Keep that odour away from your toilet

Toilet and bathroom smells are an embarrassment and discomfort to the owners. These smells mostly get worse in the morning and evening house hours. Experts say the smell in your toilets is entirely because of your poor plumbing and handling skills.

Causes of the bad smell
Poor plumbing
According to Jamilu Ramathan, a plumber, poor plumbing, could be the core cause of the smell in your toilets. Sometimes the pipes that carry the waste are not properly fixed, causing it to drip in the toilet on flushing.

“The end result here is smell as the waste is not carried as required. You need to make sure there is no fault in the plumbing of your house because this will cause these uncertainties in daily use,” he says.
He adds that this goes down to the kind of people you hire when installing the toilet in your house. Are they skilled? Are they using the right tools?

Blockages
According to Isa Kiyaga, a toilet dealer in Nakasero, toilet blockages could be as a result of throwing hard materials in the toilet that remain clogged on the pipes hence holding some of the waste causing it to smell. Ramathan adds that blockages can also be caused by poor plumbing where the system collapses from within without your knowledge.

Poor cleaning
Kiyaga adds that some people do not put in ample time while cleaning their toilets and this causes it to smell. Using detergents and disinfectants could be of good help in curbing the smell.
“Some people take the whole week without cleaning their toilets and this will automatically cause it to smell. A toilet should be cleaned at least once every day,” he adds.

Poor ventilation
This comes at the time of construction; every toilet needs to have a good ventilation to have good aeration, hence getting rid of the bad smell.
A toilet without good ventilation will keep the bad air around, hence causing the entire house to smell. On top of ventilation, there should be a small window at the top to allow air circulation.

Poor usage
Idah Musisi, a toilet dealer, notes that people do not respect the use of toilets, some will drop the waste on the side and not clean.
Others will urinate on the sides or even the floor, which will cause the toilet to stink.

Pit-latrines
Latrines smell most because of the way people use them, urinating on the top of the latrine and the walls, not cleaning them, leaving the latrine hole open, which invites flies. He adds that a pit-latrine can also smell, when it is full and therefore, needs draining.
“Once the waste reaches the upper surface, the latrine will automatically smell so draining it is paramount,” Kiyanga adds.

How to get rid of the smell
Smoke
For pit-latrines, you can use the local method of smoking by using dry banana leaves, set them on fire and drop them in the pit. This smoke burns out the bad smell and leaves the toilet fresh. Alternatively, you should observe maximum cleanliness, keep the toilet clean and covered.

Clean well and regularly
Musisi notes that for every toilet to remain fresh and with a good scent, you should clean it regularly. Cleaning should be done with the necessary detergents and also done extremely well. The toilet should be rinsed and dried well.

Use the right detergents
According to Kiyaga, using inappropriate detergents for the toilet could cause a bad smell since it will not be giving the desired effect. Toilet detergents should clean, disinfect and kill germs.
Besides this, there are a variety of air fresheners on the market today and you can choose to use any of those to keep a good scent in your house. There are also a number of plants that one can use to keep the bathroom fresh.

Plants that keep the toilet smelling fresh

Aloe Vera

Boniface Mwangi, a landscaper, says the aloe vera plant is a great air conditioner and will keep the smell off your toilet. It does not require a lot of water. The alovera plant can be planted in a container and placed either at the entrance or on the windowsill.
Bambo
Mwangi says besides being known for its beautiful appearance and nice leaves, bambos also act as great toilet freshners. The bambo does not need a lot of light or soil to grow.
Boston fern
This can be placed on the windowsill. The Boston fern plant bulges big but can be controlled by trimming, it can also be planted in a container and placed in a conducive environment.

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