u/PolkaDotWhyNot

The spouse works for a food manufacturer of pickled products - think cold-fermented pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, etc. Their work clothes are odiferous beasts. The smell isn't exactly unpleasant, but it's intense and it lingers.

This is not BO, but rather the smell of vinegar and garlic and dill, and it permeates everything that is anywhere near the production floor.

I can not get this smell out using any reasonable method.

I have a top-loader Samsung HE washer with no central agitator. It's older but still electronic, so it automatically senses the amount of laundry and only fills the drum so far. Stopping the wash cycle any time beyond the initial fill causes the cycle to stop, the water drains out, and the washer turns off.

The current wash system is a short cycle (about 35 minutes) on eco-warm or warm using liquid Tide Odor + Oxy with Febreze and a rinse including Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, followed by a longer heavy-duty wash (about 75 minutes total) with a pre-soak and extra cleaning setting, using the same products.

There is still residual odor. I've run 5 consecutive cleaning cycles with Affresh washer tablets to break down scrud and minimize lingering odors there. I have liquid Biz I've tried adding, but I don't think it's the good stuff. I've tried citric acid in the rinse cycle (I have fairly hard water) which seems to help but not enough. I have a sparkly new bag of Febu but haven't experimented with it yet.

Nothing helps and my entire house is starting to smell like the inside of a Vlasic jar from residual odor. Regular spray Febreze makes everything smell like garlicky sour flowers. Anti-scent hunting spray helps a little on skin and hair, but the laundry detergent offerings are way too expensive to use on the volume of clothing worn daily.

Does anyone have tips for breaking down atypical food odors on fabrics like this?

I have two indoor cats, ages 9 and 3.

There is a recently unhoused stray cat in the neighborhood, who is being fed and watered by a neighbor and me. Stray kitty wants ALL THE LOVE.

What are the actual chances that I could transfer something unwelcome to my indoor cats if I pet or am rubbed up on by the stray? Is there a high risk? Does washing hands before touching the indoor cats mitigate or eliminate potential issues?

I've been cautioned not to get near the stray at all for fear of potential disease transmission. I'll avoid him if there is truly a risk, but I haven't been able to find any details about the cat-to-human-to-cat chain.

My mom has been in and out of the hospital for various issues for the last 8 months. The visits ate usually triggered by extreme dehydration, although she's been found to have a septic gallbladder and some not-insignificant long-term kidney damage.

That last 6-7 weeks have been focused on improving her health so she can have her gallbladder removed. She was brought back in to the hospital once again fir dehydration (despite actually drinking more water). Her PCP is visiting her daily and is up on her care this time, so she's getting more attention than before (she is also in a different hospital system than prior visits).

She has never been one to eat much, typically one meal a day plus a snack or two. This is life-long. But she has had little to no appetite and has now been diagnosed with acute malnutrition on top of her other issues. She is not hungry and doesn't want to eat.

None of her current medical issues are immediately life-threatening. When she is hydrated, she is mentally clear if not physically strong. She looks good. She wants to go home.

But I began thinking about the long-term stages of death. If you watch Hospice Nurse Julie, you probably know. Months out, a person starts sleeping more (check). They stop eating as much (check). Next stage is even more increased sleep.

We haven't gotten to that point yet, but I can't help wondering if this is the beginning of those end stages? Nothing is actively killing her (except her gallbladder, but that's being managed). She has no terminal underlying conditions. It's possible all these symptoms are just the result of a perfect storm of little ailments and will resolve once that gallbladder removal happens, but I can't help but wonder if I'm seeing the beginning of that inevitable process.

I don't know quite what I'm asking for here. My mom is 82. She lost her oldest child, my brother, nearly 20 years ago, and that broke her more than a bit. She is irritated by her failing health but refuses to follow through with physical therapy to help maintain her independence. She is tired. Not physically tired, but TIRED.

I hope someone can relate or maybe chime in. I'm here for her regardless, but I feel like it's better to mentally prepare if I can.