Why do Washrooms Smell?

OK. I know this may appear an obvious question. The nature of human biology is well understood by all of us!

We all contribute (except, perhaps, the Queen according to some people I hear!)

However, there’s a lot going on at a microbiological level that we can’t see, but our noses can detect very easily:

• Sorry, but men’s aim is not as good. They can miss and splash around where they should be hitting. They create a “mist” that can float and slowly accumulate on horizontal and vertical surfaces.
• If these areas aren’t regularly and properly cleaned, they WILL start to smell.
• If these areas are tiled, the build up can slowly start to work into the grout in between the tiles. The grout may be waterproof (if may not if installed by somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing), but it can also breakdown and crack in areas of heavy traffic. That’s when trouble starts!
• Urinals can look clean, but if you’re just relying on a water flush to clean, lime scale will slowly build up, firstly unseen, then visibly. Even unseen, it gives a surface when bacteria can get a grip and take hold. Nasty odours soon follow!
• Once established, lime scale is tough to remove. It needs a chemical treatment as well as a lot of elbow grease. Elbow grease alone won’t crack it!
• Every time a toilet is flushed is creates an invisible mist. That mist contains a mix of everything in the bowl and can float around spreading contamination on surfaces that get cleaned – and surfaces that don’t!
• Leaky plumbing can cause collections of moisture that are ideal for bacteria. Washrooms often have dead spaces (behind false walls) that don’t get cleaned, but still enable nasty smells to build up and spread.
• Toilet bowls need to be cleaned THOROUGHLY – where you can and, as importantly, where you can’t see. Around and under the rim is an essential area of attention.

Just having a washroom that looks clean simply isn’t good enough. What usually causes problems is at a level way smaller than we can see with the naked eye, or even a magnifying glass.

The key here is regular and consistent cleaning to make sure problems doesn’t occur. That doesn’t just mean of the urinals and bowls, but the floors and walls. Grouting and all surfaces must be waterproof and sound. Cracks and breakdown in the fabric of the building needs to be repaired on sight.

If you have smells that are keeping customers away, please get in touch.  Hygenie cares for customers all over the Midlands, so if you’re a Chemist in Coventry, a Nursery in Nuneaton, a Butcher in Birmingham, or run logistics from Leicester, or a school in Sutton Coldfield, please give us a call on 02476 101 600. We’ll be happy to come and discuss what you need – bad smells that put people off can be fixed if you know what you’re doing.