How can I deal with smell from commode while cleaning it?

In reference to my question about the commode/waste smell, it looks like there aren't any ideas. If someone out there can tell me how they do it, it would be great. For awhile it wasn't a big deal but now the smell fills up the house and it's embarrassing when people come over. I use room spray and candles, and it only covers up part of it. Hope I am not being too picky, I know it's not THAT important.

Since My mom came back from the hospital last week she has been wearing depends and I found the urine smell very strong and it was hard to stomach. My sister has been taking care of her and will be for the next two weeks to give me a break and when she complained about the smell I asked her if Mom was drinking enough water. So I told Mom that she needs to drink at least 4 glasses of water a day and the smell is not half as bad as it was.

Roberta,I sympathize with you.I only changed My mom's diapers a few times but it was a challenge.I found,personally,that if I put a little vicks vapor rub on my Mustache area it blocked the odor for the most part and also it wasn't that evident to my Mom.You might substitute another "Masking" smell also...
Also ,with your house Issue.I had a cat for a short time that used various parts of my house as his personal pee-palace so I ,on the advice of a friend, bought an "Ionizer" which uses some kind of static charge to eradicate the smell molecules...I might be way off base on my description but I can confirm that for my purposes this little Fan-driven machine works well.They are a little pricey but even the small ones are well worth the investment I feel.I hope these suggestions help you and I encourage you.
sincerely Bill

There are garbage bags that contain fragrance and come in various sizes. I use one with every diaper change, it gets tied up and immediately goes outside. Mom uses Molicare diapers. I spray the room after each change and keep a small amount of Lysol in the bedside commode. It also gets emptied/cleaned immediately after each use. Bed pads are changed daily and the room is mopped daily. Odors collect everywhere and it can be a constant battle. We use alot of candles and a Scentsy runs all day long in bedroom and hall. A nurse at the hospital told me about the Vicks moustache...whatever helps. Good lukc!

Roberta,I failed to mention that with the ionizer the room would have to be vacant (or closed off) because while the emissions from an ionizer are not harmful it may make your throat sore/dry...I've not heard of a scentzy.maybe that is a viable solution also.

I just KNEW you all would have some ideas, thank you! This message board is my new home and you are my new family. ((hugs))

I have had success with Nature's Miracle enzyme spray for urine, feces, and other smells. You get it at a pet supply store. The enzymes neutralize the odor rather than masking it. I spray it around the base of the toilet, in the waste basket, and use it to clean the floor after "accidents".
Baking soda helps absorb odors and can be sprinkled into the bottom of trash cans.
Activated charcoal also works to remove odors.
The suggestion to encourage your mother to drink more water is wise and may help your mother in other ways. Dehydration can cause the body to absorb toxins normally flushed out in sweat and urine. This can lead to mental confusion and aches and pains, among other more serious things....

I use tons of Vinegar daily! I put it in a spray bottle with half water.. I use it for everything regarding my dads clean up process. I found in the downy ball using vinegar really gets urine smell out of his clothes, sheets what ever. I use it to clean out the waste baskets.. I keep a waste basket near his bed in the bathroom, as soon as a depends goes in I spray it, tie it and put it in an outdoor can. When changing his sheets I spray the bed with the vinegar and open his windows to air his room. When he has soak through and leaves a trail of urine on my floor, I mop with the vinegar. I clean the toilet after he messes with vinegar. It has been great for many uses... I do a lot of cleaning up but my house Never smells..I use it to clean out his commode, after it's been cleaned I use vinegar or Lysol sprayed in in and just leave. As far as dealing with the smell as you are cleaning, in addition to your gloves try a face mask.. Hope this helps some.. Hang in there.

I stumbled on something to freshen up my mom's bedside potty, and I find it works quite well. I put mint mouthwash (Listerene) in her potty after emptying and cleaning. It leaves her room smelling minty, and doesn't smell like a "cover-up" like some candles and room spray tend to do.

