Asked on Jan 18, 2015

Getting rid of urine smell in bathrooms

How to get rid of urine smell in bathrooms? It seems that no matter how much bleach I use, it just never goes away for more then an hour after I clean in and around the bowl...Having my eight year old use it at night while sleeping doesn't help the situation.... HELP!
  17 answers
  • Shirley Felts Shirley Felts on Jan 18, 2015
    i keep a mixture of vinegar, water and Suavetel fabric softener in a spray bottle. works fine.
    • Theda Hack Theda Hack on Jan 18, 2015
      What is the ratio of vinegar, softner, and water that you use? Thank you.
  • Milknhoneycreations Milknhoneycreations on Jan 18, 2015
    Thank you @Shirley Felts ! is the Fabric Softener to mask the vinegar smell?
  • Shirley Felts Shirley Felts on Jan 18, 2015
    not really. the vinegar smell evaporates as it kills the urine smell, and the softener just adds a pleasant aroma.
    • Pwe33168177 Pwe33168177 on Apr 13, 2018

      thanks i had remembered this hack but the softner is new..I must try immediately ..childcare boys bath...oooo

  • Milknhoneycreations Milknhoneycreations on Jan 18, 2015
    Thank you! I am going to try it !
  • Darlene Darlene on Jan 18, 2015
    A product called " Zero Odor " (can be found on amazon) works great. I have pets and this is the one that has worked for me with pet urine odor. It works on all odors and is not scented.
  • Sherrie Sherrie on Jan 18, 2015
    If you can't get rid of it then it is probably in the floor boards underneath the toilet. Also one thing that another blogger suggested is there is a black light from the fish store you can get turn off the lights and see exactly where stains are but I am willing to bet at one time the toilet leaked or the ring isn't good and it has leaked underneath.
  • Abbie Abbie on Jan 18, 2015
    Take the toilet seat off and clean the under the hardware that holds the seat on. You would be surprised how much dried on urine is on there. It grosses me out every time I do it in our bathroom. But doing it might help with the smell.
  • DeMarie I DeMarie I on Jan 18, 2015
    I suspect that the urine has run down under the toilet around it's base and has saturated the wood underlayment. To get rid of the smell I would think that has to be taken up. (it's the same thing when a cat pees on the carpet and it soaks down into the padding and then to the wood below). I suppose once you pull up your vinyl or tile you would be able to see the staining. One thing might be (if the wood is not rotted underneath) to clean that well with vinegar and let dry and then Kilz it (use the oil based) to block out the smell. Many carpet layers suggest that when they remove the smelly carpet and pad. Otherwise that smell just continues to waft up through the new flooring. If you're cleaning your toilet bowl, the smell is not coming from the toilet itself. Good luck.
  • Lisa Franzese Lisa Franzese on Jan 18, 2015
    You can also try Tea Tree Oil, it has a strong smell but will soon dissipate after using. it is antibacterial and should get the order out.
  • Michael Bell Michael Bell on Jan 18, 2015
    Hit the target.
  • Heather Heather on Jan 18, 2015
    Growing up with 4 younger brothers, and raising my own boys, I know the smells of a bathroom. Lol I worked in a hospital in house cleaning years ago. I learned that, putting a good strong mouthwash in a spray bottle is a great cleaning tool. It keeps the germs down and helps in the smell department. It can also be used to freshen up a mattress.
  • Sandy Sandy on Jan 19, 2015
    I have purchased and used Kids N Pets - I have used it for laundry, carpet/pet accidents, etc...Love this stuff and it was quite inexpensive!
  • Carole Carole on Jan 19, 2015
    Are you sure the smell is coming from the bowl? It could be that he misses the mark so try cleaning the outside of the toilet with bleach on a cloth and the floor area around the toilet.
  • I suspect as does several others that its not the cleaning that is the issue, nor what your using. When you clean up it always smells better as the odors from the cleaning chemical over powers the smells your trying to remove. As the chemical odors die away your left with the smell once again. Assuming your floor and surrounding areas are hard surfaces such as tiles, your are removing any traces of what would normally be causing the smell. So the assumption is your missing something that the shooter is not, I would be looking at the areas where you cannot clean, yet were water can get to. This is under the toilet. The first thing to try is to stand next to the toilet and using your knee carefully push against the bowl. Can you rock it sideways? If so your toilet needs to be removed and refastened to the floor. Even the slightest movement is all that is needed to break the seal between the toilet and the floor drain. This is enough to cause odor but not enough to see stains or leaks. Is the base of the toilet sealed to the floor with caulk? If not its likely that some liquids have made there way under the bowl and cannot be easily cleaned. Spraying a bleach solution under the bowl, let dry should go a long way to stop the smell, but once dry caulk all the way around the bowl where it meets the floor to seal in any other odors. Use your finger dipped in water to help push the caulk into the opening and to make the finish smooth. Keeping your finger wet will make everything smooth and prevent the caulk from sticking to your hand.
  • Teo Teo on Apr 14, 2015
    Sifonul de pardoseala TREBUIE Sa fie mereu cu apa, DACA NU IESE miros. ...
  • Julie Yeary Julie Yeary on Apr 25, 2015
    I use vinegar for all odors. It's antibacterial too I also spray vinegar and water into the air of a room when it smells bad. Once the vinegar smell is gone so are others. I can't handle any scent so this works well for me. Since bleach didn't work the bathroom problem might be more complicated as the others have mentioned.
  • Peroxide works great also!