Why is it that other's peoples houses smell odd with you first walk in?

Question

I guess they probably think the same about mine, but what's up with that smell?

Answer 1

Could be the types of food they make. I remember I had a friend from Turkey when I was in HS and when I would walk in her house it stunk. But that is the food they cooked. I have to say the food tasted good but smelled like sh*t!

Answer 2

Your olfactory sense is very powerful and will give you a strong warning when a new smell arrives at your nose. This is probably an evolutionary adaptation meant to keep you safe. But as powerful as the sense of smell is, it is also quick to "accept" new smells, and to tell your brain to ignore them. Again, probably an adaptation (Think of it this way: a sudden new smell may have warned our ancestors of a predator nearby, but if those ancestors' brains put all their focus into that one smell, they would be oblivious to new threats that might pop up).

So when you enter a new house, your olfactory sense picks up the subtleties in the home owners' behaviour ( what do they cook? Are they clean? What do they clean with? Have they opened the windows in the past month?) Then, after a few minutes (or seconds) this sense is subdued, and you wonder why the house smelled so bad to you in the first place. Don't be fooled at this point: you still may be in a real stinker of a house. :)

Answer 3

They only smell funny if it's a bachelors house, men's homes always stink. Most of the other times houses have pleasant smells. they always smell different from your own though.

Answer 4

Well most other houses smell odd but you know something, yours doesn't....go figure. Maybe we're related in some odd way?

Answer 5

That is the smell of various household cleaning products. They sell them nationwide at a store near you.

Answer 6

Everyone has their own personal scent

Answer 7

everyone has a different odor...