For a number of medical reasons, I do make sure mom gets lots of water every day. Once she did become a little dehydrated and did notice symptoms such as confusion. She also is diabetic so I know how important it is to keep her hydrated. You make an excellent point that drinking enough water flushes everything out of her body in a more diluted form. When I used to do home health care for other people, vinegar was a staple at one of the houses. There are some ways I can use it, too. I think I will definitely buy some Enzymatic product... I should have thought of that myself, since we have 5 dogs and used that when we had our rugs down. Amazing info, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. :-)

I use Lysol toilet bowl cleaner with bleach to clean potty and then put 1/2" of water in pot with some of the cleaner in it. Keeps the smell fresh. The water in the pot keeps most odors liveable.

Possibly if she is on a lot of medications, that can make the urine smell much stronger. I think plants can absorb odors, (as well as look nice), but I'm not sure which ones. Possibly a "google" search could tell you. Good Luck.

Get a little bottle of really good lavender essential oil (the real oil, not just an artifically scented cheaper kind) and place a tiny drop just below your nostrils before doing the jobs that you find bother you due to odor. breathe in a good whiff just before you're exposed to the odor that bothers you. You may need to experiment with how to make the process work for you, but this has always worked for me. However, after a few times, I found I no longer needed the oil as I had built up a tolerance. There are also very good essential oil room sprays that might help by using them in the room before or after you do the clean-up.

Working in healthcare, here are a few tips. We use Listerine to clean up, especially if the elder has caked on stool. Removes the stool easily and smells much better in the process. Peppermint oil on a cotton ball placed in various locations of the room works fabulous.

I got Mom a diaper pail for her bathroom with the air freshener in it and then I line it with scented small garbage bags. Sometimes she doesn't remember where it goes and puts it in the garbage can, and I can tell. Last night she took her Depends off and started to put it in the garbage can and looked at me and said, "where do I put this?" I said in your pail where you always do with the other ones. She said, "Oh, I forget." Dementia is so sad. My prayers are with you. Please say one for me, too. Best wishes.

When the commode is sitting ready for use, you should have it 1/3 filled with water just like there is water in the toilet bowl. This makes it easier to clean. To empty, pour contents directly into toilet bowl. If you have a shower hose, put the bucket down, pour in a mixture of vingegar, water and fragrent dish soap, use the shower hose to fill the bucket, then empty it. Then hold the bucket at an angle over the toilet bowl, get the sprayer ready over the bowl (assuming the hose reaches) and rinse spray the bucket while over the toilet bowl, then flush. This cleans the bucket and the toilet at the same time. For cleaning toilets, I stopped using smelly chemical cleaners b/c they made me sick. I pour about 1/4 cup of baking soda directly into toilet, then I pour about a cup of straight vinegar in. it will fizzle up, then swish around with toilet brush. you can experiment with the amounts. If you query home made green cleaners on the internet, you will get lots of ideas. But the most useful thing is to put water in the commode bucket before they sit down to use it.

Had a cousin years ago that placed kitty litter throughout her home to absorb ordors. Worked like a charm in her home with additional cleaning technoiques.

have you tried the old coroner/funeral home guys trick of rubbing something menthol under your nose? dont use much, if you have muscle rub cream that has menthol in it, try rubbing a LITTLE bit on your chest.dont use muscle rub below your nose, if its weak,( the menthol) use under nose. if its strong, rub on your chest.

Great suggestions. I'm going to try to ionizer one. The Renuzit solid air fresheners are inexpensive and I put them around the house. There's an extra-strength one and various scents. For laundry and cleaning I prefer the old fashioned brown liquid Lysol to be most effective at eliminating odors. My mom developed a habit of urinating over a drain for years before I became her caregiver. I tried pet eliminator, detergent, bleach, baking soda and many other things but the odor kept returning. Finally I used that old-fashioned Lysol undiluted several times and the odor disappeared. I use a small amount in her laundry and it does not stain. I use a cap full in a spray bottle with water and spray her mattress, around the toilet and just around the room. At first you may not like the medicinal smell, but it dissipates in an hour and it sure beats the smell of urine and assures me that I've also killed germs instead of masking them. I put mothballs in her wastebasket and use grocery store plastic bags for liners. At least the can itself doesn't absorb the odors. Glad that you asked the question. The odors are embarrassing and hard to cope with. I also picked up some tips. Great question. Thanks for asking.

