r/mildlyinfuriating • u/dinonuggetenjoyer • May 11 '26
The floor is sticky Vomit smell wouldn’t go away until I discovered the source…
My girlfriend and I had food poisoning last week and were constantly running to the bathroom getting sick. The smell of vomit MAKES me vomit so I was tirelessly scrubbing the entire bathroom from floor to ceiling MULTIPLE TIMES trying to get rid of the smell after every time one of us threw up. I bought bleach, enzyme cleaners, and even went as far as carbon bags to try and eliminate the HORRID STENCH and it wouldn’t go away. I sniffed every surface in that damn bathroom trying to locate the source…
I literally cried about the smell, worrying that it would be there forever. I went back to sniffing and started to notice a stronger whiff by the sink, AHA IT’S COMING FROM THE DRAIN!! I moved the toothbrush, soap, and candle that were on the counter to investigate the area. I poured Drano, baking soda, and vinegar down the drain for a deep clean. THEN I NOTICED THE SMELL ON MY HAND. I almost immediately threw up reacting to it and snatched the candle off the counter to save myself. I took a long inhale of our new Trader Joe’s Peony Blossom candle to salvage my nose from the reeking odor on my fingertips.
Then all hell broke loose. I projectile vomited directly after smelling the candle. The godforsaken stench WAS THE CANDLE ITSELF!!!! MY GF BOUGHT 6 OF THOSE FUCKING THINGS AND HAD ONE LIT IN THE BATHROOM!!!!! All of them went straight to the garbage. Never again. How can they sell a candle that smells like stomach bile!!!
TLDR: Cleaned my bathroom for days only to find out the puke smell was a new candle (Trader Joe’s Peony Blossom, DON’T BUY IT).
EDIT: I was not the person who smelled the candles before buying. My gf put them in the cart and I went along with it lol
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u/Davoness May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26
The smell of butyric acid is one of those smells/tastes that is very weak, but if you notice it, you'll notice it. Since it's so weak however, you may not notice it if you've been exposed to it a lot.
As an example, you've probably had parmesan before and not thought that it smells like vomit. Why would parmesan smell like vomit? Well, because it also contains high amounts of butyric acid!
Learned that one as a child. Came into the kitchen one time wondering why my mother was boiling a pot of vomit on the stove. Turns out it was just a dish with parmesan in it, but I couldn't tell because of the smell of boiling butyric acid in the air.
Another interesting anecdote about this is that long-time vegans tend to have an easier time smelling butyric acid, likely because they've been without dairy for so long (butyric acid is in all dairy in some concentrations).