There are many reasons why your bathroom may have unpleasant odors. It gets steamy from taking showers and it gets wet from taking baths and using the sink. The steam and water can cause mold and mildew to easily form, which produces sharp, musty odors. And, being your toilet is connected to a sewer pipe, you can also smell foul odors from that. The reasons why your bathroom can smell funky are numerous. No matter, to fix the problem, try these homemade remedies to get rid of bathroom odors.
Homemade Remedies for Temporary Air Freshening
1. Open the Windows and Let the Sunshine In
Obviously the easiest way to make your bathroom smell better is to just open the windows and let the fresh air in! Unless the temperature is below zero, that is, or it’s raining. If you can’t let fresh air in, then try the other two methods.
2. Need a Quick Fix? It’s Sulfur Dioxide to the Rescue!
If you smell an unpleasant odor in your bathroom, and you need to cover it up fast, simply light a wooden match in the middle of that room. Lighting a match produces sulfur dioxide. This chemical is so strong that it hides most other odors from our noses for a short time.
3. Light a Candle to Mask Unpleasant Odors
I’m not sure of the scientific explanation for this remedy, but lighting a candle- even an unscented one- in your bathroom can eliminate odors. Or, if you don’t want to create a possible fire hazard because you have kids or pets, set a candle that has a strong fragrance in your bathroom. It will cover up odors instead of getting rid of them, but at least that room in your house will smell better for awhile.
Homemade Remedies to Permanently Get Rid of Bathroom Odors
Assuming that your bathroom is clean, i.e., the toilet is scrubbed and has been disinfected; there is no mold or mildew present; the shower curtain/door is free from soap scum; the shower/bathtub have been scrubbed; the tile floor has been swept and mopped, or the carpet is dry and free from spills, and you still smell something unpleasant in the air, then it’s time to investigate the problem. Try to identify the smell. Does it smell damp? Musty? Does the odor smell like urine? Feces? Or sewage? Or does it smell like something died somewhere in your bathroom?
You’ll need to try to locate the smell too. Do you smell it everywhere in the room or only in certain places like near the toilet or near the sink? Do you have a smelly clothes hamper in your bathroom that’s stinking the whole room up? In order to use a homemade remedy to cure the problem, you’ll need to find the source of the odor first. Let’s look at some common causes and remedies for bathroom odors:
1. The Sink or Bathtub Drain is Emitting a Foul Odor- This is a common problem caused by all of the soap, shampoo, shaving creme, toothpaste, hair and other items that are constantly run down the drain. The result is that smelly sludge build ups on the inside of your drain pipes.
An effective homemade remedy to alleviate this problem is to pour a cup of baking soda inside the drain. Follow this with a cup of vinegar, then let the solution set for thirty minutes. Finally, pour a kettle full of boiling water- if you have metal plumbing- or a kettle of hot tap water- for PVC plumbing- down the drain to help remove and rinse the sludge away. Do this at least once a month, and your drains should smell fresh.
2. A Sewage Odor Is Coming From the Toilet- This is another common problem that can make your bathroom smell unclean. If the wax ring that seals the base of the toilet to the sewer pipe as gone bad, it can allow gases and odors to come into the room from the pipe. The homemade remedy is to replace the ring, then reset your toilet, and the problem should stop.
3. One or More Drains Smell Like Sewage- This bathroom odor can spell big trouble if it’s not remedied as soon as possible. If your house is connected to a city sewer system, you’ll need to contact a plumber or the city to check out and identify the exact cause. If you live in a rural setting and your sewage is handled by a septic tank, then you’ll need to call a plumber. Sewage odors in your bathroom drains can mean there’s a problem in the system. That is, the sewage may be backing up and not running out as it should.
