Treating Restroom Smells

Some areas are easy to control scents, but there’s no way to make visiting the restroom a pleasant experience if the space is foul smelling. Unfortunately, just about every American has walked into a public restroom and smelled something so offensive that it’s made them wonder if they ever want to return to that business again. There’s the obvious odors (those left by urine and feces), but there are plenty of other noxious scents that can be emitted from the floor on up.

As stated before, a malodor can be taken care of once it is identified and removed. Experts identify the usual suspects of these smells and how they can be cleaned to remove odor.

For example, it’s fitting that the toilet is sometimes referred to as the “porcelain throne” because it’s probably the king of all restroom stenches. Every cleaning professional knows that the inside of a toilet must be cleaned and disinfected often, but some might skip treating the outside of the toilet. In reality, this area can be the source of smells, as could the floor around and behind the toilets, including the stall walls.

Grego says the odor issues in men’s stalls are often because they tend to “miss.” Women’s stalls can be plagued by urine and feces odors, too, as well as odors from feminine hygiene products. To combat that particular issue, she suggests systems be put in place where women and girls can dispose of the hygienic products in containers that are armed to prevent smell.

Despite best efforts from cleaning staff, nasty smells could come back as soon as the next person uses the toilet. To get rid of odors in the air, consider placing an air freshener in the stall. Something with a citrus scent might be the best choice for these spaces because those fragrances are especially good at combating urine.

The urinal, as well as the wall and floor area around them, is also where a lot of malodors sit. In addition to cleaning the urinal itself, Sawchuk recommends switching from traditional urinal pucks — also commonly referred to as urinal cakes — and replacing them with bio-enzymatic pucks. When selecting these products, he suggests choosing one that is green certified. He says these products are beneficial because they send good bacteria down the drain every time the urinal is flushed. After about 30 days he says there should be noticeable improvements to the smell surrounding the urinals.

The same attention should be given to the area around urinals. Urine can settle into tile cracks, and subsequently pool under those tiles or in grout lines on the walls and floor. It’s important to wash the floor well using a flooding style, as opposed to light mopping. If possible, seal the grout.

When washing floors, Sawchuk again recommends using a bio-enzymatic. If the sealing route is selected, he recommends using an engineered sealer, not a product that’s both a sealer and a finish.

Finally, drains can sometimes be a source of restroom odors. To solve that issue, Grego suggests using a drain maintenance treatment featuring good bacteria that will end up eating away at the bad bacteria that causes the smell. She would shy away from using enzyme products because she believes they just push the source of the smell further down the drain.

Just like smell preferences are personal, so are the decisions when it comes to selecting a fragrance or lack thereof. A light, inviting scent that doesn’t overpower is a strong option for facilities, though an odor eliminator with no scent at all works well, too. In the end, it might be best to discuss odor eliminating programs and fragrance options with a distribution partner and go from there.