Ah, the bathroom.
Your porcelain palace, private retreat, and personal wellness hub. A place of refuge, relaxation, and—okay, who are we kidding—stinky business. 😝
Except designer tiles and perfectly folded towels mean nothing when behind those closed doors lies the great equaliser: Icky, embarrassing, and persistent bathroom odours that invite silent judgments from guests and question marks about cleanliness.
Cue: Your guide to understanding where bathroom odours come from and how to beat them. Without fail!
Odour sources and their practical solutions
Before you resort to a clothespin on the nose, blame the family pet, or swear to never have guests over again, discover how strategic choices and the right products can transform any toilet (private or public) from "pee-yew!" to a consistently welcoming haven.
Faeces
Nobody expects a bouquet of roses, but lingering smells from "Number Two" need not be your restroom's signature scent. Fortunately, foul faecal fumes dissipate quickly. Still, when you're in a bind or there's a queue for the loo, try the following:
- Switch the exhaust fan on before you do your business.
- Flush promptly.
- Keep the room ventilated post-poop.
- Spray Healthy Habitat, our all-in-one cleaner, disinfectant, and odour eliminator, inside the bowl to accelerate the smell-neutralising process.
- Decorate with plants—they absorb pollutants. 😉
Urine
The challenge with urine is there's what you see and what you don't necessarily notice to contend with. Namely:
1. Uric scale
The brownish surface stains in urinals (typically around the first u-bend trap), toilet bowls, and pipes. These develop when urine reacts with flush water. They're notoriously difficult to eliminate and a top emitter of rank odours.
2. Urine residue
When the water in pee evaporates, it leaves behind uric acid crystals. These can build up in less obvious, less visible places: Splashback, wild/poor aim and flush droplets can spill, settle, and stain floors, fabrics, fixtures, fittings—and even walls. Likewise, urine can get trapped around drains (seriously, don't pee in the shower 😅) and seep into porous surfaces like grout lines.
3. Bacteria
They're everywhere, but they're especially attracted to moisture and "food", like urine and faecal residue, soap scum, and other washroom gunk. And where there are bacteria, there are odours.
Word to the wise:
- Flush with the lid down.
- Launder bath textiles weekly.
- Clean floors, the toilet (inside and out, including the tank and base), walls, partitions, shelves, cabinets, laundry hampers, stools, and around drains frequently and thoroughly using enzyme-powered products.
What about stubborn stains and odours?
- Regular doses of E.N. Zyme Urine Stain and Odour Remover in the bowl can help prevent and tackle notorious uric scale.
- A blacklight flashlight can help detect and treat remnant urine stains.
When it comes to the stench of urine, nothing works better than enzymatic cleaning solutions—and you won't even have to put your back into it! 🙌
Trash bins
Menstrual products, wet wipes, and more can emit unwanted odours. It's even more noticeable in small, confined spaces. So, overflowing bins? A big no-no!
- Take the trash out regularly.
- Deep clean all rubbish bins.
- Add a layer of cat litter to the bottom of your trash can for its odour- and moisture-absorbing superpowers.
Moisture, mould, mildew
That musty funk in the bathroom? It's probably fungus. Bathrooms are damp and humid, so mould and mildew may grow around tiles and grout, caulking, in the creases of your shower curtain, and even in your toilet tank.
Here's how to get ahead of any issues:
- Aerate! Open windows and doors, keep the exhaust fan running, and/or invest in a bathroom dehumidifier.
- Squeegee shower cabin walls after use. You can use the versatile PetLab Rubber Broom for this task.
- Daily surface spritzes and wipes using our spray-and-go Eco Disinfectant Cleaner.
- Take shorter, cooler showers to lower humidity levels and minimise condensation.
- Remove wet towels; dry them in better-ventilated rooms—or outdoors.
Sewer gasses
If your bathroom smells like rotten eggs, that's most likely a problem with your plumbing. Possibilities include cracked pipes, blocked drains or vents, or a faulty/ damaged toilet wax ring. Sewer gasses aren't just unpleasant - they're a health and potential fire hazard. Don't delay. Call your plumber right away.
Alright, team, that's a wrap on this edition of banishing bathroom odours! With these strategies, you'll turn your foul-smelling toilet into a sanctuary quicker than you can say, "Who did it?!"