Monday, July 15, 2013

Trailer Tales: The Smells Edition...aka...Ooooh Ooooh That smell!!



An extra person. Triple Digit weather. Lots and lots of rain. Cooking. Dirty laundry.

Any one of these things could increase the smell factor in an airtight tin can of a living space.

All of them?

Ugh.

Most of this trailer living stuff is not that hard to get used to. After all, its still YOUR space, not a hotel. That really does make a difference.

One of the major challenges I do have is keeping up with the smells. In triple digit heat there is no opening the windows to air out the place. The dogs can't take it and I have no options on cooling them down. That heat also makes the "black water" tank smell up real fast. We dump twice a week and double up on the deodorizer and it is still a hard fought battle when we are over 100. And that is with us making everyone use the RV park bathrooms for serious business. (I know...TMI!)

And cooking? We cook good smelling food but the smell never leaves!  It has made us all but stop cooking in this place because it becomes overwhelming. Sensory overload.

Now lets add the rain. EVERYONE loves that wet dog smell.  Times two. I went out and bought those waterproof pads for toddler beds and covered the couch and bed the dogs get on. Also invested in some Febreeze (sensory overload again) and do my best on the wet days. But I'm not loving it.

Then there is the laundry. The basket sits in the shower with the bathroom door closed. This space does not get air conditioned well so if there are gym clothes in there? Not nice. Or smelly socks? Needless to say we have to go to the laundromat several times a week to keep a handle on that.


So if you asked me what the hardest part of living in an rv is, I think my answer would be the smells. Even good smells are just too overwhelming in such a small space.


4 comments:

  1. Go to the store and pu some citrus scents charcoal air fresheners... the citrus is barely there and the charcoal absorbs odors... it keeps the smoke from neighboring apartments out of my home so I am guessing it could keep the trailer smelling pretty good. They also have a spray that is much better than febreeze because it works to eliminate rather than mask odors.

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  2. Ah! Good idea! I will have to find some. Is it a jar or what exactly am I looking for?

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  3. I just want to say thanks for all these posts of living in the trailer. We are seriously considering it when he goes to Captain Career course, (4-8 months depending on the school) so I like hearing about the pro's and con's. I think I could handle 4, but 8 sounds long. Still over a year before we have to go, so no worries yet. We just like thinking ahead.

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  4. If you have the means I would go with one of the big 5th wheel trailers if you plan on living in it. They are much nicer and larger to give the boys more room. We didn't have the right kind of truck and didn't want to spend that much (we paid cash) but some days I wish we had!!!

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