Post Updated: July 21st, 2020
What is that smell? Have you ever walked into your bathroom and been smacked in the face by an awful smell? There’s no worse feeling than not knowing what is causing a foul smell in your bathroom or where it’s coming from.
To keep your bathroom looking great and smelling great, you have to give your bathroom a deep, thorough clean. If you don’t know where to start, try these 7 bathroom cleaning hacks to make your bathroom look and smell good.
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Remove your toilet seat and clean it thoroughly
If you want to give your toilet seat a deep clean, then unscrew your toilet seat and remove it. Spray the toilet seat with a disinfectant spray and let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes. Use a damp cloth to wipe the toilet seat off.
3 things you should do if your bathroom smells like rotten eggs
Does your bathroom smell like rotten eggs or sulfur? This particular smell is a sign of bacteria overgrowth in your sink drain pipes. To get rid of this smell, try these two methods:
1. Unclog your drain sink with baking soda and vinegar
The crud and gunk clogging your bathroom sink drain pipe can start to smell if it’s left in too long.
To remove the clog, pour one cup of baking soda down the drain followed by one cup of vinegar. The concoction will fizz up and loosen up the gunk.
Let the solution work for 5 minutes, then flush the drain with hot water.
2. Fill the P-trap with water
The p-trap is a pipe that connects the sink drainer to the sewer. Water sits in the p-trap to keep sewer gas from seeping into the home, and if there’s no water in the p-trap, the sewer gas will escape into your home, making your bathroom smell like sewer.
To fix this problem, refill your p-trap by pouring water down the bathroom sink drain.
If the problem smell is coming from your toilet, flush your toilet a few times to refill the p-trap with water.
3. Replace the wax ring seal on your toilet
Another reason your bathroom smells like sewer is that your toilet is loose, allowing sewer gas to come in your home.
Check your toilets to see if they are loose or wobbly. If so, replace the wax ring seal around your toilet. Here’s a video tutorial to guide through the process:
If the sewer smell problem persists after you’ve tried these methods, it’s time to call a plumber.
Deep clean your toilet bowl with vinegar and baking soda
Do you have stains in your toilet bowl that just won’t go away?
Pour white vinegar into a spray bottle and spray it all around the toilet bowl. Dump 1 tablespoon of baking soda into the toilet bowl and let it fizz up.
Use a toilet brush to scrub the walls of the toilet bowl to loosen up the tough stains and flush when done.
Pour fabric softener in the toilet tank
To give your toilet a fresh smell every time you flush, pour a capful of fabric softener into the toilet tank. When you flush the fabric softener will come down and release a pleasant smell.
Clean the pop-up sink drain stopper in your bathroom sink and bathtub
Debris can collect on the drain stoppers in your bathroom.
To clean the drain stopper, take an old toothbrush and scrub the bottom of the drain stopper to remove the debris.
You can completely remove the drain stopper to give it a deeper clean. Here’s a video tutorial on how to clean a drain stopper:
Clean the sink overflow hole
If you notice a funky smell coming from your sink overflow hole, stick a funnel into the hole and pour half a cup of baking soda down the funnel.
Next, pour a half cup of vinegar down the funnel and into the overflow hole.
Let the solution fizz for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring 2 cups of hot water down the funnel to flush and remove any build up in the hole.
Soak your toilet brush in Pine-Sol
Sometimes your toilet brush can begin to smell after you’ve used it to clean the toilet. When this happens, some pine sol into the toilet brush base holder and let the toilet brush soak for a while.
Clean the floor around your toilet and the wall behind your toilet
When you live with boys you can’t just clean the toilet; you have to clean the toilet, the floor around it, and the walls behind it!
Spray disinfectant cleaner all around the toilet and spray it up the wall around the toilet. Let the cleaner sit for a few minutes before you wipe the cleaner away with a paper towel.
Use a black light to find dried up urine
Once urine has dried, you can’t always see it, but you sure can smell it.
If your bathroom smells like cat pee but you can’t pinpoint the exact location, shine a UV flashlight around the bathroom to see if any cat urine stains show up.
Wash your bath mats
Think of all the times you, your kids, or your spouse step onto the bath mat with wet feet. If your bath mat is constantly damp, mold can start to grow on your bath mat, and we know that mild smells terrible!
Make it a habit to wash your bath mats at least once a week to keep them clean and mold-free.
Take a look at the care label on your bath mat to learn how to clean it correctly.
Add a few drops of essential oils to your toilet bowl
Before you do the #2, sprinkle a few drops of lavender essential oil into the toilet to mask the smell. You can also sprinkle a few drops of essential oil into the toilet bowl after you flush.
Use shaving cream to get rid of the urine smell in your bathroom
If you just can’t seem to get rid of the flagrant smell in your bathroom, it may be coming from urine getting soaked into your floor tiles.
To get rid of this smell, completely cover your bathroom floor in shaving cream. Leave the shaving cream alone for a few hours before cleaning it up
Sprinkle baking soda in the bottom of your trash can
Baking soda can absorb and trap any smell. Pour a small amount of baking soda into the bottom of your bathroom trash can to absorb foul fumes.
DIY Air Freshener with Downy Unstoppables
We can’t talk about ways to make your bathroom smell good without making your own DIY air freshener. Sprinkle a little bit of Downy Unstoppables into a spray bottle. Fill the spray bottle with water and shake it. Once the Unstoppables dissolve in the water, spray the air freshener around your bathroom.
Say goodbye to those foul smells coming from your bathroom for good! These tips will completely knock out any bad smell in your bathroom. Try these cleaning hacks today.