Works For Me: What's That Smell?

Now, how shall we discuss this delicately?  We can't.  I'm just forging ahead.

If you are the mother of a boy between the ages of 2 and 12, then you know that the wall behind your kids' toilet smells like a fraternity house.  Evidentally "aim" is one of the last developmental skills little boys master.

Having three boys in our household means that our bathrooms sometimes smell downright nuclear, so I've come up with a solution.  It's not as effective as coating the whole room with CONCRETE (which I've threatened to do many times), but still, it's better than nothing.

Once every day or two, spray down that wall behind the toilet with Febreeze or some other brand of fabric freshener.  It actually seems to help neutralize the odors better than cleaning alone.

If you have a tip you'd like to share with Bloggityville, just leave your link below.  WFMW guidelines can be found here. 

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Comments

[Diatribal]

eeewwww! This makes me very glad that I have a daughter...and a separate bathroom for hubby!

Seriously, ick. I had never thought of this.

[Joyful Days]

There's just something about that smell that ummm....permeates. Yup. That's a good word for it. Permeates. Thanks for the tip.

Blessings.

[ellen b]

Oh boys boys boys...
I had a house cleaning business for a while and all I can say is put in groutless tile or something all the way up to the top of the tank!

[peach]

Great idea. I'll be movin' that Febreze to their vanity cupboard pronto! Let the spraying of a fine smell overpower the one currently residing there!!

[Overwhelmed With Joy!]

We use Febreeze a lot in our household too. I have two stinky boys...one big one and one little one. :)

Thanks for sharing!

[Rebecca Mielke]

Love the Febreeze idea!

We'd be alot further ahead if we could just get males of all ages to SIT DOWN when using the toilet in the house. It's not just aim that's the problem, it's also the stuff that hits the water and mists out from there. The taller the man, the worse it is.

Perhaps we can come up with a clever name for that special aromatic spray.

[The Natural Mommy]

Maybe I'll just teach my baby boy to pee sitting down...

[Kelley]

Thanks for the tip.

Sorry I'm a week late with the parenting advice, but it's worth the wait. Promise.

[Mommyfied]

Tks for the tip! I'm always lamenting over how toilet smells because of 4 year old's lack of aiming skills!

[Lorikate]

Hah!! I was just wandering through..and as the single mother of a 6 year old boy that lives with my brother....

I can say I understand. (Oh, and did I mention my fiancee spends most of his time with me too...)

I appreciate the tip!!!

[Michelle at Scribbit]

Perfect solution for problems with aim. SOrry to mess up the link the first time.

[Flutterby]

hmmm I would think that there's a product that would help with that possibly more than fabreeze even. There's a product (few different ones of course) which can be found at pet stores that are for the purpose of nuetulizing urine odor. We have a small dog and three cats that all like to use to floor more than too often (admittidly any amount ever...at all, would be too much for me) So we aught to just take out stock in one of these companys!

[boomama]

You have no idea how much I needed that tip. Today I sprayed perfume in the bathroom he uses. I have tried bleach, Clorox wipes, younameit. But the smell, it WILL NOT BE STOPPED.

I owe you.

[Mommy Zabs]

I'm so thankful you posted this! I just potty trained my oldest (3) and our bathroom totally smells like urine sometimes. I get those disinfectant wipes and go over the toilet, wall and floor, but I hadn't thought of Fabreeze!!

[Lynnae (From Under the Clutter)]

Thanks for the tip! Ever since my now 4 year old boy started using the toilet a couple of years ago, I have been looking for something that works for "that smell". I never would have thought of Febreze!

[margalit]

What works for ME with my son, the kid with no aim, is one of those cat urine neutralizers. I've used Natures Miracle, and that works well, but has it's own odor, and now I use a different one called Peeaway. I know, bad title, but it works. You can buy them in PetSmart or other pet stores. they work way better than febreeze.

[Tina]

will have to try that :) thanks!

[Heather L.]

I've spryaed it on our shower curtain before, but never the wall! Great idea! Thanks for sharing and hosting!

[Cindy]

Four daughters here, but you've just made me thankful for their bathroom finesse and skills. :)

[Kari]

I use OUT!
I also use it in our litterbox area as our cat's aim seems to be a bit askew as well.

Of course I clean it as well but using the OUT! in between and after cleanings helps greatly.
You can get it at just about any store that has a pet care aisle.
(When our cat peed on our mattress it was a life saver! Took a few treatments and about half a gallon of the gallon size bottle, but we finally were able to turn the mattress over without having the smell there any longer.)

[Joanna]

I grew up in a house full of girls, so I haven't personally experienced the problem yet... Good to know for the future, as my husband's family only has boys. It's inevitable- I'll one day deal with this!

[elizabeth]

Gack. My 10 year old rarely takes his laundry to the hamper without reminders, but he hits, flushes and closes every time. Never knew that was such a big deal... Whew, I feel like I've dodged a bullet.

[WhatWorksForMom]

My son is still in diapers - but I know (fear) its' coming!

[carrie]

Yikes! This is good to know--I will be prepared with Febreze when the time comes!

[Rachel]

I can't wait to try that trick. My twin boys' aim leaves a lot to be desired.