What Causes That "Old-Person Smell"?

We know it when we smell it, though it can be hard to describe, and even harder to talk about. Sometimes we describe it as musty, sometimes as medicinal, sometimes -- sadly -- we just find it vaguely unpleasant. But what causes that "old-person smell"?

"There's absolutely a particular smell we associate with aging, but there isn't one specific cause," says Eric Shapira, a physician and clinical gerontologist in Half Moon Bay, California, and author of A New Wrinkle: What I Learned from People Who Never Acted Their Age (iUniverse, 2009). "It's a combination of many different things that are all associated with what happens to the body as we get older."

Here are the ten main reasons experts say older people and their homes have that "old-person smell."

1. Closed quarters

If you've spent time with older adults, you've probably observed that their homes tend to be stuffy; open windows are not a common phenomenon.

"Most older people's homes I go into have the heat on, the windows shut tight, the shades drawn, and the curtains pulled over the shades," says Brenda Avakian, founder of The Caregiver's Voice, a newsletter for caregivers. "There's absolutely no fresh air." Dislike of drafts is one primary reason older people's homes are so stuffy, Avakian says. "Older people feel cold all the time because the body begins to lose temperature regulation. And when rooms are hot, stuffy, and airless, you get mold and bacteria growing, in addition to general stuffiness."

Fear is another factor, experts say. "Many old people live in fear because they feel vulnerable; they know they can't defend themselves," says Brenda Thompson, patient care director for Tri-Country Home Nursing Services in Westbury, New York. "They start to think everyone's watching them, and an open window is an invitation to a robbery. Also, they're afraid if they open the window they'll forget to close it again."

2. The cleaning conundrum

As people age, they have a harder time keeping their homes clean -- often for good reason, says Barbara Moscowitz, director of Geriatric Social Work at Massachusetts General Hospital. Because of the risk of dizziness and falling, older adults are often told by their doctors not to bend down, not to climb up on chairs or ladders, not to kneel or stoop. And how are you going to keep a house clean without being able to do those things?

"When our bodies are weaker, we can't clean up after ourselves as well," says Moscowitz. "Some people have the means to pay cleaners to come regularly, but many don't, and they may hesitate to admit to family members that they can't maintain their homes on their own."

Dust, mold, mildew, and dander -- the word for sloughed-off skin cells -- accumulate and cause air to smell stale, while rotten food and accidents -- pet and human -- that haven't been thoroughly cleaned up add to the "pee-yew" factor.

3. Laundry limitations

We think nothing of throwing a load of clothes in the wash whenever we need to, but that changes as we get older, experts say. "You're not moving as fast, so you probably don't work up a sweat, and it's a lot of work to do laundry. So you hang your shirt back up in the closet, figuring you can get one more day's wear out of it," says Barbara Moscowitz.

If an older person's house has an unpleasant musty odor and you can't tell where it's coming from, open the closet, she suggests. Often you'll find it filled with clothes in need of washing and shoes that could do with airing or replacing.

Of course, laundry issues related to incontinence are also common, experts say. Sadly, many older adults simply underestimate how much time it takes to get to the bathroom and don't make it on time. And they may not notice a small amount of leakage, which can have a big smell.