My mother in law is incintinet. She has pee pots all over the house that she pees in and then empties them in the toilet. But since it often just dribbles out without warning, she misses and gets the carpet wet a lot. She's alsovery messy and lazy though physically and mentally able to clean up after herself for the most part beyond heavy lifting. (She only has some heart issues for which she has a clean bill of health from the cardiologist.) She just doesn't. She throws garbage on the floor while watching TV, leaves food out, has mail all over every surface so I can't clean it properly because she wants her papers left uintouched.
I vacuum, but due to crazy work schedule, cooking, cleaning, laundry for our apartment and her house I just can't find the time to carpet clean often with a carpet machine all that often. And even my best efforts leave a lingering stale smell.
I also end up washing towels literally soaked and dripping with urine, which I am concerned might be contaminating my wash loads. Anyway recently my boss called me in and said I have such a bad odor, something between a senior home and a dead animal was how it was described. She said it's strong enough that people in other aisles are complaining and I fear it will affect my job. My assistant is also telling me my odor is really horrible.
I'm a very clean person and have been in the workforce many, many years without ever hearing this complaint. I don't smell anything at all! I have no idea where it is coming from, if it's in my clothes wash or I am tracking it up into our apartment on my shoes. I can't tell anything is amiss but I continue to hear it at work. I have been told I need to remedy this problem immediately. I'm really upset about this as I have enough stress!
So my questiion is, have any of you had the same issue? What do you think is the worst cause of the odor, the wash, maybe I should wear different shoes down there? Or is that smell just permanently permeating everything? I'm scared they're going to send me home at my job. Any advice is great. I'm ready to look into moving out I am so stressed. Thanks in advance.
You mention "our apartment" and "her house"...are you actually taking care of her in her house, or is she living with you in your apartment?
If she's living in her own house, I would stop cleaning and picking up immediately and hire a cleaning service from her funds. And do a thorough cleaning of all the carpets as well as laundry at your apartment. The smells are probably being tracked into the carpet and lingering.
Although it may seem cruel, if you are living together, I would consider moving MIL to someplace other than your apartment. You need to work, and need also need the rest at home as opposed to picking up after her.
From what you write, it's not just the odors, it's the slovenliness and apparent refusal to participate in her own upkeep. Has she always been like this?