Nazlı Ersoylu · Chemical Engineer · Last updated: October 5, 2026
When I look into odor problems at businesses, the sentence I hear most is this: “We clean every day and it still smells.” Last month I saw it firsthand in a café: spotless stalls, a heavy floral perfume in the air, and under it that stubborn urine odor. Cleaning was not the problem.
Homes have the same complaint. The source is rarely the inside of the bowl, the most-cleaned spot in the room. The odor comes from three overlooked places.
What should you do in which case?
| Situation | What to do | ODORGO product |
|---|---|---|
| Urine odor returns after cleaning | Wipe the grout and around the toilet | Multi-Purpose Liquid 500 ml |
| Heavy air all the time | Passive odor control on a flat, fixed spot | Gel 250 g |
| Odor right after use | A few sprays into the air | Spray 250 ml |
| Sewer-like odor | Water in the floor drain, then the drain guide | Multi-Purpose Liquid and Spray |
| Business restroom, urinals | One gel per area plus a daily wipe-down | Gel Refill 500 g and PRO Spray 500 ml |
Why does a toilet smell?
- Urine in the grout: Splashes work into the tile grout, the bolt caps and the base of the walls. Grout is porous; bacteria break down the urea and ammonia is released. You wipe the surface and the source stays.
- A dried-out floor drain: When the trap water dries up, sewer gas (hydrogen sulfide, the rotten-egg smell) seeps straight in.
- Poor ventilation: In windowless toilets, moisture and odor molecules build up.
Why don't perfumed toilet blocks and room sprays work?
Rim blocks, hanging fresheners and automatic dispensers run on one idea: strong perfume, nonstop. Adding perfume while the ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are still in the room is not odor removal; you breathe in two smells at once. For a business the price is higher: a customer does not count a perfume-bombed restroom as clean.
How do you remove toilet odor at home, step by step?
- Wipe the grout and around the toilet. Add 15 mL of ODORGO Multi-Purpose Odor Eliminator Liquid 500 ml to 1 liter of warm water. Wipe around and behind the toilet, the bolt caps, the base of the walls and the tile grout with it.
- Pour water into the floor drain. One to two glasses refill a dried trap and block the path of sewer gas. If the odor stays sewer-like, follow the sink and drain odor guide.
- Clear the air. After use, shake ODORGO Odor Eliminator Spray 250 ml well and spray a few times into the air.
- Set up ongoing odor control. Open ODORGO Odor Eliminator Gel 250 g and place it on a flat, fixed spot close to the toilet or near the door.
The spray is water-based; you can use it on any surface that water does not harm. On water-sensitive fabrics and surfaces (unfinished or untreated wood, silk, leather, electronics, etc.), test on a small hidden area first. Keep the gel and the spray out of direct contact with food.
Where should the gel go in a toilet?
Passive odor control does its best work in a small room. The gel needs no outlet, no batteries and no upkeep. In enclosed areas of up to 15 m² like this one it is used for up to 30 days.
The best spot is a high point where air passes: above the door or on the wall near the toilet. The wall holder sold with the gel fixes the jar there, upright and still and out of children's hands. For longer intervals, ODORGO Odor Eliminator Gel Refill 500 g does the same job with fewer changes.
How do restaurants, offices and hotels manage restroom odor?
The customer restroom is the harshest mirror a business has. Heavy-use restrooms need the home routine at a larger scale: one gel for each restroom area and urinal zone (about one per 15 m², roughly 160 sq ft), ODORGO PRO Odor Eliminator Spray 500 ml in the end-of-day wipe-down, and a few sprays into the air before opening.
What I see in the field: customers read heavy perfume as “is something being hidden here?” A well-run restroom smells of nothing. For the rest of the bathroom, see how to get rid of bathroom and drain odor.
What is in ODORGO?
A water-based formula built on plant-derived essential oils (pine needle, anise, clove, cedarwood and lime) draws ammonia and sulfur odor molecules to itself and binds them; odorless compounds are left behind. The science behind it comes from research at Delaware State University in the USA. The spray and the gel have up to 98% odor elimination effectiveness, and the formula is vegan.
The fragrance-free, phthalate-free, paraben-free, dye-free, sulfate-free, and alcohol-free claims are verified by tests conducted at laboratories accredited by TÜRKAK (Turkish Accreditation Agency) and ILAC (International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation).
The spray gives a faint plant scent that is gone within moments; clean has no smell.
Keep your toilet fresh
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does toilet odor return even after cleaning?
Because the source is usually not the surfaces you wipe. Urine in the porous grout keeps producing ammonia.
Do toilet rim blocks work?
Only to a point. A block adds color and perfume to the flush water, but it does not touch the grout, the drain or the air.
Where does the gel work best in a toilet?
Up high where air passes: above the door or on the wall near the toilet, standing upright and fixed.
Is a sewer smell in the toilet solved the same way?
No, it has a different source: a dried-out floor drain trap or a plumbing fault. Pour 1 to 2 glasses of water into the drain first; if the smell keeps returning, have the plumbing checked.
How many gels does a business restroom need?
About one for every 15 m² (roughly 160 sq ft), with the urinal zone and the stall group counted as separate areas. In heavy use, the 500 g refill stretches the time between changes.