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A 100 bed facility has a smell, not a very strong smell, but a definitely noticeable one. It permeates the entire facility. It smells a bit like urine and body odor. Is there a proven system that eliminates this smell? I am talking about elimination, not covering a up the smell with a scent(s), and would treat the entire facility.



Is there some kind system that can be installed or are there contractors who come in every so often and do something? I'm looking for a proven solution. One that has been used successfully in other similar size facilities.

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That’s old person smell. Only way to get rid of it is by removing all the old people.

https://www.agingcare.com/articles/amp/174839
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sp19690 May 2023
Your right old people emit a smell because their bodies are basically decaying from the inside out. But a lot of this could be helped by more frequent bathing and washing of clothing too.
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Yes there is make sure none of the residents pee or poop on themselves and they all shower daily.

Many who are in assisted living belong in a skilled nursing home simply because they:

1. refuse to shower daily.
2. Dont change their depends enough between incidents.
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lisatrevor May 2023
Really? It seems to me that much of the smell is unavoidable due to "accidents" (that are properly cleaned up) and the close proximity of residents. This smell then gets into the walls, the floors, celling, everywhere. Anywhere where many people live, or gather, close together under the same roof will smell to some degree. I would think there is some kind of system that eliminates these smells in some way, without covering them up.
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Lisa, let me tell you two stories.

Me ex's aunt, an RN, owned a NH in SF. She had one employee whose only job was to mop the halls, all day long. Except when they messaged him to go to a room and mop THAT floor.

The place smelled immaculate.

We needed to place my mom, quickly, in a NH in Connecticut. My brother and I spent one weekend traipsing from place to place, 6 in total.

One was very highly recommended, best in terms of convenient location and beautiful. It smelled. The nurse who showed us around told us it was a one time thing, patient accident.

We visited an older place, a little out of the way, a bit shabby, but immaculate. No smell.

We re-visited the preferred place a day or two later. It still smelled.

We went with the shabby place. In 4 1/2 years, it NEVER smelled.

Now, I know your dad has been placed by your brother and it's not likely that brother (or dad) will want to hear any information from you. You may just need to wear a mask with some Vicks Vaporub on it.
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ventingisback May 2023
I guess the smelly facility was bigger than the non-smelly one? Bigger in size, and more residents?
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I have been in nursing homes that have no smells. I think there are venting systems that help keep the air as fresh as possible. In my Moms NH, the only time I had that smell was when I walked into the lobby. The common area, halls and rooms did not have that smell. I always wondered if the opening of the main door caused the smell to be pulled thru the vents. Eventually, I didn't notice the smell so whatever was happening stopped.
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The 'old age' smell is called 'noneal'--due to many factors.

Not bathing the ENTIRE body. esp the private area. Also, not getting their hair washed. Remember 'cradle cap' in your babies? It smells, and not pleasantly. Elders get that too. Washing and keeping the scalp really clean helps. The 'dry shampoos' really make that worse, so avoid using those. Dehydration also causes issues with smell. Also not brushing teeth well. All those 'daily' grooming things that get so hard to do when we age.

Wearing a depends way too long. Also, obviously, the 'spillage' of urine, feces and vomit add to the whole 'soup' of smells. Once a bed or upholstered item or carpet is soaked through with urine--getting that smell out is nearly impossible.

Sometimes, the smell of cooking is found to be pretty awful, too. Foods that are bland and are often overcooked and cooked in huge quantities can be not pleasant.

Cleaning all the above is important. Esp the carpets and bedding.

Sadly, that's easier said than done.

I'm a fan of bleach....I cleaned mom's place with diluted bleach on hard surfaces and if she'd overflowed her catheter bag, the floor and chair she was in was also cleaned with a product used for pet accidents. After mom passed and YB tore up the carpet, he said the sub-floor was still saturated with past 'accidents' and he had to paint down repeated layers of KILZ until the urine that had soaked into the subfloor was completely sealed off.

