Bathrooms are a multi-purpose area. From brushing your teeth to bathing, from relaxing in your tub to freshening up – all of it is associated with your own private space, your bathroom. The last thing you would want the space that refreshes you to be smelling foul. Unpleasant odour and unhygienic conditions in your bathroom are definitely not welcome. Bathroom cleanliness and hygiene is of prime importance for a healthy lifestyle and good quality living. So, follow these simple and amazing tips to freshen up your home by driving away all bad odour from your bathroom.
Hang on! Before we share the tips with you, let us tell you two ways to go about it. First, you can identify the exact source of the odour and clean that spot only and you are done. Second, make toilet cleaning a part of your daily routine – the end result you get is a sparkling clean bathroom fresh smelling as new!
Here are the tips directed towards the second approach:
1. Get rid of moisture!
More the moisture in your bathroom more will be the growth of microbes. This will lead to a discomforting smell inside the bathroom. After you have used the bathroom, wipe extra water off the floor, turn off the shower properly so that it doesn’t continue to drip, clean the mirror with a piece of cloth, and don’t forget to take the wet towels out to dry in the sun. In addition to these daily little things, keep a check on your fittings for any leakage / seepage. If you come across any loose faucet or leaky pipe, repair or replace it immediately. Seepage / Leakage can lead to damp & moisture related problems and to a persistent stuffy smell.
2. Ventilate your Bathroom
Ventilation helps in the removal of trapped air and moisture from the bathroom. There is a constant movement of air which helps in freshening up the area. Any trapped foul smell escapes and a gush of fresh air rushes in. Removal of humid air checks the growth of microbes in the area. Algae and fungi are also less likely to develop in a well-ventilated space. With ventilation, humid air escapes. This causes lesser condensation on bathroom walls and other equipment leading to a clean and more hygienic environment.
One of the commonest ways to ventilate a bathroom or toilet is to install an exhaust fan at a height.
Exhaust fans or dehumidifiers in the bathrooms are primarily set up to remove hot air, excess moisture & humidity from the bathroom. It is significantly important as it is instrumental in the elimination of bad odour as well from your bathroom. An exhaust fan helps to dehumidify the air circulating in the bathroom thereby reducing damp and microbial growth.
3. Place potted Indoor Plants
By indoor plants, we usually think of plants that thrive in the kitchen, bedroom and living rooms, but there are plants for your bathroom too. The right bathroom plants will help reduce foul odour from your bathroom, absorb moisture and also make your bathroom aesthetically beautiful. Plants which prefer a misty environment are perfect for your bathroom like ferns, orchids1, mosses and air plants. These plants will get natural environment and bloom happily inside your bathroom. They will help in recreating a waterfall-like picturesque inside your bathroom.
4. Use Air Fresheners
A huge variety of air fresheners are available in the market. Try using natural fragranced air fresheners. There are various air fresheners which contain toxic substances. Try to avoid these, as they are harmful in the long run. You can make natural air fresheners yourself by rubbing alcohol and essential oils for a fragrance like the lavender, rose, peppermint, lemon, etc.
Activated charcoal is another effective way that can help you keep foul odours at bay. However, it is an air purifier (non-electric) and not just an air freshener because, unlike the latter, it has no overpowering scent. When kept at any corner of the room, the bag of activated charcoal conceals the bad odour silently by absorbing excess moisture, micro-pollutants and allergens from the surrounding air.
5. Regularly Clean and Sanitise
Overall cleaning: Regular cleaning of your bathroom is extremely important. The chronic foul smell of the bathroom can only be dealt with a thorough cleaning. Use a strong but safe toilet cleaner. Clean and disinfect each and every component like the washbasin, water closet, etc once in a week. You also need to wash the wall surfaces and accessories used in toilet / bathroom and wipe them dry after it has been used by everyone in the family on a particular day.
Make sure your bathroom has no fungal growth. They tend to give out a repulsive smell as well as can be infectious. Powerful cleaners may remove them but their pungent odour may be dangerous for you to inhale. Using vinegar, instead, for removing fungal growth will be far more effective and safer.
Floor cleaning: We rarely notice but the tile joints or the grout tend to wear off with time. In its place, gaps are formed where dirt begins to settle and fungal growth happens. This also gives off an unpleasant smell which refuses to go away easily. To get rid of floor stains and dirt, you must do deep cleaning of your bathroom / toilet at regular intervals. Regrouting once in two or three years depending on the condition can further address the issue effectively.
Unclogging the outlets and drains: This is a significant step in bathroom sanitization and hygiene. Bathroom and surrounding drains when clogged tend to give out the foul smell and become breeding places for insects like mosquitoes and flies which are vectors of harmful microbes which cause serious diseases. Drains have hair, dead skin, wrappers, thick soap scum deposited in them which clog the drain giving out the obnoxious odour. This clogging also causes backflow of water in it. Unclog the drain with the help of a vacuum. For more ways, click here2.
6. Be extra careful about the cleanliness of the toilet bowl
The toilet bowl is the main reason behind the unpleasant odours in most of the cases. So it is of utmost importance to keep it sparkling clean, both for both hygiene and aesthetic purpose as well as for removing bathroom odours. Apply a readymade cleaner on the inside walls of the toilet bowl, leave it for ten to fifteen minutes, and then scrub with a brush and flush. Make sure to scrub the underside of the toilet seat, before downing the flush for they hide the filthiest of dirt. For cleaning the external part of the bowl, use paper towels and antibacterial spray. Don’t forget to reach the back areas and the bottom of the commode / water closet to complete the cleaning process.
7. Put fresh paint after damp removal
Painting your bathroom walls after removal of dampness can be really effective in doing away with the soggy bathroom odour. Bathroom paints should be strong and durable. This will not only make your bathroom look graceful but also repel insects and microbes.
8. Empty toilet trash bins daily
This is a must. No matter how insignificant the amount of trash is, vacate the bin every day and place a fresh trash bag inside it. Once in a week, disinfect the bin to eliminate any chances of pest infestation and fungal growth that may become a potential cause of bad odours.
9. Invest in an air purifier
Markets presently are flooded with air purifiers of various brands and price ranges. These appliances help in the removal of any foul odour from your bathroom. Further, they trap pollens, dust and other allergens which might be harmful to you. Air purifiers have multipurpose usage. You can check online stores for budget-friendly options.
10. Other nitty-gritty of toilet odour removal
Your habits go a long way in determining how hygienic your bathroom / toilet will be. Try to be careful about changing the bath supplements like sponges and loofahs every now and then. Replacing the old items with new ones will not only give your bathroom a fresh look, but will also prevent bacteria and other odour-forming microbes from growing on them. Besides, hand, face and bath towels should also be changed from time to time to keep your bathroom smelling fresh as new, always.
Bathrooms, as said earlier, is a place for relaxation and refreshment. Any bad odour there, will definitely disturb your peace of mind. The foul smell attached to your bathroom can make you feel fatigued. Also, foul odour in your bathroom grows with time. You need to become alert as soon as it starts to turn smelly. In general, regular cleaning practices help in the maintenance of good hygiene and health. Try to focus on natural methods for cleaning instead of chemical-based products.