The unseen sources of stench

Washrooms can be a constant source of bad smells. But a longer term issue not always apparent to building operators is that poor cleaning can lead to lingering smells that are more difficult to eradicate, says Sealed Air's Diversey business.

Many bad washroom smells arise when gases are emitted by the naturally occurring microbes that eat into deposits of organic residues. Typical problem areas include floors, particularly around urinals, in and around wash basins, behind toilet bowls and in sinktraps and drains. Sometimes the deposits are not easy to spot. A thin deposit of difficultto- see lime-scale, for example, provides a rough surface to which microbes can cling even during routine cleaning.

For general building care and washrooms in public areas, multi-purpose products such as the new TASKI Sani 4in1 are suitable for regular daily cleaning. Its acidic formulation means it can be used in all areas of the washroom to prevent the build up of lime scale. Residues and deposits can also be removed with Good Sense Breakdown. This incorporates natural bacterial cultures to eliminate microbes.