Are you struggling to get your toilet to smell fresh? Whether you have a standard toilet or a luxury one, here’s how you can keep the toilet smell down forever:
To keep the toilet smell fresh, pour some white vinegar into the toilet tank. Scrub the toilet walls and tank with a toilet brush and let the vinegar settle for a few minutes. After that, flush your toilet two to three times until the vinegar clears out. Your toilet smell will be gone for good.
It’s the most simple home remedy for toilet smell. However, it might not work for every toilet.
In this article, I’m going to share numerous tips to help keep your toilet smell fresh and good all the time
Read on to find out:
#1 Clean Your Toilet Regularly
Regular cleaning of your toilet will keep the odor down. In fact, it will prevent the odor from invading your toilet in the first place. Ideally, you should clean your toilet once a week.
By using a toilet cleaner, your toilet won’t gather too much bacteria which can result in a bad smell.
I would recommend not just cleaning the toilet seat and bowl but also the toilet walls, sink, doors, and windows (to prevent germs and mold). Giving your toilet a regular scrub won’t harm but prevent building up repulsive odors.
#2 Ventilate the Toilet
By ventilating the toilet regularly, air will flush out bad odors and it is a good way to keep toilet air fresh and clean. Installing a bathroom fan above bathroom sinks and toilet bowls will throw away the unnecessary elements that cause a bad smell.
If you don’t have an electric fan or air circulators, open the toilet window for a few hours and let the fresh air replace the bad stale air inside.
Toilet ventilation is crucial especially after using the toilet or taking a bath since the vapors produced can cause a damp environment — which can further lead to a bad smell.
#3 Close the Lid Before Flushing
Although you might close the lid after using the toilet, the best way is to do it before flushing.
Due to strong gushing action, toilet water droplets spread into the air causing foul smells. Therefore, make sure to close the lid right after before flushing it.
#4 Use Toilet Sprays
Toilet sprays are different from regular air fresheners. They can not only mask the bad smell in your toilet, but they will also freshen and disinfect the toilet air leaving a soothing fragrance behind.
These toilet sprays come in handy especially when you’ve got a gathering at your home and the toilet is being used frequently. In such a situation, you would need a quick solution for the bathroom smell.
This Lavender toilet spray is perfect for instant elimination of toilet odors.
#5 Place an Essential Oil Diffuser
Similar to toilet sprays, an essential oil diffuser is a great way of freshening bathroom air. Some essential oils have antibacterial cleaning properties that can eliminate the bacterial odors in your bathroom.
An essential oil diffuser will help freshen and disinfect the air by straying away germs and other harmful bacteria.
Additionally, you can also add a few drops of essential oils to the inside of the toilet paper roll. It has no side effects and you can use any essential oil of your choice (tea tree, lavender, jasmine, etc.).
#6 Use a Disinfectant Toilet Cleaner
Having a sparkling toilet doesn’t mean it won’t reek. You shouldn’t only focus on the visible stains when cleaning the toilet but also on invisible odor-causing organisms.
If you clean your toilet bowl with regular cleaning products or bleach, your bathroom air would naturally smell bad. Instead of using regular cleaners, use a ‘disinfectant’ toilet cleaner to eliminate the causes behind bad odors such as germs and bacteria.
Alternatively, you can also use disinfecting wipes to clean toilet stains.
#7 Repair the Cracks or Broken Seals
When your toilet tank is leaking or the seal has broken, you’ll have bad air coming from below. Fixing this problem is essential to eliminating odors in the toilet.
If the water isn’t draining down properly whenever you flush, it will cause a moldy smell (musty smell) or bacterial growth.
The smells will be worse if there are any cracks in the toilet bowl. While scrubbing, make sure to check for cracks, leakages, and broken seals during your toilet cleaning routine. If you see them by chance, it’s time to call a plumber.
#8 Use a Scent Packet
Scent packets are made up of a potpourri mixture or fragranced beads. They are one of the amazing hacks for a smelly toilet.
