Oily Greasy Odor as I age: What helps?

Have you tried drying his clothes and bedding outside? Also, Doterra makes a oil blend called OnGuard. I wonder if that would help if you put it on dryer balls.

Oh my, I just came across this thread and I can relate.
My ex-husband has the same problem. He smells musty, oily, or “old man” icky.
He hates it. He showers every day, no smoking etc. He’s not sick either.
As others have said, his bedding smells and washing doesn’t remove the smell.
He took chlorophyll capsules for awhile but he didn’t notice any difference.

My husband (age 68) recently developed an unpleasant oily odor—as others have mentioned, the odor is extremely difficult to remove from pillowcases, sheets, towels, etc.

I think he can smell the odor at least some of the time, so he was willing to try the Mirai persimmon shower gel. He likes it, and we are both happy because it has helped to reduce the smell for a few hours after he showers.

I have also tried the Mirai detergent pre-soak and the fabric spray for his clothing and bedding—these help, but of course don’t address the underlying cause of the odor. It seems to me like the moment he breaks a sweat, the odor comes back.

Prior to buying the Mirai, I tried “laundry stripping” (vinegar soak, followed by baking soda soak, then repeat), OxyClean, blue Dawn dish soap, fresh air and sunlight, deodorizing laundry additives, etc. Nothing worked, with the exception of the Mirai pre-soak. However, the soak takes hours and/or needs to be done several times… even today, after four hours of soaking and a full wash cycle, his pillowcases still smell. But not as bad as they would have if I hadn’t done the pre-soak.

I wish that doctors could explain why this oily odor happens and how to get rid of it for good.

I wondered if the people with EPI are on PERT..? (Or another treatment?)
I’ve known people with type 1 & type 2 diabetes that sometimes develop a smell I’d describe as like what others here have described, and a tighter control of insulin/carbs has helped a little. Besides PERT or some other enzyme replacement.
Otherwise, I know that having colitis (IBD), I cannot properly digest/absorb via my bowel, so many of the odours on foods present themselves in a very individually identifiable way the next morning (cheese, cereal, mangoes, bananas, etc - let alone the smelly foods like garlic and onions; they almost make me want to plaster over my own armpits using permanently impermeable resin..!)
And I leave various shades of sweat from my body and legs..white sheets have been stained brown, purple and a bright orange before, no relationship to the colour of food eaten (still a mystery as to why this happens).
I live alone so I don’t have to manage it on behalf of anyone else so I don’t really tend to notice it after I’ve had a shower - I use chlorhexidine body wash and it really helps me (female of 50).
I was on various treatments for colitis including a biologic called Entyvio, and that’s when my skin smelled the worst.

Interesting info: https://davisphinneyfoundation.org/parkinsons-and-body-odor/