Bathroom smells can be unpleasant and really frustrating, especially when they escape into hallways and other rooms, making the entire house smell terrible.
Luckily, there are a few ways that you can prevent bad smells from escaping the bathroom. Read on to find out how!
How To Stop Bathroom Smells From Escaping Into Other Rooms
Here are some of the solutions we’ve tried out that have made a world of difference in stopping bathroom odors and preventing any odor from escaping to the rest of the house:
- Keep the bathroom door closed. One of the main reasons that bathroom smells escape into other rooms is that people often leave the door open, allowing the odors to spread.
Closing the bathroom door helps limit airflow that could cause bad odors escaping outside of the room. You could also open windows when the weather permits to further promote air circulation and remove bad smells from your bathroom.
If your bathroom is windowless, you could consider getting a dehumidifier. Click here to find out how dehumidifiers could save you and your bathroom.
Use a deodorizer. Another good way to keep smells from coming out of your bathroom is by using a toilet deodorizer on the rim of your toilet or inside the toilet tank.
Deodorizers are great as they neutralize odors as they rise from the toilet before they have a chance to become overpowering.
However, if you prefer a more natural route, a good alternative is to use baking soda. Baking soda works in two different ways: it helps eliminate any odors and also freshens the air with its natural scent.
Apply baking powder by pouring some into the toilet or placing an open container near the toilet.
Install an exhaust fan. Installing a bathroom exhaust fan is the perfect solution for preventing bathroom odors from escaping into the rest of your home.
Exhaust fans work by venting outside of your home and drawing fresh air in, which should help keep odors at bay if you have one installed.
Thoroughly clean and rinse your bathroom. Bathrooms can become unbearable if not cleaned regularly.
Try to clean your bathroom at least twice a week or more, depending on your usage of the space. A clean bathroom not only looks pleasant but also promotes the quality of air you and your family inhale throughout your home.
Furthermore, keeping a clean bathroom will help keep bad smells from escaping into other areas of your home because there won’t be old odors sitting in the air waiting for someone to come along and create new ones.
Be sure to pay special attention to your toilet, and make sure to rinse the toilet bowl thoroughly after each use. Otherwise, any leftover bacteria will react with any cleaning product you use in a way that releases more bad smells into the air.
Don’t use scented candles to clear odors. Some homeowners use scented candles in bathrooms to eliminate or reduce odors- but this creates another problem: fumes that can make people sick.
Granted, scented candles smell great, but they could be doing more harm than good.
Whenever fragrant chemicals in scented candles burn, they release byproducts such as formaldehyde, which is harmful to our skin and respiratory tract and is a known carcinogen.
Instead of candles, try air fresheners or an essential oil diffuser to help eliminate odors in your bathroom and keep them contained.
Lavender is one of the best scents to use because it has natural antibacterial properties that can kill bacteria found on surfaces such as toilets.
Lemon can also help stop odors by removing mold and mildew from shower curtains, sinks, and other surfaces in your bathroom.
How to use lemon to remove mold and mildew from shower curtains, sinks, and other surfaces in your bathroom:- Cut a lemon in half.
- Squeeze the juice from one of the halves into a spray bottle.
- Fill the spray bottle with water (or mix in some vinegar if you prefer).
- Spray down any surfaces with mold or mildew.
- Let sit for 15 minutes before wiping clean using paper towels or an old rag.
You’ll need to reapply these scents periodically as they will lose their potency over time.
Use a fragrance oil diffuser. This is a great best option if you have multiple bathrooms in your home.
Essential oil diffusers don’t work on their own: they need to be plugged into an electric socket or a USB port in order to function.
There are several different types of essential oils that you can use in your diffuser, but the most popular ones include lavender, lemon, peppermint, and eucalyptus.
Some people like to combine these oils, which can be a fun way of experimenting with scents.
For instance, you could mix one drop each of eucalyptus and lavender oil or three drops of lemon oil, then add this mixture to the essential oil diffuser for your bathroom. Remember to do this periodically as the scents will lose potency over time.
Deal with smelly pipes. If you have smelly pipes coming into contact with drains, this can cause odors to spread around the house.
