Why Does My Bathroom Smell Like Urine & How to Get Rid of

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The urine smell in the bathroom is not an uncommon situation for most of us, and there are not enough ways to describe just how awful that is. It can be generated from either human pee or your household pet’s urine. But no matter the source, the smell is unpleasant, strong, and embarrassing.

Just like you, we like to keep our bathroom clean and fresh, free of any kind of smell from what goes on there. But despite all our efforts, urine smell is often generated in bathrooms and can get seriously stinky if not dealt with.

Contents

Why Does My Bathroom Smell Like Urine

There are several possible reasons why your bathroom might smell like urine. The obvious reason is if there’s any accidental and visible pee outside of the toilet. Other than that, a urine smell in the bathroom can occur due to these reasons.

  • Children

Children, especially boys often tend to pee wherever they like inside the bathroom, except the toilet where they’re supposed to. They even practice aiming with urine, so let’s not get deeper into that. While you are wondering about the origin of the smell, this might be it!

  • Pet

Pets, unlike children, have a lesser understanding of where they should go when it’s time to pee. Doesn’t matter if you have a designated pot or not, if you have pets, there’s a possibility the smell is coming from pet urine.

The Pet urine smell in the bathroom is strong and doesn’t take off that easily. Read our section on how to remove the urine smell from the bathroom.

  • Ventilation

Since a bathroom is being used regularly, whenever you are using the toilet, some smell is immediately generated. If your bathroom is not well-ventilated, chances are the smell is going to stick to the place. This is another possible reason for the urine smell, so be sure to keep your bathroom ventilated.

  • Leaking wax seal

If you have checked for the mentioned reasons and still haven’t found the source of that smell, then it might be the wax seal. A wax seal is located under the toilet, at the point between the toilet and the drain.

If for some reason it gets displaced, you won’t notice it but the leaking wax seal will help generate consistent odor from leaked urine and staff.

How to Get Rid of Urine Smell in Bathroom

Tackling the urine smell in the bathroom, even when you can’t find the source, is a difficult task if you don’t know the way. Luckily, a few household cleaning items can do the trick. Follow our step-by-step guide to removing the urine smell generated in the bathroom.

You will need:

  • Disposable gloves
  • Lemon juice
  • White vinegar
  • Baking soda
  • Microfiber towels
  • Toothbrush

Step 1:

The first thing you need to do is create a DIY cleaning agent. Take a few fresh lemons and squeeze them into a large bowl. Then add baking soda to the mixture, the same amount as the lemon juice. Make a paste by mixing them thoroughly. The paste should be just about thick as a batter.

Once you are done, wear disposable gloves and apply the paste around the toilet seat, the bottom of the seat and tank, and anywhere else you feel a strong odor. Leave it for about 15 minutes.

Step 2:

After you’re done with the toilet seat, direct your attention to the tank. It can also be the source of any unpleasant odor. Pour half a cup of vinegar with the water inside the toilet tank and leave it to work for 10 minutes or so. While the vinegar is doing its work, get back to cleaning the toilet.

Step 3:

After 15 minutes of applying the baking soda and lemon juice paste, use a microfiber towel to clean the applied areas. You can’t take it all off, just make sure to get all the corners and surfaces you put the paste on before you move to the next step.

Step 4:

By now, the vinegar should be done with cleaning the toilet tank. Flush the toilet 2-3 times to get it all out. Then add another half cup of vinegar into the tank while you tend to other areas.

Step 5:

Take an old toothbrush, soak it in vinegar, and scrub the toilet seat, under the seat and the lid, and around the toilet. Scrubbing with undiluted vinegar will help you remove any remaining paste.

Once you’re done cleaning off the paste, apply vinegar randomly to cover the whole surface in and around the toilet. Then wipe away the vinegar using a towel and voila! You will notice that the urine smell is no more.

Finally, flush the toilet 2-3 times again to get the vinegar out of the toilet tank.

How to get rid of urine smell in the bathroom with shaving cream

Here’s an exclusive pointer. After you clean off the toilet and remove the urine smell from the bathroom, consider using shaving cream for further improvement.

remove urine smell from bathroom with shaving cream

Shaving cream is practically proven to be a powerful odor removal in many cases. In case of a strong urine smell in the bathroom, applying shaving cream can effectively remove the odor for good.

Just spread the cream around the whole bathroom floor, over the toilet, and its bottom, basically anywhere the smell can linger. Leave it overnight, then clean the bathroom using water and bleach. Finally, rinse again with water to remove residuals and you’ll be free of any urine smell.

Bathroom Cleaning Hacks

It is important to keep the bathroom and toilet clean to avoid urine or any kind of smell generation in the first place.

  • Clean the bathroom and especially the toilet regularly. You can use baking soda and vinegar to clean the toilet.
  • Clean the toilet tank once in a while.
  • The Toilet brush, the thing you use to clean the toilet, is another promising source of smells and bacteria. Clean your toilet brush regularly and after each use.
  • Look out for mold in the bathroom, the tiles, grout, and the bathroom ceiling. It’s another possible reason for a smelly shower. Get rid of mold in the shower as soon as you’ve seen it.
  • Finally, if all else fails, check the wax seal under your toilet seat. A leaking wax seal can pave the way for a urine smell in the bathroom, so fix it with the help of professionals.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I prevent my bathroom from smelling bad?

Yes, you can avoid any kind of bad smell by following some small steps. The primary step of this procedure is to use an all-purpose spray. Then you have to clean the toilet bowl using a scented liquid cleaner. At last, clean the seat and the floor with scented cleaner.

How to remove urine smell from the bathroom using home remedies?

To remove the urine smell from your bathroom by using only home remedies, you must first find a spray bottle. Then you have to make a mixture of home remedies: a cup of peroxide, three to four tablespoons of baking soda, and some scented detergent.

Lastly, spray the toilet bowl, keep it for a few minutes and then rub it off using a paper towel.

Which ingredients can I use to stop my bathroom from stinking? 

You can use a few things to avoid the bad smell in your bathroom easily. Such as baking soda, peroxide, ammonia, etc. People often prefer bleach to clean the bathroom, but it certainly does not remove the bad smell; rather, it just disinfects the bathroom, which makes the bad smell go away only a bit.

How can I remove urine stains as well as they smell?

You can use a mixture of a few things in this case. Take a spray bottle, mix some hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and a few drops of scented liquid detergent, shake the bottle and spray on the stained areas.

The mixture of hydrogen peroxide and baking soda would help to break the stain, and using scented detergent will prevent the bad smell.

Would using vinegar to remove urine smell be a bad decision?

Vinegar does not remove the bad smell completely, but it surely does help in preventing the smell. Spraying some white vinegar on the stinking areas helps break the urine stains and partially removes bad smells. So, it’s not a bad idea to use vinegar to remove the urine smell.

Final Words

The urine smell is strongly annoying and disgusting in the bathroom. If you have come in contact with this unpleasing situation, use our guide to successfully get rid of the urine smell in the bathroom once and for all. Keep your toilet, bathroom, and house clean, and tend to it regularly.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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