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November 07, 2007

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Kathryn

Have to agree with others and say vinegar. That is what my mum and aunty have both told me.

Kendra

I recently swiped one of those odor sprays from a hospital. I keep the lysol or clorox type wipes next to the toilet (my boys are 6&8) for daily wipes, then a quick spray. It smells like a hospital, but used daily or every other keeps the other smell away. Hope that helps!

Lisa

Plain white vinegar. Also takes the smell out of clothes-- 1 cup in the rinse water. Does the same for cat/dog pee, too!

Alli

My cousin and I were talking about that this weekend. Both of our bathrooms smell like a truck stop.

I've found vinegar to be the best for me. It's supposed to neutralize urine smell. All of the other tips are great, too.

Good luck!

Lorraine

I've had to battle this very thing since moving into our new home. The bathroom had a constant pee smell, and the vanity is water-damaged from a leaky sink. but we've conquered the pee smell!

Idea number one: Take apart the seat and clean out the hinges. I read this somewhere in the blogosphere and never would have thought to do it myself.. but sure enough, there was yellow nastiness CAKED inside the hinges of the toilet seat. ick!

Idea number two: Is the toilet caulked to the floor? if it is... that may be the problem. My DH recently pulled both the toilets in our *new* home to discover there was NO Seal! under the toilets. Apparently no one had thought to replace either seal since the house was built in 95. so the "waste material" was pooling up under the toilet, trapped in there by the caulk. We had no idea! We've been here almost 9 months now. once DH cleaned the mess and installed new wax seals, smell disappeared. **Word of caution though - if you pull the toilet up, you must replace the seal, whether it needs it or not.

Idea number 3: you said the trim was messed up now. rip it out and install new trim. Rip it off the wall, bleach the wall, then use a KILLZ primer on the wall under the trim, and then put up new, sealed wood, or even plastic trim. then caulk it to the floor and the wall.

That should do it. once you've cleaned out the pee smell, make it a habit to get in there once a day and, as FLYlady says, "Swish and swipe." Swish a toilet brush inside the bowl, and use a lysol wipe to swipe down the sides of the bowl, the floor around the bowl, and another one for the sink and tub. I know it sounds cheesy, but 5 minutes a day will keep the bathroom clean enough.

hth!

Kristin

The only thing I've found that works for our 3 boys bathroom is BLEACH. I go in there about 2 times a week and pour a little in the toilet and fill the sink w/ water and add a little bleach. I let it sit for about 2 hours and then I flush and empty the sink. Voila.

Jennie C.

I've got the kids cleaning the bathroom every day, but I still have to go in there myself every two days or so and wash it really good. Make sure you've washed the whole bottom part of the bowl, and the floor, of course. Also, there are little tabs over the screws that hold the toilet seat on, and there is often urine in there. I think it pretty unlikely that it's coming from the wall, but I feel your pain. Good luck!

Christina

Okay, I'm laughing at your post, b/c just yesterday I was talking to a mother of 8- with 7 of them being boys- and she was lamenting about this very same problem! In fact, she said she walked into the boys' bathroom and walked right back out, it was so disgusting! Her solution was to make them clean it after school.
I foresee this as a bigger problem in my future with 4 little boys of my own!
Best of luck!

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