Hard Boiled Egg Smell at Work

[diznygirl]

Cat people are immune to the smell. *Former cat person - It doesn't come from the hair, but the general living with cats thing.

I agree with the hand cream idea. It will help you deal with the egg smell, and mask the cat smell you have.

 

[anniemae]

It's just part of working in an office. We had people get mad whenever someone would heat up something stinky in the microwave. Unfortunately, you can't dictate what someone brings for lunch. You just have to deal with it, unless it's an allergy. I once knew someone so allergic to shell fish, the smell could trigger a reaction. Anyway, barring any allergies, I would not say anything further. I would just get some air freshener to spray, or a strongly scented candle (not to light, that would be a fire hazard, just to take the lid off for the scent when she takes out her lunch), or some scented hand cream. Maybe take a walk when she eats, go to the bathroom, make copies etc. anything away from your desk while she eats.

As far as the cat smell, there probably is a smell. I can tell right away when I walk in someones house if they have a cat. Cat owners are immune to the smell i think. I have a friend who has a cat and her house is spotless, no clutter, professionally cleaned, the litter box is constantly cleaned etc. But when I go to her house I detect strong "cat" smell immediately.

 

[Sabeking]

My smeller must be out of commission, I didn't know boiled eggs smelled bad.

 

[marthachick]

I don't like eggs so I really dislike smelling boiled ones. Like everything else, it's subjective.

 

[IMissEd]

Nurses sometimes deal with smells by dabbing a little bit of Vick's Vapor Rub under the nose. Some people also choose to sniff an alcohol wipe to clear smells from their nose. I have tried both and think they work well. With that being said, choose your battles......I wish boiled eggs were the worst of the things I smell on the job.

 

[ashley0139]

I think it was the part that she said I actually smelled like a cat was bothersome, but my clothes don't have any odor to them. Also, there is someone that actually sits next to her that has a cat, and she hasn't said a thing to them.

We were told in training to not eat anything that could be offensive smelling at our desks. I try to stick to non smelling stuff, or something like popcorn. If someone mentioned being offended, I'd just eat it on my break away from my desk.

You don't know that. We become "nose blind" to the things we smell constantly. Just because you don't smell it doesn't mean she doesn't.

Food smells are part of working in an office. I used to work in an office down the hall from the kitchen where someone heated broccoli every day in the microwave. The smell moved all the way down the hall to my office. It was terrible. But nothing I could do about it. Broccoli and fish are the two worst things to heat in the microwave.

 

[disney4us2002]

I suppose it would be a bit rude to leave a can of febreeze on your desk and start spraying everytime she eats her eggs but maybe then she'll clue in. I had a cat and never thought she smelled. Now I have a dog and I think dogs smell a lot. Maybe it's like smokers; they never think they smell like smoke but it's in their clothes, hair, coats, carpet, walls, etc. We were house hunting a few years back and I immediately knew if a smoker lived in a house we were touring. I couldn't seriously consider those houses.

 

[tvguy]

I've done a load of laundry and had dog hair on stuff out of the dryer. If you have a pet you have hair on you somewhere. It's just inevitable.

Our kitty passed away 3 years ago. Since then all the carpet and curtains have been replaced, the walls all painted, the cottage cheese ceiling scraped and textured and all our clothing washed dozens of times. ONly the furniture remains, and even after all that time friends with severe cat allergies still stuff up in our house. A cat is forever.

 

[loves to dive]

Try those jars with the little scented balls in them. The absorb the smell but don't put out a lot of smell themselves, we actually put them in the bathrooms here at work since the men don't want any flower smells in their bathroom. Everyone has different triggers for smells, frankly your popcorn would probably bother me more than her eggs since the popcorn can linger in the microwave for hours and at your desk for a day even.

 

[Wishing on a star]

1. The worst of the smell is the sulfer, and most of this is released when the eggs are cracked open after boiling. Somebody might suggest to her that she crack the eggs open, and maybe cut them in half, at home, and after they air out a bit, put them in a container and bring to work.

2. YES, boiled eggs do have a sulfer smell and they do smell bad to most any person, when they are first opened.

3. While it doesn't smell like sulfer, most microwave popcorn does have a very strong odor that can be smelled upon entering the entire vicinity. Not like potato chips or nuts or other snacks.

4. The "crunch... Crunch... CRUNCH... sounds of somebody eating popcorn, especially if they are not trying to be very very discreet, can also be as offensive to some as the smell of foods.

5. Cats do not have an offensive odor like doggie smell. If your cat is an indoor cat, and there is a problem with kitty litter that is not in an area away from the living area and is not changed every day... That could indeed be an issue. I would hate to think that I had a pet that I never touched or never even came close to the clothing I was wearing or anything that it might come in contact with.

6. The cat comment shows that this person has no respect, and will not only disrespect co-workers, but hurl that kind of comment at them. Knowing that this is who you are dealing with, if I were to try to approach this issue, it would be in a very very general way with supervisors... Not directly mentioning this one co-worker and their lunch. Be prepared for your popcorn to also be deemed off limits if fresh-air rules are enforced.

 

[sam_gordon]

boiled eggs do have a sulfer smell and they do smell bad to most any person

Cats do not have an offensive odor like doggie smell.

Wow. I'm surprised you know what does and does not smell offensive to most people.