Multiply this by 30 or more and you have a real problem addressing the cleanliness factor.

Both my grandmother's were immaculate and smelled lovely, really, until death. Their homes were also clean and their clothing washed reguarly.

I'm finding that my DH, now he has retired, is not showering daily and not wiping well. He has chronic diarrhea and needs to shower & get that undercarriage cleaned better. I had a handheld shower head installed and told him he needed to hop in the showwer after his 'issues' and really get clean. He was deeply offended--and it was a hard conversation to have--but when the kids were saying that 'dad smells bad' I had to so SOMETHING. I do not want this house to smell like a NH!!!!

Bottom line--you have to clean before you can 'add on' other fragrances. Perosnally, I opt for a clean house over room sprays, etc. I will burn a lightly scented candle sometimes, but the best way to go is to clean.

And, yes, I realize that in a NH facility, that is practically impossible.
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Venting, no, they were of similar size and number of residents.

Eta, non-smelly one has 141 beds, smelly one has 100.
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There are commercial air filtration systems that are built into the HVAC ductwork and it is mostly effective at removing odors. There are medical grade systems in use by hospitals that do the job very well. Some nursing home budgets may be too tight to have one installed and I don't know what goes into installing one. We have one in our office that was installed when it was renovated, but it was more to control dust rather than odors.
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My FIL in AL infrequently washes and has accidents, does not change disposable underwear enough . At times it’s next to unbearable. I cut up a microfiber cloth into squares . I spray perfume on it and have it in my pocket. Around my FIL I pretend it’s a handkerchief and make out I am dabbing a runny nose. This is how I get through visits. FIL room has the heat/ac unit under the window like in a hotel room. No ventilation unless you open the window which he does not allow and he keeps it warm in his room most days
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sp19690 May 2023
Time to cut back on the visits or simply tell him he smells disgusting. I don't know how you can eat with that smell.
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As my contractor is fond of saying, the question isn't can something be fixed...the question is how much will it cost to fix and is that price worth it? Even if there were such a system that was foolproof, it would probably cost a fortune to install and maintain. A cost that would be passed onto the residents.

Insofar as what causes the odor, the bathroom accidents/non-bathing are large factors, but there are other issues as well. First, the temperature of the facility. My mom did her 3 post-hospital rehabs in a nursing home, and the place was always stiflingly hot. In the summer, no windows were ever open, and the few times the AC was on, the thermostat was at like, 80 degrees. And in the winter, the heat was blasting. High temperatures and no open ventilation lead to all sort of built-up smells, no matter how clean you try to keep something.

There is also the issue of all of the various medications the residents are on. Many medications change the smell of human waste, making it smell stronger and more unpleasant than "normal". And unfortunately, there's really nothing anyone can do about that. Even if you can keep every single resident on a bathroom schedule to the point where none of them need incontinence products, the smell will still drift out of the bathrooms.

I think if your dad's facility has 100 beds and has an odor that you describe as "not very strong, but noticeable", then they are doing their very best to keep the unpleasant odors to a minimum. Your question is valid, but I think this might be a case of your learning to ignore it as best you can.
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My Mom's dementia/AL facility always immediately tied up and removed the trash bag used to hold any soiled incontinence products, wipes and gloves and they used chux at night on the beds. I have no idea where they brought the bags, but they went out somewhere.

Regarding body odor, I only know that they made sure deodorants and antiperspirants were used. This was a memory care unit too, so we saw many people come and go, and my Mom's clothing also came (some we had no idea where it came from) and went (don't know what happened to it). But folks, including us, left items (chux, furniture, clothing, wipes...) there to be used by others who could use it, including staff. Maybe they got rid of items that could not come clean. Maybe??
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CWillie asked about this issue with regard to her mom's nursing home back in 2017.
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cwillie May 2023
That odour was from mom's room mate, the facility did appear to be trying, including setting out activated charcoal, but some days it was very bad - in retrospect I imagine it was either advanced cancer or a suppurating pressure ulcer ;(
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The system that can be installed is called:

-Hire enough CNA staff so that anyone who pees or craps themselves gets changed immediately.

