A thought about rancid sheets.

[Kung Fu]

I had a wonderful massage today. Simply wonderful, except for one thing.... Her sheets were so rancid smelling, the whole room was full of a rancid cloud of spoiled oil molecules. I could smell it in the hall wayon the approach to the massage room. She stores everything in that room, so she had a pile of more a rancid sheets in a cupboard in there.

You see, I have a very keen nose, and rancid is one of the worst things I have ever smelled. Rancid odors make my stomach turn. I did my best to breath through my mouth, so I wouldnt have to smell it. But every once in a while I would forget, and ewe ewe ewe.

Anyway, I am thinking to myself... these sheets are strong smelling, should I say something? I mean... if it is this strong for me... it must be noticable to a person with an average sniffer. I decided at least to wait, we had exchanged cards. I know we will be in contact with each other in the future, we had discussed a trade. So I had time to ponder on this. Here is what I came up with, let me know if you think I am correct.

Some people must come to associate that rancid smell with the feel goodness aspect of massage.

Now, not everyone, but enough. This self employed MT has been in business for about a year and a half, told me she sees about 10 clients a week, and is barely out of her teens! She is doing something right! Plus, her sheets smell very rancid. Rancid is a pretty awful smell, probably that way so our earliest ancestors wouldnt eat spoiled meat and become ill.

Now, I am not saying having rancid sheets is necessarily a bad thing... if someone doesnt know how to get that out of sheets and they and their clients come to assume that rancid + massage just go together like peanut butter and jelly. You dont question it, massage feels good, and this smell is always here when I get my massage.... it's a massage smell. Kind of like you come to expect what a farm smells like. You cant have a farm without the smell of manure, and you cant get a massage without the smell of rancid. The farmer puts up with and so does the client.

It reminds me of what a woman in LaLeche League told me. Breast fed babies smell sweet, and formula babies smell sour. Until someone tells you there is a difference between the two, you dont notice. To this day, I can pick up a young infant who is only being fed either formula or breast milk and tell the difference. Until these clients are told about the rancid odor and that they can have a massage without that odor if jojoba is used or sheets are free of any trace of oil. They may just not realize the odor is even there.

So, what do you think? Am I right, wrong, or have I thought too much about rancid sheets and my brain went soft?

 

[Pompal 09.]

I have a very sensitive nose, but the rancid-oil smell didn't really didn't bother me until I figured out what it was. Something creeps me out about maybe trace, but largely smelly remnants of massages before mine in the sheets I'm lying on.

As a result, I'm verrry obsessive about my own sheets. I use jojoba, wash in warmest water possible within 24 (usually 12) hours, Odoban them on the rinse cycle... :roll: and then i sniff test sniff test sniff test!

I guess it's compounded by my own worry that my clients will have the oil-enlightened nose that I have. :

 

[tongue]

Same here. I worry the same thing. I would rather smell an employee's microwaved left over chinese food than rancid sheets. At least the chinese food smell fades.

 

[ape2016]

Ewwwwwwww!!!!!!! I don't like the smell of rancid sheets either. I smell mine regularly and will also smell them against my own fresh laundered sheets at home to be sure they smell the same.

As for how to tell this MT about it, that's a tough one. If it were me, I would CERTAINLY want to be told. I would absolutely find it embarrassing, but I would want to know. Kinda like if you have spinach between your teeth. You feel silly when someone tells you about it, but it would be even worse to not know at all.

Perhaps you can wait until after you have had another session or two with her and then tell her. That way you can let her know that you've noticed it each time, so that it's probably a "sheet-wide" problem and not just isolated to one set. Perhaps you can bring her some of the product you use or let her know about Odoban. Maybe you can even make up a little white lie and tell her that you also had a sheet odor problem that you were unaware of until someone brought it to your attention and you were so embarrassed, but sooooooo happy to have been told.

I would only take this risk with someone I liked and wanted to have a continuing relationship with. Otherwise, it just wouldn't be something that was important enough to me to feel so uncomfortable about. I have stopped going to MT's, hairdressers, etc. for various reasons that I haven't shared with them because there were not enough other redeeming qualities to make me want to stay.

 

[azninvasion]

I, too, have had some FAB massages, only to be ruined by the smell of the sheets. I make sure mine dont get that way. If theres a tiny doubt in my mind, I toss them out. Sheets dont cost alot, but they sure can make or break a MT when it comes time to reschedule a client. Im also funny about threadbare sheets....with those little nertle-balls all over them lol Its hard to know what to say, because you dont want to offend anyone.

 

[Poet G]

Yeah, fuzz balled sheets... I have a laundry service, and some of their sheets have been sub par.

I called them yesterday and spoke with a route manager. He was very nice about the whole thing. I LOVE not having to wash and fold my own sheets, it is so worth the cost. This service also provides the sheets. They even press them! But, like I said, some of their sheets are sub par. I have been setting them out and they replace them. I called and told them some of their sheets were down right embarassing. I shouldnt have to pick out the bad ones. Their employees should be able to see how thin some of their sheets are.