To deal with a smelly pipe problem, try one of these solutions:- Pour bleach down the drain to kill bacteria. If you want to get really ambitious, try this solution: pour boiling water mixed with bleach into a bowl placed over the offending area. Be sure to wear protective gloves, a mask, and goggles beforehand.
This will remove any bad smells that may be lingering in the pipes. This is an advanced solution because it requires a lot of caution: don’t touch anything until you’ve given it enough time to cool off!
Boil a pot of water and pour it down the pipe until you can see steam coming out from under your sink (this is called “flash boiling”).
Put baking soda on any smelly surfaces in or around your bathroom, such as porcelain sinks and tubs.
Pour hydrogen peroxide down the drain to unclog it.
Put vinegar on any smelly surfaces.
- Pour bleach down the drain to kill bacteria. If you want to get really ambitious, try this solution: pour boiling water mixed with bleach into a bowl placed over the offending area. Be sure to wear protective gloves, a mask, and goggles beforehand.
Don’t use harsh chemicals regularly. Avoid using harsh chemicals such as bleach or ammonia-based cleaners that are notorious for emitting bad smells.
These products should not be used on a daily basis, but rather applied when necessary to avoid the smell lingering around your house for too long after it is cleaned.
Also, keep these types of cleaning supplies out of reach to prevent accidental spillage.
Use a ventilator with an air purifier. One way to stop the smells from spreading into other areas of your home is by using a fan with an air purifier.
Place the ventilator inside or near the bathroom and it will suck up all the bad smells keeping them contained inside.
If you do not want to use a ventilator, another option would be placing activated carbon filters in your bathroom.
These filters help to absorb and remove the odors, preventing them from spreading throughout your home.
Use a squeegee to clean the bathroom floor. A wet or grimy surface will act as an “odor magnet,” so it’s important to keep all bathroom surfaces dry by using a squeegee to push water into drains.
Keep your toilet clog-free. Clogged toilets are some of the nastiest smelling problems in your bathroom that could stink up your entire house.
To avoid clogs, do not flush sanitary products, cotton balls, paper towels, tampons, tissues, or anything else that can’t be broken down by the sewer system.
It may seem harmless to flush these things, but they will lead to clogs in your toilet and even worse plumbing issues if you have a septic tank.
Luckily there are plenty of no-clog toilets in the market today that will prevent clog problems altogether. from ever happening.
Related Read: Best No-Clog Toilets for Home: Permanent Solution for Clogging
Causes and Remedies of Bathroom Odor
Finding a solution for how to stop bathroom odors from escaping to other rooms in your house also requires understanding what actually causes odors in your bathroom.
Here are some other common causes of bathroom odors:
- Body waste. Most of the time, bathroom smells are caused by expected things like urine and feces, especially when not flushed properly, leaving the smell to linger long after leaving the bathroom.
Nasty bathroom smells can also occur when minerals in the water react with substances on the toilet rim or in the toilet bowl.
A build-up of the bacteria that live in the toilet bowl can also produce unpleasant odors.
Thoroughly flushing the toilet bowl and wiping off any urine on the seat or rim is a great way to keep the stink away!
Mold and mildew. Sometimes bathroom odors are caused by something more serious like mold or mildew.
Mold and mildew grow best in warm, wet environments with little to no oxygen. A good way to reduce the risk of mold or mildew growth is to keep your bathroom well-ventilated and dry.
Installing a bathroom exhaust fan is the perfect solution for this as it will suck out excess moisture from the air while also removing any unpleasant smells that may be present.
However, to fix the odor problem after it occurs, try airing out your bathroom or applying a deodorizer like baking soda for stubborn smells.
Cleaning products. Certain cleaning products such as abrasive chemicals like bleach or those that contain ammonia can break down the fibers in your toilet, leaving a foul smell and making it difficult to clean up any accidents.
A better option for disinfectant would be something like hydrogen peroxide because it doesn’t have strong odors and is naturally anti-bacterial.
Final Thoughts
Bathrooms may be the most used room in your home, but they can also be one of the smelliest! We all know how terrible a bad bathroom smell can be.
It not only smells awful but can also spread throughout your home, making the entire house smell like a toilet.
Understanding how to stop nasty bathroom odors from escaping into other parts of your house is critical. But more importantly, it’s essential to know the causes of bathroom odors to stop them altogether.
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