Hi. What a great question followed by many useful responses. I have a suggestion that works amazingly well for the smell, though it might be too expensive for many people. Portable air filters made specifically by a company called "Austin" (they have an excellent reputation and excellent warranties. The filters only need replacing approximately every 5 years.) Just google Austin Air Filters and make sure you are on the company's site (other places sell them too) if you want to read all the information. These filters are on wheels so you can roll them in and out of whatever room you'd like to use them in. These are the kind of air filters used in hospitals, by the Red Cross to deal with toxins in the air after 9-11, etc. I am a science teacher and checked them out thoroughly before buying. I actually purchased mine not for dealing with smell (that turned out to be an unexpected plus for me) but because we had a problem with mold in the house to which both my mom & I are allergic. These filters clean the air of mold spores, pet dander, pollen, chemicals from off gassing materials, etc so there are great health benefits that might be unexpected pluses for anyone buying it simply to take care of odors. The mold smell is gone form my home and it seems to be working for our allergic reactions to the mold. I first noticed how fast it got rid of bad smells when my cat - who is going through kidney failure so her poo & urine really stinks - used the litter box. It was amazing! In fact it took me awhile to realize she had messed in the box - Im very sensitive to smells and normally run into the bathroom to scoop immediately after she goes. Now I wheel the filter in any room with me when Im about to 'take care of something stinky' - it makes my job easier while Im doing it, gets rid of the smell fast, and then I wheel the filter back to the kitchen which is where I normally keep it for mitigating the mold problem. I held off buying one of these for years due to the price; after I bought it I wished I had bought one sooner. I'll also add my recommendation to use vinegar for cleaning purposes. You can buy white vinegar by the gallon at most grocery stores. This is cheapest. I keep it in spray bottles at various places around the house, as well as larger bottles of it under sinks for bigger cleaning jobs. For cleaning urine & feces out of carpets I first spray with Natures Miracle (after picking up any solids and then blotting as much liquid as I can with paper towels or rags) and then I wash with vinegar. Nature's Miracle is an enzyme cleaner sold at pet stores. I also rent carpet cleaning machines when the messes on the carpet are too much for me to deal with by hand and I have found that plain vinegar added to the hot water, or a solution of vinegar and an enzyme cleaner or vinegar and Dr. Bronners citrus soap works really really well in the carpet steam cleaners - much better (and cheaper too!) than any of the commercial products. I have used "Dr. Bronner's" mint or lavender too but decided citrus is my personal favorite. (If you have a flea problem from pets, then absolutely use the Dr. Bronners eucalyptus - it works!) Smell wise - the vinegar & citrus Dr. Bronners is wonderful. The vinegar smell evaporates super fast however you use it for cleaning. I took note of the vicks vapor rub suggestion for under the nose from another post because I am also extremely bothered by bad odors. If an odor makes me queasy I've found that sniffing a fresh cut lemon half helps me. I actually carried one around in a plastic bag with me while I was pregnant and dealing with around the clock morning sickness which was of course aggravated by all kinds of odors out in the world which normally are not a problem.

I use Lavender scented PineSol. I also bought some flushable wipes to clean any waste that may stick to the sides of the pail.

