loss of smell) and hypogeusia (diminished sense of taste) can follow acute influenza, usually temporarily. Sudden loss of smell also may be an early symptom of COVID-19."
From https://www.merckmanuals.com/profes...oms/overview-of-smell-and-taste-abnormalities
 
I'm okay with that. I can't smell your unusual smells from here. ;)
 
Here is one I missed. My Facebook memories brought it back. We Both smelled Oranges and Perfume here and there was nothing whatsoever to explain it. This was 3 years ago.
 
I have to wear a mask at wok a lot now. I am finding the itch/burn in my nostrils is getting worse, also, makes me feel chesty and makes me cough. I often get a musty almost mouldy smell from them but also a rather unpleasant chemical-type of smell. Concerned it may not be good for me long-term. When I have checked, still must war them. Will have to see if I can get anythng from g.p ,maybe I should use the visors? ...but we are not supposed to use them on their own :oops:
 
I have to wear a mask at wok a lot now. I am finding the itch/burn in my nostrils is getting worse, also, makes me feel chesty and makes me cough. I often get a musty almost mouldy smell from them but also a rather unpleasant chemical-type of smell. Concerned it may not be good for me long-term. When I have checked, still must war them. Will have to see if I can get anythng from g.p ,maybe I should use the visors? ...but we are not supposed to use them on their own :oops:
Depends on the mask. If it has activated carbon in it, you will get this musty smell.
 
Walked out of Baker Street Station last week and was surrounded by the smell of ripe strawberries - what the ... ?
Oh - a vaper.
 
Wouldn't you have to use a frankencense scented vape?
 
Back
Top