My guitarist stinks!!

[jmattbassplaya]

Literally! The guy reminds me of Pig Pen from the Peanuts comics, as there always seems to be a cloud of smelly death surrounding the guy. I don't know how often he does laundry because he always seems to be wearing the same thing, and I doubt he showers on the reg because of his smell. Every time he gets out of my car he leaves behind his stench for days. I try driving around with the windows down, but you can still smell it! I'm afraid this guy's BO is going to latch itself on to me!!

[Gord_oh]

keep a can of air freshener in your car and spray it when he first gets in.
make a big deal about it.
over use of pine tree shaped air fresheners, gas masks, windows rolled down...hopefully he'll get the hint.

[JonahTheAmazing]

I have friend, who is a nice guy and all, who has this same problem. He happens to be a bassist, too. It's especially a problem when others openly tell the person about their hygiene problems, and the person does nothing about it. Luckily, we aren't in a band together. If being open about it doesn't change anything, I believe you're out of luck.

[dvil88]

Don't be passive aggressive and hope he gets it. Tell him he needs to practice regular hygiene if he wants a ride. It doesn't hurt to have some Febreeze in the car anyway, though.

[Smokin' Toaster]

In my experience, unless you are the person's boss and threaten them with termination, you are not going to have much luck, and I've seen instances where even that didn't work. I have no patience for someone who does not attempt to practice good personal hygiene habits, unless, of course they are incapacitated physically or financially and can't. If one has the ability, there is no excuse for not to bathing frequently enough to prevent being foul.

I wouldn't let the sambich in my car if he stank. Not even the trunk. Or the bed of my truck.

[Hawkbone]

No excuse for lack of personal hygiene. It's laziness at best, and anti-social at worst. There was a guy in my dorm in college who stank like that. You could smell him as soon as you got to his floor. He would wear his clothes for weeks, take them off and stuff them into a drawer, then take them out again the week after and wear them again. Everyone one was telling him about it, but the more we cajoled him the more stubborn he got about it. I just had to stop hanging around with him. His roomate had no sense of smell, which was lucky in a way, but once everyone else started to complain about the stench, he got paranoid about whether the smell was attached to him too.

[Sneakypete]

True story. A long time ago when we were in our early 20's a real nice fella who was a friend of our rhythm guitarist (a now extinct species) used to hang out with the band. He had an office job and really believed that his clothes didn't get dirty because of this. He had a unique laundry method for socks and underwear though. When they started to smell, and not before, he would open his bedroom window and put the items on the sill weighed down with a brick. After a few days exposed to fresh air, rain and sunshine they would be fresh again - or so he claimed. I'm not saying that he actually smelled bad but there was always a slight 'strong cheese' whiff about him. Oh happy days!

[lowfreq33]

I've known two guys who both had body odor problems that may have been beyond their control. In both cases I've shown up at their house just as they were getting out of the shower, hair still wet even, and they stank. May have something to do with diet, could just be dirty clothes on a clean person. In any case it's hard to be around.

[cr250_977]

Don't smell him......

[winstonthecat]

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

I've known two guys who both had body odor problems that may have been beyond their control. In both cases I've shown up at their house just as they were getting out of the shower, hair still wet even, and they stank. May have something to do with diet, could just be dirty clothes on a clean person. In any case it's hard to be around.

I knew a guy in college that would shower twice a day, always clean clothes (went to a military academy, not much of an option there), and still smelled. His dorm room was brutal.

[Stumbo]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

I'm afraid this guy's BO is going to latch itself on to me!!

From what I've read, body odor is really a bacterial odor when perspiration is broken down Sweating and body odor: Causes - MayoClinic.com .

Life Style and Home Remedies

Dr. Oz says that applying vodka to the areas you sweat the most and applying antiperspirant to ALL areas where your skin touches skin can keep you from stinking up the place. Dr Oz: Body Odor Remedy Vodka & Vinegar: Body Odor Foods | Dr Oz | Doctor Oz Fans

Before doing the above, trim hair on your body to 1/4" long to reduce sweat retention and then try wearing cotton clothes. He may also need to shower twice a day. Possibly use a different soap or have him try using a back brush to scrub his entire body.

I also suggest a trip to the Doc, get some lab work and possibly a referral to a specialist.

