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How many would be necessary for large floor in house? They sound amazing.
They really are! They actually clean the air. Google catalytic lamps. They were invented a long time ago to help with odors of funeral homes and hospitals. One will do the downstairs of a house unless it's very large. I use 2 when I want to do the whole house but other times just one. It just depends. I will light one in the kitchen and let it burn for 45 mins or so about 2 or 3 times a week. That's all it takes for me to be able to walk into my house and smell nothing!
They really are! They actually clean the air. Google catalytic lamps. They were invented a long time ago to help with odors of funeral homes and hospitals. One will do the downstairs of a house unless it's very large. I use 2 when I want to do the whole house but other times just one. It just depends. I will light one in the kitchen and let it burn for 45 mins or so about 2 or 3 times a week. That's all it takes for me to be able to walk into my house and smell nothing!
You have convinced me! I had never heard of them before but ordered one today. Thank you!
Believe it or not, there really is such a thing called "Old Person Smell." Here's a link to an article and you can google it, too: Old Smell
From that article:
Quote:
However, due to lack of understanding about aging odor in the United States, brands have yet to incorporate ingredients to address this issue.
Sometimes we seem like a 3rd world country. Why is there a lack of understanding and when will there be understanding so products can be created? Sheesh.
They really are! They actually clean the air. Google catalytic lamps. They were invented a long time ago to help with odors of funeral homes and hospitals. One will do the downstairs of a house unless it's very large. I use 2 when I want to do the whole house but other times just one. It just depends. I will light one in the kitchen and let it burn for 45 mins or so about 2 or 3 times a week. That's all it takes for me to be able to walk into my house and smell nothing!
Which brand? I see them for a large price range. $8 to $50.
Interesting. Mom's 92 and her house had no odor at all. Her new apartment will be cleaned once a week, and she's diligent about laundry and personal care, so that old person odor I associate with other relatives is not likely to present itself there, either.
Which brand? I see them for a large price range. $8 to $50.
Lampe Berger is the gold standard but there are other less expensive ones out there too. Lampe Berger has kits that would be perfect to get started. It comes with the lamp and a couple of fragrances. Also, there is an online store called Courtney's Candles that sells different lamps as well as their own fragrances. www.courtneyscandles.com. I have ordered from them before and they are top notch.
They really are! They actually clean the air. Google catalytic lamps. They were invented a long time ago to help with odors of funeral homes and hospitals. One will do the downstairs of a house unless it's very large. I use 2 when I want to do the whole house but other times just one. It just depends. I will light one in the kitchen and let it burn for 45 mins or so about 2 or 3 times a week. That's all it takes for me to be able to walk into my house and smell nothing!
Thank you! Sometimes doggy smells in my house even get to me!
Interesting. Mom's 92 and her house had no odor at all. Her new apartment will be cleaned once a week, and she's diligent about laundry and personal care, so that old person odor I associate with other relatives is not likely to present itself there, either.
You and your mom are lucky. My mom's apartment is cleaned once a week, and her laundry is done regularly, at least once a week. I do worry about my mom's personal hygiene. She has had a stroke and has vision and balance issues and she does not enjoy showering, though she has a seat in there of course.
My great grandmother and my grandmother both lived in their own homes well into their 80s and 90s and neither of them (or their homes) had an unusual odor. But they didn't have the cognitive problems my mother has. I think cognitive issues have a lot to do with my mom's strange odor.
On a more positive note, I just want to share that in spite of some challenges with personal hygiene, my mom has been on the correct medications now for about five weeks, and she is GREATLY improved. I mean, greatly. In fact, for the first time in months, my mom told me that she'd like to call up several of her friends and do something fun, like go out to lunch with them. So we will definitely do that!
Also, my great aunt, one of her very favorite people, is planning to come visit her from out of state! She is going to be thrilled. I'm not going to tell her till the day before because she will be so excited that she will hardly be able to sleep.
And I talked with her sister and we are planning a family get together at her sister's house for when it gets a little cooler. I may even take my mom up there for a weekend - I think it would be fun for her to get out. She did well enough on our trip to see my daughter, and that involved a plane trip and staying in someone else's guest room for a week, and she wasn't even really on her meds well at that time, so I am sure she can do this now.
And one other thing - my daughter called me and she is planning to drive down from WAY out of state (17 hour drive) with her four kids for Christmas!!!!!! So we will have a good Christmas this year - with a house full of kids, a big Christmas dinner, and my mom will love all that! I was really dreading Christmas this year because it just sounded extremely grim - just sitting around with my mom and husband on Christmas day...ugh, that's downright depressing. But I couldn't justify going up to see my daughter and her family because my husband has to leave to go out of state to work the very day after Christmas. So it was shaping up to be a pretty depressing day. LOL Not anymore!
I can tell my mom some of this but I can't do so very close to the various events because one thing she does have a lot of trouble processing is time lines. She simply cannot grasp the concepts of a calendar or a clock. That's why it is so incredibly important for her to take her meds in the evening so she will sleep for 8 hours. Otherwise, she is up and down all hours of the day and night and is constantly worried about whether or not she has an appointment in the next few hours, what day it is, etc. A strict schedule is the only thing that keeps her on track - and it has to be imposed on her externally, if that makes sense. So it's very helpful for her to take meds that help her sleep a full 8 hours, then she wakes up hungry, and breakfast is ready for her, and then she goes to therapy three days a week and then church one day a week. Honestly, on the "off" days (Tue/Thu/Sat) she still flounders and is a bit upset because she thinks she's missing an appointment somewhere, but I can't and won't commit to entertaining her four days a week (she spends a big chunk of every Sunday with us).
I do feel very sorry for my mom, because it has to be hard to adjust to life without my dad. He was her entire world. He spent every waking minute keeping her on track time wise. I realize that now. I had no idea just how difficult that must have been for him. Her stroke is what destroyed her ability to track time, so she needs someone to gently guide her throughout the entire day to keep her on track. When she moved to the senior living apartment complex, she really resisted the new schedule and she saw the routine as some way that people were trying to "control" her.
But now that she is on her meds regularly and her bipolar mania and anxiety is under control, she is so much more balanced and settled. And I think the meds help her process her grief without the added anxiety and racing thoughts.
Overall, though many challenges remain and I'm sure new ones will crop up, Mom is doing so much better, and this makes me very, very happy!
One thing elder care has taught me is that plateaus and improvements are usually temporary - but we need to enjoy them while they last. So today, right now, I'm enjoying this!
Also activated charcoal really does absorb odors. They have odor machines with charcoal filters but I'm sure Mom would just unplug them. At my Moms house I put small plastic totes full in the top of her closets and fancy ceramic pots full on top of her kitchen cupboards.
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