u/7FableRift

So I have been working as a mechanical engineer for about seven years now and I spend a good chunk of my time on the shop floor dealing with hydraulic presses and automated assembly lines. It is great for the career but it is a total disaster for my skin and personal hygiene. No matter how much I scrub in the shower, I cannot get the smell of the plant off me. It is like the scent of industrial lubricant and burnt metal has permeated my actual soul .

About twond weeks ago, I had a heavy shift dealing with a seized bearing that required a ridiculous amount of WD-40 and some heavy-duty degreaser. I got home, spent forty minutes under a hot shower using some "deep cleansing" charcoal soap that promised to strip the paint off a car, and I still smelled like a machine shop. My skin felt like sandpaper but the minute I started to sweat even a little bit, the smell of petroleum came right back out of my pores. It is not even a dirty smell, just a very specific, aggressive chemical odor that screams "I spend my life around 10W-30."

The real problem started when I went out for a drink with this guy I recently met. He is one of those tech bros who works in a sterilized office and smells like expensive sandalwood and overpriced lattes. We are sitting there and he leans in and asks if I was working on a car before I came out. I told him no, I just live this way now. He actually laughed and said it was "rugged" but I could tell he was trying to figure out why a girl at a nice bar smelled like she just crawled out from under a 2016 sedan.

I have tried everything at this point. I bought these exfoliating gloves that are basically just industrial grade mesh and I have gone through three different bottles of high-end body wash. Nothing works. The smell is just part of my biology now. I am pretty sure if I ever get a paper cut, I will bleed hydraulic fluid instead of blood. At least I do not have to worry about my joints squeaking when I walk. It is just annoying that my "hygiene routine" has basically been defeated by a can of lubricant and a few seized bolts.

The worst part is that I am starting to get used to it. I caught myself sniffing a rag at work today and thinking it smelled kind of nostalgic. I guess I am just destined to be the person who triggers everyone’s sensory issues just by walking into a room .

I am looking for some guidance on how to handle my property manager in Florida. I have been living in my current apartment for six months and recently started receiving written warnings about "noise disturbances" after 8 PM. The thing is- the noise they are complaining about is just my five year old son walking around or occasionally dropping a toy before bed. He is usually asleep by 7:45 PM but my landlord insists that any sound from our unit is a violation of the quiet hours policy.

I feel like I am being targeted specifically because I am a single parent. My downstairs neighbor is the one reporting every single thud and the landlord is siding with them without even checking if the noise is actually "excessive". I have tried talking to them but they just point to a clause in my lease that says tenants must ensure "total silence" during quiet hours.

I did some digging into the Fair Housing Act and it mentions familial status protection. From a legal standpoint- can a landlord actually evict me because a child is behaving like a child during non-prohibited hours? Or even during quiet hours if it is just normal daily living sounds? It feels like they are using these noise complaints as a loophole to get rid of a family in favor of quiet single professionals.

I dont want to move because I cant afford another security deposit right now but I also cant keep living in fear of a three day notice every time my kid trips. Are there specific precedents I should cite in my response to their latest warning? I want to make it clear that I know my rights without escalating it to a full blown court battle if I dont have to. My son is already anxious about "walking too loud" and it honestly breaks my heart.