The Cleaning Hack That'll Freshen Up Your Stinky Toilet Brush

It's not rocket science: Fresh-smelling bathrooms are far more inviting than ones that are smelly. But even if you do everything right when it comes to deep-cleaning your bathroom, there might be foul odors lurking in the bristles of your toilet brush. Indeed, the lowly toilet brush may very well have the worst job of all cleaning tools, and if yours has been used even once, it is harboring bacteria that can result in putrid smells. Fortunately, it is easy to freshen up your stinky toilet brush with an affordable household product.

Febreze might be advertised as a fabric and room freshening spray, but it can also be used to reduce the nasty scents coming from your toilet brush, rendering the odor molecules inactive and replacing them with more pleasant ones. And since Febreze contains alcohol in its ingredient list, it will kill off some of the bacteria present, too. To deodorize your toilet brush with Febreze, purchase a bottle of Febreze Fabric Spray Xtra Strength ($5.48 at Walmart at the time of writing), hold your toilet brush over the open toilet bowl (to prevent dirty water from dripping on the floor) and spray the bristles thoroughly. Wait until the brush is not dripping and return it to its holder (now is also a good time to rinse and spray the toilet brush holder with a disinfectant spray).

No Febreze? No problem! You can easily make your own version of a toilet brush spray with a few simple ingredients. As far as materials go, you will need a spray bottle and funnel, water, vodka, and essential oils. Add 1 ounce of vodka and 15 drops of your choice of essential oil (or blend of oils) to a bottle. Once the first two ingredients have been thoroughly mixed, add 3 ounces of distilled water, screw on the top of the spray bottle, and lightly shake it to mix all of the liquids together fully. You can use this spray exactly as you would Febreze to freshen your toilet brush — and play around with the amount and flavors of essential oil — it may take some experimenting to determine what smells best to you.

The beauty of this DIY alternative is that it costs pennies on the dollar to make and is super effective against stinky odors. To prevent forgetting what the contents of the bottle are, it's a good idea to add a label. Finally, for safety purposes, remember to be cautious with cleaning ingredients around children — even handcrafted versions — and keep your homemade toilet brush spray locked away and out of reach of little ones. Essential oils can also be toxic to domestic pets, so avoid using this spray around your furry friends.