They are a perfect alternative to essential oil diffusers as they are small, more portable, and can be placed at multiple spots in your toilet.
Scent packets in your toilet will last up to nine months, giving out a fresh smell throughout the period.
My favorite one is this dried eucalyptus sachet.
Alternatively, you can use odor-eating discs.
#9 Clean the Floor around the Toilet Bowl
If the pee is left on the floor to self-dry, it gives an ammonia-like smell due to uric acid. Due to miss-aims, it’ll wet the floor and grout. The worst part is that the grout is porous and it’ll absorb pee smell which will be hard to remove.
That’s where essential oils become your savior again, mix them with lemon and bi-carb soda and apply them to the grout. Leave it for a few hours and then wash the floor, the smell should go away with it.
While cleaning your toilet bowl, don’t forget to clean the floor area around it.
#10 Create DIY Toilet Bombs
Toilet bombs are easy to make and can be very effective in freshening the toilet. Here’s a quick method to make them:
- Add one cup of baking soda to a large bowl.
- Add one-fourth cup of citric acid.
- Add one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid.
- Mix them with the help of a spoon.
- Press the mixture into ice-cube trays.
- Leave the mixture overnight.
After that, you may throw some toilet bombs into the toilet and let them remove the stink.
#11 Add Some Greenery
Some plants can effectively freshen the toilet smell and also rid it of bad odors a long way.
If you have a window, install some strongly scented herbs near it, such as lavender or mint. You can hang some vines in the shower or near the toilet mirror to add some extra beauty.
Create a little flora to give your toilet a clean look.
#12 Pour the Toilet Cleaner into the Flush Tank
Usually, toilet cleaner just isn’t enough to freshen the existing smell. They cannot completely eliminate odors and bad smells leaving behind a lingering fragrance that only drifts out of your bathroom into other rooms.
It’s good to pour a little toilet cleaner into the flush tank to change the fragrance of your bathroom.
#13 Eliminate Damp Towels or Clothes
Remove all damp clothes and towels from the toilet. They may contain moisture which is an open invitation to germs and mold.
Due to mold growth, your toilet will produce a musty smell.
Keep your wet towels near the window where the sunlight keeps them dry.
#14 Sprinkle Baking Soda on the Rugs
Toilet rugs are the breeding ground for mold and bacteria in a closed environment. They not only cause bad smells but are also unhygienic. When you sprinkle baking soda on the toilet mat, it will absorb moisture and bad odors.
You can sprinkle fabric softener on the rugs to freshen up the bathroom smell naturally.
It’s like cleaning your bathroom for free; assuming that the smell is not very strong.
#15 Use Scented Trash Bags
Have you heard of scented trash bags yet? If not, it’s time to use them in your toilet!
Scented trash bags always freshen up the toilet smell and clean it.
They are available in different sizes and colors. You may select the suitable one for your toilet.
Trash bags should also be leak-proof and durable. Leaking bags will pollute the bin and cause a stink.
However, I would recommend throwing items out of the house that are too smelly as these scented bags won’t be able to mask their smell.
#16 Disinfect the Toilet Cleaning Brush
Last but not the least, clean the scrub cleaning brush with vinegar to rid excess germs before cleaning your toilet.
It’s useless to clean the toilet with the same dirty brush every time. Disinfecting it will ensure that the brush is ready for another round of toilet cleaning.
Final Words
A clean bathroom is always your best way of freshening up the toilet smell and eliminating bad odors at home.
Try some of these cleaning hacks today to get rid of all toilet smells in no time! And let me know which one worked best for your toilet!
Is there anything else I missed? Let me know in the comments below.
Amos Christen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Interior Design from Drexel University — Philadelphia, PA. Since 2003, Amos has worked with top interior design professionals in this area, including architects and interior/graphic/lighting designers. As a skilled interior designer, Amos Christen is highly versed in fine arts and crafts and uses that to supplement his main area of expertise. He often publishes articles related to home décor on several websites, including Sprucetoilets.com, Sprucebathroom.com, and Mybesuitedhome.com. He also contributes to leading interior design magazines.