My Male Rats SMELL!

Question
QUESTION: Hello,
    I have 3 male rats ranging in ages from about 4 months to 1 year. Since I got the first rat a year ago I have had such a horrible problem with smell that I almost regret getting them, which is a horrible thought to even have because I love them so much! You can see my problem.
    I need to know if there is anything I can do to make this smell a little more tolerable. I have tried everything from cleaning out all the waste every day and cleaning the cage every day with a spray, to washing the rats with shampoo. This didn't work! So, it's not that I don't clean the cage enough.
    I have even tried not bathing them because I've heard bathing them might make them scent more. I have tried cleaning their cage less for that same reason. I just don't know what to do. They smell horrible. I mean embarassingly bad. Sometimes I can't sleep it's that bad of a smell. The floor of their cage is also covered with a sticky orange film, which may just be buck grease and normal, I don't know.
    I need some advice. I see on the internet people saying they don't smell any more than any other animal. This is not true for mine at least and it's really intolerable. Do you have any tips?

ANSWER: Bedding plays a huge roll in the odor, as does food and their age -- bathing DOES help with the smell, because the more buck grease they build up, the more they stink. I recommend a recycled newspaper bedding (pellet if possible) and washing their clothing (hammocks and snuggles and such) once a week; changing the bedding once a week as well; and aiming for a bath at least once a month if they do in fact have a build up of buck grease. A dab of vanilla at the base of their tail, behind their ears and on the back of their neck may also help make them smell 'fresh' after a bath.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much for the advice! I really appreciate it! Hopefully this will help with the problem.

I have one more question. What type of foods make them smell bad?

Answer
It's not so much that certain foods make them smell; it's that a healthy diet promotes healthy skin and coat which promotes natural, healthy oils and tamps down any bad smell. So if they're on a rotten diet, they're going to have rotten healthy/skin, and thereby have a rotten smell.

Stick with a good homemade mix, I suggest using a mix similar to Suebee's Rat Diet (google it). =)