Because I Had to Share This

Let’s be honest, that nasty pee smell in the bathroom is the bane of mothers of little boys. We try everything to get rid of it, and it just comes back.

I don’t know why my four sons (and their friends) are incapable of actually peeing IN the toilet instead of hitting every object around it, but I’m seriously considering a rule that say “Everyone Must Sit to Pee.” I don’t think that’s at all rash or inappropriate. If you’d spent as much time on your hands and knees scrubbing the bathrooms in your house, you might be mulling over such a rule yourself.

I’ve tried every trick that I’ve heard of – pine-sol, vinegar, baking soda, baking soda plus vinegar, that stuff for dog pee that neutralizes the odor. Nothing really works. I’ve banned the boys from the guest half bath except in cases of emergency (when all the other bathrooms are in use – people in the shower doesn’t count unless they’re opposite sex, you have to let people in to pee.) I’ve Googled “getting that pee smell out of the bathroom” so many times that it’s one of the top searches on my computer. (Other moms do this too…it’s not just me…they tell me so.)

Two weeks ago, I saw a comment on the tail end of a long message board discussion on this topic. (See! It’s not just my sons.) A poster said “The only thing that’s ever worked for me was Apple Scented Suave Shampoo. There was no explanation, just one declarative sentence.

So I tried it.

HOLY GOODNESS, Y’ALL!!!! Suave Apple Scented Shampoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It’s not perfect. There’s still a linger hint of eau de boys-are-gross, but it’s infinitely better. It’s to the point that I no longer cringe or feel the need to apologize before people who don’t live here use our bathrooms. It has gotten noticeably better with every scrubbing, which gives me hope that by February it might be only apple scent in my bathrooms and nothing nasty.

The first time I used it, I scrubbed the floors with a scrub brush and hot water with a healthy dollop of shampoo added in. I then rinsed it off with clear water and a rag. I repeated until the water was no longer yellow-ish. (I scrub these bathrooms DAILY. It’s in the grout of the tile…or was.) It took a bit that first scrubbing, but I’m not down to one wiped down with the shampoo water and a rinse with clear. It works y’all…at least in my house. It’s worth giving it a try – the shampoo is only $.98 a bottle at Wal-Mart and I’ve spent way more than that on solutions that didn’t help at all.

So there you go, from one mom of boys to another – Suave Apple Scented Shampoo. Who knew? Well, now you do.