Why does your home smell bad? 4 common odours and how to fix them
You know that smell. It’s not strong, it’s just there. You walk in, your nose catches it, you spray the room and forget about it. An hour later it’s back.
The spray can’t fix it, because the smell isn’t really in the air. It’s coming from somewhere in the house, and in most homes that somewhere is the kitchen drain, the bathroom, the dustbin or the septic tank. Each one smells a bit different. Once you know which one you’ve got, a bad smell in the house becomes much easier to deal with.
Drain smell: check your drains first
Scrubbing the sink doesn’t help because the problem is a few inches down. We went into this in detail in our post on kitchen smell. What works is an enzyme based drain cleaner, and it isn’t just for the kitchen.
It works the same way in bathroom drains, shower drains, toilet drains and floor traps, anywhere grease and soap build up inside the pipe. Pour it in at night and let it sit. By morning it has eaten into the grease on the pipe walls.
Bathroom smell
Honestly, most bathroom smells are boring. A wet floor, urine splashes behind the toilet, or a floor drain nobody uses. That last one catches people out. When the water in a drain dries up, gas walks straight in. Pour a mug of water down and see if the smell changes.
Scrub around the base of the toilet too, because that’s where it hides. For daily cleaning, pick a septic safe toilet cleaner. Harsh acid cleaners kill the bacteria your tank needs, and that’s how a small smell turns into a bigger problem.
The dustbin
Wet waste starts rotting the same day, and in summer it doesn’t even wait. We’d throw it out daily, wash the bin once a week and let it dry properly in the sun.
If it still smells after all that, a garbage odour spray helps. Use it on the bin and the bag, not on the room.
When the toilet smell isn’t about the toilet
Two or three rooms smell. The toilet smells right after you clean it. The pipes gurgle when you flush. Stop blaming the bathroom, because it’s likely the tank.
The bacteria inside have dropped, so waste isn’t breaking down, and the gas looks for a way out. Your pipes are that way. This is why the smell seems to move around the house.
A monthly dose of septic tank cleaning powder brings the balance back. You mix one packet in 1 to 2 litres of water, pour it into the toilet and flush. That’s all there is to it.
Where to start
Go in this order: sink, bathroom floor, bin, and then the tank. Don’t buy anything until you know which one it is, otherwise you’re just guessing and the smell will still be there next week.
FAQs
Why does my bathroom smell so much?
Usually it’s one of three things: a wet floor, urine around the base of the toilet, or a drain that has dried up. Clean and dry the floor, scrub behind the toilet and pour some water down the drains you don’t use. If it still smells after that, the septic tank is the next place to look.
How do I stop my bathroom from smelling?
The main thing is to stop it staying damp. Open a window or run the exhaust fan after a bath, and clean around the toilet base more often than you think you need to. A septic safe cleaner is also worth using so you’re not harming the tank.
Why does my toilet smell of urine even after cleaning?
Urine gets into the grout and the area around the base, and a quick wipe doesn’t reach it. Scrub those spots properly with a brush. If the smell is back by the next day, the drain or the tank may be the real cause.
How do I get rid of a bad smell in the kitchen when I can’t find it?
Start with the sink drain, since that’s the most common place. Pour hot water first, then leave an enzyme cleaner overnight. If the smell is still there, check the bin and the space behind the fridge.
Can a septic tank make the whole house smell?
Yes, it can. When waste isn’t breaking down in the tank, gas comes back through the pipes, so you end up smelling it in the kitchen, the bathroom and the toilet at the same time.
