Try out this trick to bring some fresh scents to a stinky bathroom: place a little bit of fragranced laundry detergent or fabric softener in the tank of your toilet. Now, whenever the toilet is flushed, the scented water will be released into the bowl and provide a touch of fragrance.
Baking soda and vinegar
Add one cup of baking soda to the clogged toilet or slow drain, then wait a few minutes. Follow with two cups of vinegar.
There are usually 3 causes of a smelly toilet... Bacteria in the water, the p trap, or a leak in the seal where the toilet joins the drain.
Bacteria From Sewer Seeping Into Toilet Bowl
If microorganisms from the sewer make their way into your toilet, one way or another, they may cling to the rim of your toilet bowl and begin to multiply. This issue is especially common during the summer when hot, humid conditions allow bacteria to thrive.
If you are noticing a sewer smell, it could be because the p-trap has a leak or broken seal. In the event of a faulty p-trap, you'll likely want to call in the pros to fix it. There's a blockage in the drain pipe. Sometimes blocked drains can exist without creating a fully clogged toilet.
Sewer Bacteria
In order to survive in your toilet, these tiny microorganisms tend to hold on to the rim of your toilet bowl for dear life. As bacteria begin to reproduce and multiply inside your toilet bowl, they can cause a foul smell that remains even after you clean your toilet.
If the clog still seems to be intact, start over at step 1 and repeat the process a couple of times. For extra-stubborn clogs, you can let the fizz mixture sit overnight or combine this method with plunging.
White vinegar makes quick work of cleaning most bathroom surfaces. Try our top uses for white vinegar in and around the bathroom, including cleaning tile surfaces. You can use straight or a diluted vinegar cleaning solution for the bathroom to clean bacteria, especially around the toilet.
Let it sit. You may start to notice improvement in as little as 15 minutes, though that is the minimum time your dish soap should sit in the toilet. Again, we prefer to let it sit overnight whenever possible. Once enough time has passed, go ahead and flush your toilet.
A popular TikTok video promises your bathroom will smell like clean laundry every time you flush the toilet if you pour a cup of fabric softener into the toilet tank. However, like many social media hacks, this one is too good to be true, and plumbing experts warn that you'll actually be ruining your septic system.
According to Abrams, an ordinary bar of soap placed inside a mask, a net, or any other porous material should be a perfectly safe way to keep a toilet bowl clean when you flush it. But there are a few caveats to consider.
You'll need about 3-7 gallons of white vinegar. Fill the tank to the overflow tube. You want to make sure that you cover any rust, mold or algae that might be in the tank. Allow the vinegar to sit in the tank for 12 - 13 hours.
Let It Sit For 12 Hours
Leave the vinegar and water mixture in the toilet tank for 12 hours without flushing the toilet. This is why this cleaning process is best done overnight, as you are less likely to need the bathroom throughout the night than during the day.
If you want to really get your toilet tank clean, then you need to make sure you have the right cleaning products for the job. Vinegar is a great toilet cleaning solution. Not only is it free of chemicals and naturally antibacterial, it's also an acid, so it will remove minor lime and calcium deposits.
Pour one cup of baking soda into the clogged toilet, and then chase it with the hot water/vinegar mixture. Leave the volcano mix to do its job, checking in about 30 minutes. In most cases the clog will have come apart, and a simple flush with send it all down the drain. Plus your toilet bowl will be cleaner!
An acrid, musty stench is likely caused by mould buildup in the toilet. “But I clean all the time,” you may protest. “Why does my toilet still stink?” The reason is that mould forms under the rim, (very quickly) an area that many people may neglect to clean really well.