He may also not be washing his clothes often enough with enough detergent or hot enough water to kill bacteria on them, this includes his towels. In addition, use hand wipes after dropping a deuce.

Also, possibly reducing his diet to the very basics for a few days (mostly water), nothing oily/hot(onions/chilis).

Excess sweating treatment

If your buddy is willing to acknowledge there's a problem then he might try some of these things. Otherwise, he won't.

I had a manager in one band that had similar problems. He sat in a special chair that we put outside when he wasn't around. Once the stink/bacteria get into fabric, it won't go away w/o treatment.

Edit: Maybe if he spritzed himself up with stuff a couple of times a day, he'll soon be flowery fresh: http://www.amazon.com/Bac-Out-Stain-.../dp/B001OHX1E0 YMMV. Check with your Doc before trying this.

[nitrofix]

Bo seinfeld - YouTube

[AnchorHoy]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Toaster

In my experience, unless you are the person's boss and threaten them with termination, you are not going to have much luck, and I've seen instances where even that didn't work

Yep. If the direct (verbal) approach doesn't work the only option you really have left is to simply stop giving him rides any more. Some people just don't get the message. Whatever the "reasons" he continues to be a walking health hazard, you will need to literally put enough distance between the two of you that it's no longer your problem

Back in my Navy days, we once got a new guy onboard my ship who had this problem. As you might imagine, it's a major issue when you have 30-40 people all living out of a very small space with limited ventilation. In this particular case, moving out of the Berthing Compartment was not an option for any of us

On day one, it was informally brought to his attention by his shipmates

On day two, it was formally addressed by the ranking Chief Petty Officer of his Division

On the morning of day three, by direct order of (and personally supervised by) the aforementioned Chief, the offender was blasted out of his rack with a 1½" fire hose

Immediately following this rude awakening, he was (1) handed a swab and instructed to mop up all the resulting water (2) every single article of clothing in his locker except one working uniform was bagged and sent to the laundry (3) he was told in no uncertain terms to hit the showers NOW

End of Problem

[bound'n'blocked]

I work with a guy who is like this. There are only so many seats to sit in where I work, and we all work all over the building. If I have to sit in a seat that my co-worker has just used, I'll switch it with one from somewhere else. I cant stand to sit in one after he has been in it.

My room mate in college was really bad tho. He came in at the beginning of the semester with all of his clothes. As he would wear something he would toss it in the closet at the end of the day or when he was changing. After he ran out, he started at the bottom of the pile and worked his way to the top again. This went on for two or three passes thru the pile. I came in one day and he was getting a T-shirt out of my drawer becasue he had worn his too many times. That was the end. I made him go do his laundry.

BnB

[Dave the Bass]

I shared a dorm room with a guy who had the most ungodly foot odor, he would wear the same pair of socks for a week or so, then fold them and put them back in the drawer.

He also had the most horrific case of athlete's foot known to man, it was so bad he basically had no skin between his toes, it just looked like raw meat and smelled like death. It had to hurt like hell, I don't know how he lived like that.

[fhm555]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

...The guy reminds me of Pig Pen...

He doesn't wear python boots does he?

Frank Zappa-Stinkfoot live 1974 - YouTube

[BassmanSBK]

Originally Posted by jmattbassplaya

Literally! The guy reminds me of Pig Pen from the Peanuts comics, as there always seems to be a cloud of smelly death surrounding the guy.

Dude, Pigpen plays bass!

[Blisterfinger]

This has become a big problem for me unfortunately. One of my housemates has serious BO and will stink a room badly if there for longer than 5 mins. I haven't mentioned it to him or any of the other tenants yet, it's become the elephant in the room. I'd have no problem telling him if he wasn't the nicest guy on the planet and one of my best friends. I don't want jeopardise a good friendship but I'd rather not have to suffer through it either...

[ugly_bassplayer]

Been there. We where about to talk to him about his awefull BO , but we broke the band up before we had the chance to.

[lowfreq33]

I was on the road with a guy like that. We had 9 guys on our bus (artist had his own with the tour manager), which isn't bad as most of those can sleep 12. But it's still a limited amount of space.

We dropped tons of hints, and it got to the point that wherever he was everyone else would be somewhere else. Picture one guy with the (larger) front lounge all to himself, and 8 guys crammed into the back lounge, which really only has space for 6.

He ended up being let go after a month, mainly because of playing issues, but his hygiene absolutely played a factor.