I am not going to back down on this. I am paying good money for good sheets, not thin sheets, not fuzz balled sheets, not holey sheets, and not sheets with bandages stuck on them. Their website says they provide high quality textiles, well, some are, but then some are far from high quality.

I am the one writing the checks to this company and the one handling the sheets they provide. So, when I see the poor quality coming through, it gets me very angry. In other settings this may not be the case, since they contract out to a lot of hospitals. I told the guy if they get their quality up, they could market to other MT's or spas. I dont know if he thought of that or not.

 

[Amanda P]

maybe you could send an anonymous card to the therapist to let her know about the rancid problem... just a simple card stating that you loved her massage, but noticed the smell of rancid oil. Be sure to word it as a layperson or she'll suspect it's another therapist
I've talked to clients/friends who have noticed the smell of other therapist's sheets, but didn't know what it was until I told them. I think alot of people just don't realize, but once they do know what it is, it totally grosses them out!

 

[BEAUTY QUEEN]

Like stonegirl, I too have talked to clients/friends who have smelled rancid sheets on other therapists' tables but not known what they were. I have a strong sense of smell so I am very paranoid about it with my own sheets. I know it would be a bit embarrassing if someone mentioned it to me, but I would be grateful in the end that the problem was taken care of. If said in kindness, gentleness and wrapped up in a hug or a friendly pat on the back, I don't think it could go wrong. Truth be known, if the therapist has been around the sheets her nose has probably grown used to the smell and she is not able to detect the same scents as someone who isn't always exposed to it! In this case, ignorance is not bliss!

Vita

 

[Gnarnia 1337]

OK. I admit I'm confused. If food's rancid, the smell is strong & obvious. Yet, you're saying that clients often don't notice or don't mind the smell of rancid sheets. I admit I've never smelled rancid sheets, and I have a strong sense of smell. (Don't wear perfume anywhere within a mile radius of where I'm standing! ) Am I just lucky, or am I one of those people who doesn't notice? (Frankly, I find that hard to believe. I'm pretty sensitive.)

So, can you all describe for me what rancid sheets smell like? Are you saying that rancid sheets have only a slight smell, and one that isn't necessarily negative. Can you describe that smell?

 

[Bill M]

I have found that rancid sheet are from oil. When I was in school and after school using Almond oil - the sheets would go rancid quickly. It also got into the clothes that the clients wore and made them smell too (I could smell it on my husbands clothes)

Since I started using cream a while back, I haven't noticed the smell anymore. I am also diligent about getting my sheets clean and smelling nice.

The rancid smell I have noticed smells like dirty cooking oil or a mild case of BO. It is not a pleasant smell. I really can't think of a good way to describe it Blisss.

 

[Elii [ucansuckkit]]

Bliss,
My guess is since you have a good sense of smell that you have not smelled rancid sheets because believe me, I think you just have not smelled them lol :

 

[Adri]

I will tell you what it smells like.

Rancid is a very acrid (sp?) odor. It is actually the triglycerides in the oil breaking down, basically spoiling.

Rancid = rotten spoiled oil.

 

[Shafagh H]

I used almod oil wayyyy back when, and they go stinky FAST. I now use Lotus Touch Oil Gel, and have nad no problems. Biotone made my sheets smelly after a shorter time, too :{

 

[libratiger924]

I use jojoba oil and massage FX cream and wash my linens in hot water - no problems.
I swore off almond oil a long time ago because of rancid sheets and gunk building up on my stones. My last order of oils and creams, the company actually sent me a FREE GALLON of almond oil - I called up other MT's in my area to see who would take it and gave it away!! I won't even use it if it's free!

 

[asambrano752]

I use jojoba 99.9% of the time. I have a bottle of lotion and a container of extra virgin coconut oil, but they are rarely used.

No one ever told me that my sheets in school were rank. I noticed it myself, didnt like it, noticed practically EVERYONE else's sheets in school smelled that way (even teachers!) and had to find out how to not make them smell that way.

And yes, I have heard that amond oil goes bad very quickly. That is the primary oil we used in school. They gave a bottle to use for free! I feel the same way Stonegirl, I wouldn't use the stuff either, even if they gave it away!

 

[Dragonsking91]

I think massage schools use almond oil because it is cheap. I just don't understand why they don't address the issue of rancid sheats to students. Seems to me this is something that should be taught - how to keep them from going rancid, how to wash oil out, etc.
I too learned from experience. My school had a linen service, so of course no one noticed the rancid oils. but once I started working on my own, I realized it and tried a million different things before switching to jojoba - and then thought "why didn't they tell us this in school??".

 

[Dave Randal]

oops

 

[MykellG]

I absolutely love working with almond oil, but rarely do, because of the problem it caused my sheets. It was the one oil MY skin always loved - even jojoba irritates me if I use it too frequently. I now have to switch between several oils, some of which don't come out of sheets so easily - but the smell comes out!

Our school didn't provide oil (or sheets, can't imagine!), and only allowed us to use biotone products or single ingredient oils, and then we had to let them know exactly what we were using. At first they said grapeseed oil or biotone, only, but when I was allergic to both, they made concessions. Everyone in my class had problems with the sheets!