-Make it mandatory that every resident gets washed daily, gets showered a minimal of two or three times a week, and has to change clothes daily.

-Hire enough housekeeping staff that they clean continually. There should never be a time day or night when there isn't a cleaning person in the hallway collecting dirty laundry, wiping something down. or washing a floor.

Last but certainly not least.

-For God's sake these places need a ventilation system. They never have adequate ventilation. The air never circulates and fresh air is never let in. This is why it stinks.
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Way2tired May 2023
I would love a mandatory shower rule
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"People gather in a hotel also. Your better quality eslablishments do not smell."

That's a good point, and I was going to mention that, but better hotels have some major differences from assisting living places. Probably the biggest difference, and this is only my theory, is the frequency of accidents among a large percent of the occupants. Even if cleaned up properly the splashes of body fluids and food into hard to reach places builds up over times and permeates everything. That does not happen in a hotel. I wonder if there is some kind of system that "goes after" bacteria, the source of the odors, and eliminates it, at an economical cost.
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BurntCaregiver May 2023
@lisa

I was a caregiver for 25 years. I do not need potential causes of stink explained to me by you.

Like I said. The AL I worked in never smelled. There was probably around 100 residents living there. It never smelled because they kept up on cleaning and maintenance. They also had a hygiene rule that was agreed to when a resident moves in.
They had to maintain personal cleanliness and hygiene and had to change their clothes regularly. Or they had to leave. If a resident needed help with personal care and dressing it was readily available to them.

Part of our facility (in a separate building) was memory care. That place rarely smelled and if it did the source of the stink was cleaned immediately.
It's all about good staff anywhere.
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"I was a caregiver for 25 years. I do not need potential causes of stink explained to me by you."

That's faulty logic. You were probably not, for example in enough places to experience places that were once not well cleaned but then sold to another operator who did clean well but the smell remained. This is because the original smell permeating everything - the floor, ceiling, walls, etc..

Can the permeating smells be removed?
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I’ve worked in places where a patient’s room would smell really bad. Once the patient left that room for good and it was cleaned, the smell was gone. Sometimes the trick was to paint , and new carpet ( if it wasn’t a tile floor) . And replace any upholstered furniture and the mattress.
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I used some new stuff called profit really helped the smell of dogs and dog urine in the apartment I had moved into.
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ElizabethAR37 May 2023
Did you mean "Pooph"? If so, I agree that it does a GREAT job of eliminating pet odors/stains from poop, urine and vomit. It totally removed a dark pet stain and associated odor from a white area rug. Would probably work similarly for human odors, or perhaps there are formulations specifically for that purpose. It's a bit pricey ($26 for a 32 oz. bottle but a little goes a long way).

In general, I agree with other comments that good personal hygiene and regular thorough cleaning are probably key to maintaining an odor-free environment, along with proper ventilation. Adequate staffing is basic and, of course, tends to reduce the NH/ALF/MC's profits so may not happen.
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As an older adult, I don't think it's inevitable that ALL old people smell. My spouse (age 93) and I (86) do not--per outside input. We bathe/shower daily, use deodorant and change clothing regularly. I do our personal laundry 2X/week and wash sheets/towels weekly. So far, we are able to attend appropriately to personal hygiene.

Of course, we are not (yet) in a facility, and that undoubtedly can present an entirely different set of conditions. I hope we "exit" before we have that experience.
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I was visiting my parents today and their assisted living apartment smelt terrible.
So I flushed the toilets, opened the windows and sprayed my mother's favorite perfume every where, took out the trash and diapers. after a few hours it was much better. I think spraying Lysol(original)helps too.
Have a great day!
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