Nobody wants to be anywhere near a stinky bathroom. The unpleasant odours can be overpowering and quickly spread across the house. Unfortunately, there are many reasons why this room emits a foul stench. Sometimes, the culprit might be a clogged sink or a dirty shower drain. More often than not, the root problem originates from the toilet.

You should not ignore a bad smell coming from a toilet, which can escalate into a health risk. The stench is the direct result of sewer bacteria and pathogens. These sewer gasses contain methane, potentially flammable in large amounts. While most toilets won’t release enough methane to become a fire hazard, the gas may cause headaches, dizziness, and nausea.

Over time, the bacterial buildup could make you ill, causing more significant issues than just a smelly toilet. Sometimes, you can get rid of the odours with bathroom fans and toilet cleaners. In other instances, there may be a deep-rooted problem that requires the expertise of a plumber.

Why does the toilet smell bad? Let’s learn about the five common causes of a stinky toilet:

The toilet water smells bad because of a broken seal.

At the bottom of every toilet, a wax ring creates a seal. This seal is the essential component that keeps water and sewer gasses entering your home. If the seal becomes damaged, odours can escape into the bathroom. In severe cases, water may leak out, causing possible flooding and water damage.

There is an easy way to tell if your toilet seal is broken. Check whether the toilet rocks from side to side every time you sit on it. If this happens, the seal is likely worn-out. You can visit your local hardware store and purchase a new wax ring replacement. Alternatively, you can contact a Whitby plumber to complete this repair.

The toilet water smells bad because of a clog.

Far too often, homeowners accidentally flush the wrong materials down the toilet. Cotton swabs, bandages, sanitary products, and cigarette butts are just a few items that shouldn’t be in the toilet bowl. Flushing these supplies can cause severe clogs in your plumbing network.

If you don’t clear the clog, the bacterial buildup will remain trapped with nowhere to escape. Eventually, it leads to a bad smell coming from the toilet. To remedy this, check for foreign objects in the toilet and try to identify the source of the clog. Sometimes, all it takes is a plunger to unclog the toilet. In other cases, you may need to enlist the help of an expert plumber.

The toilet smells bad because you don’t use it enough.

If you don’t use your toilet frequently, the water in the p-trap can evaporate. The p-trap is a component located behind your toilet. Its purpose is to block sewage gasses from entering your home. There should always be water in the p-trap to keep these gasses from flowing up to your home.

The water in the p-trap might evaporate over time. This problem is typical if you go on an extended vacation or haven’t flushed a guest toilet for a while. Subsequently, the sewer gasses will flow through your pipes and emit a foul stench. The good news is that you can fix this issue quickly. Flush the affected toilet numerous times to build up a water supply in your p-trap. Doing this will naturally fill up the p-trap again.

The toilet water smells bad because of bacteria overgrowth.

Sewage contains microorganisms that can stick to the inside of your toilet bowl and plumbing lines. Over time, the bacteria can continue to multiply, especially in hot and humid climates. In large amounts, these organisms might begin to smell. The stench will become especially strong when you remove the toilet tank lid.

A solution to remove bacteria overgrowth from your toilet is using bleach in the tank and the bowl. Be sure to wear gloves and don’t mix the bleach with any other chemicals or cleaning solutions. Flush the bleach through the tank’s overflow pipe, allowing it to sit in the toilet bowl for at least a half-hour. Scrub your toilet well and flush it multiple times to remove all bacteria traces.

The toilet water smells bad because of a cracked bowl.

Like many plumbing components, your toilet may deteriorate physically over time. With repeated use, the toilet bowl may become cracked. Often, these cracks occur underneath the bowl. As a result, the tiny gaps allow small amounts of water to seep through. Stinky sewer gasses can flow along this water, causing a foul odour to invade your bathroom.

Unfortunately, a crack in your toilet bowl is challenging to fix. Instead, you should contact a plumber to install a new toilet in your bathroom.