How to Banish Mustiness and "OLD MAN SMELL" from the Closet
 
                                             
By Ginna Gemmell, founder of LavenderGreen
 
A friend recently visited our Alexandria apartment for a short stay and hung her clothes in the nearest closet just off our guest room.  This my Husband's large, walk-in closet--spacious, but with no ventilation.  She complained to me in a whispering tone that the closet had an "Old Man's Smell".  In disbelief, I went in there and inhaled deeply, but it just smelled a little musty to me. I vaguely remembered the "old man's smell" around my Grandfather as an octogenarian, but never noticed that scent around my mid-life, well-groomed Husband.  Something was amiss in his closet, however!
 
I mentioned the "Old Man Smell" in the closet to my Husband which triggered disbelief and consternation! He has always been fastidious and keeps is wardrobe neatly pressed and his closet well organized. He never noticed the smell in his closet, but took our word for it and wanted it fixed. 
 
About a week later my friend forwarded an article from the New York Times that gave a new meaning and  science to  the phrase "Old Man's Smell".  http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E2D8173AF934A25750C0A9669C8B63   The article reported that perfume researchers from Japan have discovered a substance that causes body odor in people over 40, particularly middle-aged men.  As we age, we produce a substance called "noneal" which is said to have a "greasy, grassy odor" that increases in volume and strength as we age.  Noneal is caused by the breakdown in fatty acids in the skin.  Women also produce Noneal as they age, but it is less offensive because their hygiene tends to be better. Natural attracting pheromones, diet, medications and products also influence personal scent.  If it weren't for pheromones, all human attraction would falter, so we don't want to meddle with Mother nature's aphrodisiac--just the offensive noneal and other offensive odors like mildew.
 
I decided to investigate the closet odor and to eradicate the musty smell. I found a basket full of shirts collecting there that needed to go to the laundry and added a lavender dryer sheet to the top of the pile as a temporary measure.  I hung one of LavenderGreen's lavender-citrus filled closet sachets at the
entry.http://www.lavendergreen.com/home_closet.php  I positioned LavenderGreen's Lavender/Lemongrass Aroma Stick Diffuser into a corner of the top shelf. http://www.lavendergreen.com/home_fragrance.php 
 
We now leave the closet door ajar to improve air circulation.  He took his shirts promptly to the cleaners.  We realized that he walks (often aerobically) around town in his business shirts and in the hot summer months, they need to be laundered after each wearing.  I also found some mildew tainted cottons that had been left overnight in the washing machine and then dried and pressed.  I re- washed them in warm water, detergent and oxygen bleach to kill any residue of mildew left in the fabric.
 
Two weeks later, the odor is gone and the closet has a fresh and subtle lavender/citrus scent. Lavender is a gender neutral fragrance that literally means "to clean" and citrus is a natural deodorant. Our experience demonstrates that Lavender + Citrus is a powerful antidote to Old Man's Smell and mildew.  We think we have solved the problem in my Husband's closet but only a "friendly and foreign" nose will be able to tell us for sure.