I actually have no idea what smell my family was referring to. I certainly never noticed anything different in my Finnish friends houses. It just goes along with the other stereotypes my relatives were trying to put into my head in the 1960's. I could have gone on and on in my comment (you should have heard what they said about Poles and Ukrainians). I tended to not pay close attention to the details and simply tried not to listen, as I was determined to "walk my own line" and make friends with whomever I pleased.