For your own comfort try a little Vicks under the nose, or if you don't like that try another type of ointment/lotion. You might try making your own with Vaseline and an essential oil they sell them in health food store and some of the pharmacy's. For the commode, empty often, clean with toilet bowl cleaner and put something like pine sol or even some of the cleaner in the clean water. Is the plastic old and needing to be replaced? The plastic could be part of the problem. I use with vinegar to clean with...any spills, in the laundry it will make things smell clean, well not maybe clean but no smell!! I even use it for cleaning up after the dogs when they pee or poo....smell is gone!! Think remove not cover up. Does her bedding need a through cleaning? Maybe that's part of the problem of the house always smelling....new mattress cover and vinegar add to the wash cycle for the sheets and blankets...any clothing also!Good luck and if you try this idea let me know how it works for you

I have added two pills to my moms daily collection of medicines, I give them to her twice a day. One is a mint and the other is a cholorphyll. They have made her much more tolerable to live with. Her gas is less deadly and her poo is only gross and her breath is much improved. I got these pills at a grocery that was kind of a health food store. Mint Assure and Chrorop...?

Hang in there every one--- we are indeed the unthanked, forgotten, saints!!!!

Can she use the real toilet? I use the lysol or clorox wipes on the toilet seat after each use and the trash is dropped from my window into an open trash can outside about 20' down, lol. Strong Urine is infection usually. When my Moms urine is strong, I put her right on Amox for 5 days and the smell dissapates, even my cna who helps me notices when she has a UTI , the smell is horrendous with infection. I am lucky her dr gives me a supply to treat as needed and he is amazed how I catch her infections myself and she has never got into deep trouble with one, yet, hopefully never will. I guess they can hospitilize you at their age. I buy disposible bed pads now after years of those fabric ones I had to wash daily, they are cheap on amazon! I also use tena diapers with a tena pad(slicing the back a little) which are the best of all diapers in my opinion. And, I have heard you can put a plastic bag around the commode pot and they can pee /poop in that and you can throw it away , seems logical. Good Luck, I loved reading these great ideas too.

I found that getting them to drink enough water daily really helps with smell from the urine. Also, the Vicks and 'Real Essential Oil' does help. Lavendar is suppose to help relieve stress too.

Catjohn, is their anywhere in particular you r able to get your real essentail oils that not so expensive?

When my sister was with me, we had a bedside comode for her to use in her final weeks. I discovered that a bathroom trash can liner (4 gallons?) could be placed over the top edge of the bottomless liner (splash guard).of the commode. When the seat was then put into position for her to sit on it, the bag was held in place by the seat, if I remember correctly. Urine and/or stool then dropped into the bag, not touching the bucket nor its bottomless liner. Urine and/or stool could then be emptied into the toilet and flushed away. I of course would then tie the bag and throw it away. If I were changing diapers and/or just cleaning my sister with wipes when she used a toilet for example, I would put all dirtied wipes, gloves, and soiled or wet diapers into a Ziplock bag and seal it up right away. Unless the wipes and diapers, etc. were super soiled, usually I could toss them into a trash can and not have to remove the trash until the end of the day. I liked several of the above suggestions. I would add that you might try sucking on peppermints during the process and try to breathe through your mouth only. And, if need be, you could use nose plugs. Last, a terrific way to almost instantly stop any nausea is to quickly place a wet, iced compress on one's forehead and temples, and/or one's back of the neck (nape) area. Just swish a clean washcloth in ice cubes and water a few times, squeeze out the cloth, repeat. Then fold into a 2 - 3 inch band, warn the recipient that it will feel very cold for just a couple of seconds; but that right after that, he she will feel almost instant relief. Trust me.. Quickly place the cloth over the area described before the recipient has much time to think about it. Gently press the cloth to the neck or temple areas and say in a soothing tone, "There, doestn't that feel better some already." It will.

I have a bedside commode and we use the hanging deodorizer's that are strong but not over-powering. It keeps the smell pleasant and makes it easy on the CNA to empty and clean. These are the things that they sell in the TP isle of the stores. They hang from a wire hanger and are half moon shaped. I don't know their actual name.

NEVER use bleach, because it reacts with the ammonia in the urine and releases chlorine gas, which is BAD for the lungs and eyes. Be safe.

Good point pamstegman! I say just buy potty bags and put in the bucket before she goes!!

Thanks. My parents commode smells like pee. I am going to try a neutralizer that is used for cats. I will let you know how it works.