 

[RedAngie]

My smeller must be out of commission, I didn't know boiled eggs smelled bad.

Same. I wasn't aware that some consider the aroma of hard boiled eggs to be offensive.

A few weeks ago someone at work reheated leftover shrimp scampi and that stunk up the office for the rest of the day.

 

[MataHari22]

1. The worst of the smell is the sulfer, and most of this is released when the eggs are cracked open after boiling. Somebody might suggest to her that she crack the eggs open, and maybe cut them in half, at home, and after they air out a bit, put them in a container and bring to work.

2. YES, boiled eggs do have a sulfer smell and they do smell bad to most any person, when they are first opened.

3. While it doesn't smell like sulfer, most microwave popcorn does have a very strong odor that can be smelled upon entering the entire vicinity. Not like potato chips or nuts or other snacks.

4. The "crunch... Crunch... CRUNCH... sounds of somebody eating popcorn, especially if they are not trying to be very very discreet, can also be as offensive to some as the smell of foods.

5. Cats do not have an offensive odor like doggie smell. If your cat is an indoor cat, and there is a problem with kitty litter that is not in an area away from the living area and is not changed every day... That could indeed be an issue. I would hate to think that I had a pet that I never touched or never even came close to the clothing I was wearing or anything that it might come in contact with.

6. The cat comment shows that this person has no respect, and will not only disrespect co-workers, but hurl that kind of comment at them. Knowing that this is who you are dealing with, if I were to try to approach this issue, it would be in a very very general way with supervisors... Not directly mentioning this one co-worker and their lunch. Be prepared for your popcorn to also be deemed off limits if fresh-air rules are enforced.

Not sure why you would say that cats don't have an offensive odor like a dog. Odor is so subjective, what bothers one person, someone else may like the smell of. Plus, there are breeds of dog that don't really have that doggie odor, I happen to have one of those. I am a cat lover and former cat owner (I unfortunately have developed really bad allergies to cats.) but to me, cat smell is way worse, especially male cats sometimes.

As far as the comment about smelling like cat, that person was probably annoyed, because they are just trying to eat their lunch, that the OP thinks smells offensive, and plus maybe the OP does smell like cat, and it is also bothering her allergies. Why is that hurling a comment but complaining about the eggs, is not? Maybe the allergy thing has been bothering her for a while and figured all bets are off now that the OP said that she is bothered by the eggs. Sounded like both the OP and the egg eater are equally frustrated, to me.

 

[jrmasm]

If you're offended by crunching, get some headphones.

 

[LCoulter]

Do what one of my co-workers did.....spray a lot of Lysol in your cube and in the direction of her cube. (and I'm just kidding)

In our case, the Office Manager brought in Chinese Food for the staff, Lysol lady was in an office down a long hallway behind a closed door so there were two closed doors between the food and her. She started spaying all the way down the hall and opened the door into the front office and sprayed the entire office down, including spraying it in my direction and my other co-workers directed and into the conference room right over the food. We couldn't even eat after that because the smell was just too overpowering. Someone must have spoke to her because it didn't happen again.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Honestly--it sounds like you are both exagerating--you say the egg smell makes you sick to your stomach and she says the cat smell is bothering her allergies (but only after you tell her not to eat eggs).

If people are expected to eat at desks, well, I don't know that you have much recourse. I, like many on this thread, would have never even thought of boiled eggs as having an offenseive smell.

And holding/touching the cat isn't going to be why you do or do not smell (though, I agree with othesr that the fur and dander will be in the air and is unavoidable if you live with a cat). If there is a urine/spray smell in the apartment from the cat, that stench WILL permeate everything in the house and you might very well smell of it without realizing. Hopefully not and she is just throwing something out there in retalitation for you complaining about her eggs----but you might want to ask some non cat owner you trust to give you an honest opinion---cat urine smell like that is horrible to those not desensitized to it.

Finally, I would suggest you find a way to cope with the food smells without complaining to the coworker again or talking to supeviros, etc. I recall that you tend to have a lot of issues with your coworkers in nearly every job---that is not a good reputation to have and not one you want to do anyhting to continue at all.

 

[Diane♥Disney]

I work in a very small office, our manager likes to open a can of tuna and mix it with vegetables and put it in the microwave. It stinks up the whole office. The smell of tuna makes me sick. I have a Yankee Candle plug in and Febreze spray.

 

[Liberty Belle]

In my last job, my "office" was in the break room and it was about the size of a smaller walk in closet. Not three feet from my desk was the microwave. One guy was a body builder and microwaved this gross spinach/vinegar/chicken/something else concoction 4 times a day. It was horrible. If I were pregnant during that time, there's no way I could have stood it.

 

[phorsenuf]

Get a small container with a lid, soak some cotton balls in vanilla, put them in the container and open the container when she eats. When she is done, put the lid back on. Wash, rinse, repeat.

 

[nkereina]

I don't think I've ever smelled cat on a person before. Or dog, for that matter. I can smell it in a person's house, but I don't think I've ever smelled it on their person.

I have someone who sits near me that eats hard boiled eggs from time to time. It's a very pungent smell for sure. However, it's not a smell that lingers or lasts for hours. It probably sticks around for as long as it takes her to eat them. It's not as if she's wearing a strong smelling perfume or something. I'd just set up an air freshener and deal with it. She'll get sick of hard boiled eggs eventually.