It can be hard to keep your bathroom smelling fresh all year round, or even all day, for that matter! Even if you alone use your bathroom, or a family of ten, it can quickly begin smelling grotty, and since some of the smelliest activities in the home take place in it, it really is little surprise. There are the lingering odours of toilet activities, and then there are the other aroma’s that build up over time, and which are no less easy to eliminate.
So, what’s the solution?
Minimizing unavoidable smells and preventing others from developing:
Since bathrooms are often full of steam from when we take showers and baths every day, damp can quickly build up and create the perfect habitat for bacteria, mold and mildew. If you can eliminate or minimise these smells, then the unavoidable aroma’s will also be reduced, and here’s how you can do it:
- Open bathroom windows frequently to allow air to circulate and steam to dissipate
- Regularly wash and sanitize towels, rugs, mats and even the curtains of your shower or windows
- Unblock your bathroom drains often, as this will help water to flow down them better and help them to smell fresher for longer
- Remember to dry off any bottles or containers that may be sitting inside your shower stall or on countertops, as these can accumulate moisture and encourage nasty and foul-smelling bacteria to grow and thrive.
- Always keep a clean toilet and use plenty of bleach to eliminate harmful germs and bacteria that may permeate the air every time you flush or whenever the toilet lid is left up.
- Soap scum that builds up in showers and bath tubs may not smell itself, but it will attract smelly gunk such as hair, skin and oil that will leave a nasty odour over time.
- Use bleach mixed with water to help get rid of mold and mildew that will doubtless have begun to build up on the grouting and caulk in your bathroom. Left to grow and multiply, this will quickly begin to smell foul and look unpleasant, too.
- Baking soda can be a great, cheap and environmentally friendly product for deodorizing drains, and when you add a cup to each of your sink and tub drains, leave it for a couple of hours before adding a cup of white vinegar and then rinse with hot water a few minutes later, you’ll find that smelly gunk trapped in your drains will have been effectively washed away. Try to repeat this process at least once a month.
- A few drops of your favourite essential oil, when added to some pot pourri or even a few cotton balls in a dish, can quickly have your bathroom smelling fresh and inviting. Since essential oils are not expensive, you can easily afford to buy a bottle each week and ensure that your bathroom never pongs!
However, if your bathroom is beyond the point where a few cleaning tips will help freshen it up, it may be time to call in the professionals and have them get this essential room in your home back to a point where it doesn’t smell like a sewer, and look like a mold infested hell hole.
