Inside this Post: Get rid of the yucky urine smell coming from your bathroom! No harsh chemicals, just a simple, natural and VERY effective homemade cleaner to do the trick.
One of the main ingredients is white vinegar and the reason this works so well is because is neutralizes the ammonia smell of urine.
Here’s what you’ll need for the cleaning recipe:
- Baking Soda (this is the kind of baking soda we keep in our house and use it often for detox baths and cooking, and most importantly, it’s aluminum-free unlike what most stores carry.)
- Lemon Juice (I think fresh squeezed lemon juice is best but you can use concentrate, too.)
- White Vinegar
- Old Toothbrush (I always label ours JUST IN CASE.)
- Something to wipe things down (washcloths or paper towels)
- Trash bag or trash to toss any paper towels immediately after cleaning, if you go this route.
Step 1 to Removing the Urine Smell from Bathrooms: Make Your Mix of Baking Soda & Lemon
- Make a paste by mixing baking soda with lemon juice.
- I eye-ball this so I don’t have exact measurements, but you’ll want to make sure your paste isn’t too grainy or runny, but a thick consistency in between the two (like that of toothpaste.)
- With the paste, you’ll use your old toothbrush to scrub it onto the areas you see urine build-up (this is the caked smell that lingers all day long.)
- Look for the thick yellow parts that almost look like gross ear wax. The build-up can usually be found along the base where the toilet meets the floor, the underside of the rim of the stool where the screws/caps are, the area where the seat connects to the toilet, your tank, the space between the tank and stool, and the underside of the seat.
- Let the paste sit for 15-20 minutes.
After waiting 15 minutes…
- Dip your toothbrush into the white vinegar (I keep a small separate bowl to dip into) and you’ll scrub all the paste spots on, under and around the toilet from the first go-around.
- Next, you’ll pour a small amount of vinegar over these areas and wipe everything clean with a wash cloth, making sure to get all the paste cleaned up (it disintegrates from the vinegar quickly so there won’t be too much.)
Step 2: While The Mix Sets, Clean the Rest of the Bathroom Area
While you wait for your paste to set for 15 minutes, this is the time to use the rest of your paste you make, to scrub remaining parts of your toilet including inside the toilet, the floor areas, seat, wall, and tank.
Don’t use a toothbrush for this part, but you can use a washcloth or paper towels to wipe everything down. It’s amazing (and really gross) how far the spray from urine in the bathroom can reach.
Once urine hits the water, it sprays in all directions and that’s why the urine smell is lingering, because it’s more than just on your toilet.
Make sure you get walls, the entire floor behind, around and in front of the toilet and anything else nearby like a vanity or sink.
Once you finish wiping down everything with the paste, you’ll splash with a little vinegar and wipe it all up with your wash cloth or paper towels.
Important Vent Cleaning Tip: If you have a vent in the bathroom, remove the cover and clean inside here too! This was a source of our smell at one time and it wasn’t until we had all our house vents cleaned and the person cleaning them for us, pointed out our problem.
Step 3: If You Notice Build-Up Inside the Toilet Tank
I’m not surprised by much anymore with three kids and three dogs running around our house, but urine build-up INSIDE the toilet tank did surprise me at first!
If you notice a urine smell and can see build-up inside your tank, add a 1/2 cup of white vinegar to the tank and let it sit for a good 15 minutes.
For the build-up of urine, you can try using your toothbrush to scrub these areas but if it’s stuck fairly well, you might want to try using a pumice stone like this one that comes with a handle!
After 15 minutes… flush the toilet a couple of times to get the vinegar smell and paste drained.
If the smell is still there or build up is lingering, repeat this step a second time.