How to Get Rid of Boy Smell in the Bathroom

How to REALLY get rid of boy smell in the bathroom-from a mom of 3 boys who has tried and tested every solution out there for getting rid of urine smell in bathrooms!!

I've been wanting to write this post for quite some time but kept putting it off because, well, it's just not a "pretty" thing to talk about.  If you search Pinterest for tips for this situation you'll find tons of articles and I have tried them all over the years.  One solution in particular that has been pinned a lot didn't do a thing for my boy's bathroom-then I realized the author had only daughters! How could she possibly truly understand the full extent of little boy nastiness that can occur??? Today I'm here to tell you that as the mother of three young boys (all under 9) that this is how to really get rid of boy smell in the bathroom!

First off, I didn't take a ton of pictures for this post-I'm not filling my blog with toilet pictures, it's icky. Second, this is not one of my natural cleaning posts.  I've tried four hundred different combinations of baking soda and essential oils and they did NOTHING to get rid of the pee smell in my boy bathroom.  I had to pull out the big guns to get the job done.

Is your grout sealed?

It's important to know if your grout is sealed-it will make a big difference in how much your bathroom retains the stinkiness and how difficult it will be to clean. I gave a full tutorial for how to refresh and seal grout when we were at our last house-you can find it here. If your grout is not sealed I highly recommend you seal it after a thorough cleaning to help make cleaning easier in the future.

Start at the top

Now for the cleaning-I recommend bleach-I use this cleaning spray.  Start at the top of the toilet and wipe it down with (thick) paper towels.  Don't just pay attention to the obviously soiled areas-believe me when I tell you that there is a fine layer of miscrospray over the entire area.  I know.  It's gross.  But it's true and if you don't get every inch of the porcelain you can't expect for it to really be clean.

As you make your way down the toilet be sure to wipe around the area where the toilet seat attaches to the bowl and then wipe down the sides of the toilet bowl exterior and all around the bolts at the bottom-this is a huge problem area for my little guys. I also use the bleach on the tile about a foot out from the toilet base as well.

The Secret Weapon

Now for the secret weapon to get those hard spots-this gel bleach pen is the bomb.  Lift the toilet seats-you'll see some small bolts that attach the lid to the bowl-this is another secret space that urine can accumulate and cause that yucky smell.  It's tiny so it's hard to clean but I apply a little of this bleach gel to the area, let it sit a few minutes then use a Q-tip to wipe it out.  (Prepare for nastiness when you do this-it's gross as can be!)  I also use this bleach gel on the caulk around the base of the toilet.  Again, let it sit then wipe up with paper towels (I never use sponges on the toilet cleaning-it grosses me out!)

The Finishing Touches

Finally I clean the bathroom floors with my steam mop because the high steam temperature really helps get the area clean and removes any bleach residue that might be left.

Okay, there you have it-my essay on cleaning boy pee-pee bathrooms. I promise to be back to more appealing subjects tomorrow!!

Anybody have anything to add? I'd love to hear your tips on what has or hasn't worked for you!

You might also like my kid's bedroom cleaning checklist, kid's bathroom cleaning checklist or all of my cleaning tips and tricks!