There's a perfume-like smell in my apt. How do I find/remove it?

August 28, 2020 10:49 PM

I just moved and definitely noticed it in the walkthrough but I assumed the landlord hired a professional cleaning service. It's very similar to the type of perfume scent used by commercial cleaning services. The apt has a central air unit but I can't find a filter so I'm assuming there isn't an air freshener attached to a filter. Keeping the windows open hasn't helped so it must be something active/newish somewhere.

I get used to the smell after a while but I clearly smell it every time I return, even if I'm only gone a short while.Where can I look? Do I have to open every vent and poke around?

The air conditioning unit is Goodman brand. Smell is not mold.

posted by anonymous to Home & Garden (19 answers total)

Some brands of garbage bags now come with an absolutely intolerable perfume scent. It might be that. If it is, it's easy to get rid of.
posted by klanawa at 10:52 PM on August 28, 2020 [15 favorites]

Did they just re-glaze a bathtub, by any chance? You can pay extra for a hideous vanilla scent to be added to the glaze so that it “covers up” the chemical smell by making it smell instead like an industrial accident in a Yankee Candle store. It fades after a few weeks.

If you have carpet it might have been shampooed with a scented product.
posted by corey flood at 11:01 PM on August 28, 2020 [11 favorites]

If you haven't already, look around for a plug-in air freshener - sometimes they can blend in with the surroundings.
posted by needs more cowbell at 3:30 AM on August 29, 2020

Seconding the plug-ins, I was finding them for days in cupboards etc after last house move, and I thought I was quite observant.
posted by Flora Poste at 4:15 AM on August 29, 2020

Look for plug-ins or scented sachets in closets or drawers. Otherwise, keeping windows open and fans moving air as much as you can.
posted by gnutron at 5:03 AM on August 29, 2020

This is a tough one. We have a single bed plus bedding inherited from mother-in-law who died 10 years ago. After multiple washings you can still smell the perfume. We also bought a second-hand hutch, 12 years ago, in which something perfumed, like candles, had been stored by the previous owner. Wiping, washing, whatever has not eradicated that smell. So if this is emanating from a spill of something like perfume that has soaked into floor, shelves or carpets, it is going to be hard to get rid of. I think dancing leaves has the right approach. If you're not a super smeller, maybe find one to help you locate the source area so you can focus there. There are odor-killing paints and sealants that might help once you know where the problem is.
posted by beagle at 6:04 AM on August 29, 2020

I would submit carpet cleaner or deodorizer spray, if you have any carpet. Our previous homeowners absolutely dowsed the carpeted areas in something to cover dog smell. It took over a month to stop detecting it.
posted by rawralphadawg at 6:29 AM on August 29, 2020

My two best techniques in this scenario:

1. If you have carpets, sprinkle a liberal amount of baking soda on them. Let them sit for a while-- an hour or more-- then vacuum up. The more baking soda you use, and the longer you wait, the better the result. If it were me, and because baking soda is so cheap that you are basically just paying for the box and the shipping price to the store, I would expend two or three small boxes if every room in a 1-2 bedroom apartment was carpeted. I might spread that out over two different applications if the smell was really driving me crazy.

2. I am continually amazed at the power of a few drops of lemon juice in a mild solution of soapy water to remove odors from almost everything (but especially plastic kitchenware). My life in chores has changed so much since learning this one. If it is something that really bothers you, an hour spent wiping down kitchen cabinets, counters, appliances, heck even walls, would be time well spent-- even if just from a "tried my best, peace of mind" perspective.

Finally, it's a new place. Eventually your brain will get used to it more. Right now all of your senses are more acute because of the move. Good luck!
posted by seasparrow at 6:52 AM on August 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Just in case you've acquired the same cursed item I have: some people put fragrance in hand sanitizer.
posted by deludingmyself at 7:20 AM on August 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

Any chance it's actually coming from a neighboring unit?
posted by teremala at 7:24 AM on August 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

have you checked inside the microwave? That's a place where I've had bad luck (chemical smell wise) in the aftermath of a cleaning.

Agree with the lemon juice wipedowns. I haven't tried baking soda vacuuming, it sounds interesting. I just want to caution you against wiping anything down with baking soda. I followed some terrible advice about trying to clean my oven that way and not only did it not clean it; it also was impossible to get the baking soda paste out of the crevices in the oven.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:39 AM on August 29, 2020 [2 favorites]

oh one other sneaky possibility:

as mentioned above, there are some horrendously acrid scented trash bags on the market now. Is it possible that they kindly left you spares of those somewhere? Under a sink, or - as they do in hotels - under the open liner in a trash can?
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:48 AM on August 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

I use activated charcoal to remove odors. It works really well and is inexpensive. I buy mine at the pet store, but you can find it in various iterations at hardware stores, too. You do have to replace it once in awhile.

My last apartment had really stinky woodwork in the kitchen and activated charcoal kept it under control.
posted by Stoof at 9:29 AM on August 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

You could try calling the management office and just ask about the AC filter, because that's pretty unusual that you can't find one, and normally you're expected to replace them periodically. You could mention casually in that conversation that the place smells like a perfume accident in case they happen to know that yeah, their make-ready service uses a potent carpet cleaner or something. If they confirmed that, you could ask if it's possible they could come back and do a vinegar-water rinse or something.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:09 AM on August 29, 2020

Check your drawers and cabinets for sachets and such. Some weirdo who lived in my apartment before me soaked wooden sticks in floral essential oils and hid them under the contact paper in the silverware drawer. I just found the last one today and washed out the drawer. All of my silverware tastes like flowers and it's terrible.
posted by snaw at 5:18 PM on August 29, 2020

Were any of the walls painted recently? There are fragrance additives for paint that someone may have thought was a good idea.
posted by Rube R. Nekker at 8:34 PM on August 29, 2020

Can you ask the management/cleaning service? Let them know that you are finding some of the left-behinds smells irritating and would like to remove any removable scented items that may be contributing to the smell. If the cleaning is going to recur, this is also an opportunity to ask them to not repeat the perfuming.
posted by countrymod at 9:11 AM on August 30, 2020

Any chance there was a pet and nature’s miracle was used to clean a pee stain? It’s a thin, almost vinegary fake floral smell that’s very strong and lasts a long time. It fades eventually (I hope. It’s been 3 weeks in my house and I can still smell it).
posted by nouvelle-personne at 5:54 AM on August 31, 2020

Check any newly-arrived soap, bath products and candles. Our entire master bath smells like orangesicles right now thanks to a LUSH bath bomb, and the spare bathroom is taking on the aroma of a head shop thanks to a soap I picked up that I couldn't smell well through my mask. And a cat we had when I was a kid would periodically smell like cologne, which we eventually traced down to a pillar candle she liked to rub her head on.
posted by telophase at 12:04 PM on August 31, 2020