How to Make Your Bathroom Smell Good

Bathrooms can so easily swing on the pendulum from “spa-like retreat” to “smelly, dirty, and damp,” sometimes seemingly overnight. But funky smells in the bathroom are not inevitable.

By keeping your bathroom clean, keeping up with a few chores, and adding some scent-boosters to your space, keeping your bathroom smelling great really isn’t so hard after all. Continue reading to find out some of our favorite tips to make your bathroom smell good.

Clean When You Can

One of the best way to mask up odors and smells in the bathrooms is by preventing them in the first place. And the easiest way to prevent them is to clean your bathroom regularly. Even if it’s as simple as wiping down your bathroom sink every other day, a little bit of cleaning can go a long way.

Other easy things to clean that prevent smells? Make sure you’re regularly washing your bathmat and towels, and give your toilet a regular scrub every so often too.

Use a Small Diffuser

A diffuser is a small device that releases scents into the air through heat, compressed air, or ultrasonics. It’s typically filled with an essential oil blend, and its small size makes a diffuser the ideal solution for making tiny spaces smell great.

Use a diffuser in your own bathroom by placing it on the back of your sink, behind your toilet, or on another stand. It’s great for creating a spa-like environment during a long bath or shower. But, be careful about using diffusers around your pets—some essential oils are toxic to dogs and cats.

Try Out a Scent Packet

For long-lasting fragrance, try out a scent packet in your bathroom. Scent packets are normally filled with fragranced beads or a potpourri mixture. They’re small and easily portable, so you can place the packet in different spots in your bathroom without worrying about finding a plug or spilling any essential oils.

Scent sachets are also incredibly long-lasting—most last up to nine months in a bathroom.

Watch Out for Damp Towels

One of the biggest culprits of that shower stink are your damp, unwashed towels. When left folded or in a pile on the floor while still damp, your fancy, plush towels soon become nothing more than a mildewy mess.

But you can easily avoid these one of three ways. First, don’t leave your towels on the floor—always hang them up to dry, especially if they are damp. Second, don’t fold them if they’re even a little bit damp either. Make sure they’re bone-dry first. Third, wash your towels regularly. The Cleveland Clinic recommends washing them at least every week.

Use Your Favorite Fragrant Soaps

It’s time to treat yourself and buy your favorite fragrant body wash. There’s nothing like walking into a steamy bathroom that smells like freshly cut roses and lilacs.

Using your favorite fragrant soaps (which in turn provide fragrance to your bathroom) is an easy way to keep your bathroom smelling great. A similar effect can be had with scented bubble bath and bath bombs.

Make Sure You Ventilate

On that note, it’s important not to keep your bathroom steamy for too long. After each long shower or bath, open up your bathroom windows (if you have any) and ventilate the space for about 10-15 minutes.

Doing this rids the tiny space of excess moisture, which is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to causing stinky smells, and it provides fresh air—the perfect antidote to a bathroom funk. If you don’t have a bathroom window (not all of us are so blessed), run your bathroom fan for the same amount of time.

Add an Odor and Moisture Absorber

Kill two birds with one stone by using an odor and moisture absorber in your bathroom. These small and affordable contraptions (you can typically find them at your local dollar store) trap moisture and absorb odor, typically through charcoal beads.

Though they aren’t the prettiest way to keep your bathroom smelling great, they’re an excellent solution for a space that needs a little extra help. To keep them out of sight, place them behind a basket or tray on the top of your toilet or vanity.

Use Herbs

A little greenery goes a long way when it comes to sprucing up your bathroom’s scent. You can implement flora in the bathroom many ways—if you have a window, plant some strongly scented herbs near it, like lavender or mint. You can also used dried herb bouquets in a vase for an elegant touch to your vanity,

Or, you can turn the luxury dial all the way up and place a dried bouquet of eucalyptus under your showerhead—get ready for one of the best-smelling showers you’ve ever had.

Use Detergent or Fabric Softener in Your Toilet Tank

Your toilet can be another unfortunately smelly place. However, the battle to fight seemingly-unavoidable odor is not immediately lost.

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.

Don’t Forget to Take Out the Trash

There are other stinky culprits in the bathroom beyond the toilet, like the trash bin. But thankfully, it’s easy to fight trash can odors in your bathroom. First thing’s first: take out the trash regularly, even if it’s not full. Sitting trash only brings stink.

Additionally, when you do take out the trash, place a few drops of your favorite essential oil in the empty trash bin and bag. The oil will provide a pop of fresh scent whenever the can or bin is opened.