Zillions of efforts go into cleaning and taking care of our homes. Despite so much devotion and effort, there is always something breaking down that needs immediate attention. An example includes smelly drains in bathrooms and kitchens. And odors in the kitchens can reduce your appetite.
In case there are issues related to drain odors in your household, and you want to know how to get rid of the drain smell in no time, then we've got you covered here. Solutions abound, but all depend on the source of the drain odor in question. So, first, try to know the root cause and decide the solution for it accordingly.
Causes Of Smelly Drains
Learning how to get rid of sink smell should always start with identifying the cause of the odor.
This step helps you employ the right solution. Some major reasons why your drain may be smelling include:
A Build-Up of Organic Matter
Organic matter build-up should be the first suspect of a smelly drain. We are only aware of this build-up when there is a blockage, but if there is a distinct odor of rotting food even without blockage, chances are there is a build-up in your drain.
Organic matter like small food particles, grease, hair, and soap scum can become stuck to the inside of the pipes when we use our bathroom and kitchen sinks. This organic matter rots, which in turn causes a foul odor.
One way to confirm if a build-up of food particles and other organic matter is causing the smell is by the distinct rotten egg smell that arises from rotting food.
As mentioned above, when organic matter such as hair, soap scum, and food particles are not flushed and get stuck inside the pipes, they will eventually lead to blockages. This blockage speeds up when small jewelry, hair pins, plastic, and other items accidentally drop into the sinkholes.
When the pipes become blocked, decaying organic matter will result in foul stench from standing water stuck in the pipes. The odor can also attract pests like drain flies that lay eggs and are difficult to repel, worsening the smell problem.
You can easily confirm if the cause of the odor is indeed blockage by observing whether the water in the sink is draining. If water drains slowly or there is standing water, there is a blockage.
Dry Trap
A dry P-trap is a major contributor to foul odor and is, unfortunately, difficult to detect. The P-trap is a U-shaped pipe under your sink that connects to a sewer. Its function is to hold a small amount of water that blocks sewer gas from escaping the plughole.
If you have not used the sink for a long time, the water evaporates, and the P-trap gets dry. This dryness causes the foul odors to escape. And whether you fix this on your own or call a professional depends on the severity of the problem.
Mold and Mildew
Many people don’t know this, but mold and mildew can thrive in drains and pipes. These damp and cramped places are ideal for fungi growth. They could be easily dealt with if they were easy to spot, like on walls, but they are not, which makes treatment a little time-consuming.
You would have to confirm first if the odor arose from mold and mildew. One way to do that is to observe if your slow-draining sink has a distinct musty smell inherent to mold. It is important to remove this fungi growth promptly to prevent respiratory problems and skin or eye irritation.
We spend so much time by the sinks washing our faces, dishes, and more. All the water splashing could keep the sink clean, but does it? Probably not. A simple wipe-down or splash of water is not going to clean the sink, and there could be germs and bacteria invisible to the naked eye that could eventually cause a foul odor.
Therefore, regularly deep cleaning your sink is the first step against foul odor. Using warm tap water, wet the basin. On the surface of a scrub pad, sprinkle some baking soda. Use the pad to clean the basin of any food debris, soap scum, and stains.
Pour a little more of the powder on the pad and clean the caulk seal around your sink and faucet and under the rubber drain flaps. Once scrubbing is over, rinse warm water into the sink.
2. Use Boiling Water
You can skip the deep clean and use boiling water instead if you clean your sink regularly. Boil a pot of water and pour it slowly down the drain to loosen debris or residue causing the smell. You can also use hot water from your tap. Continue pouring water bit by bit until the stench is gone.
This method is an easy DIY fix that avoids chemical usage, which should always be your last resort. It works well for minor clogs, but avoid it if your sink is porcelain and your pipes are PVC, as these materials cannot withstand the temperature of boiled water. If the stench persists, you need a more powerful method.
Baking soda is a robust and natural deodorizer with endless benefits. It can successfully eradicate unpleasant stenches from your drains. To do so, measure one spoonful of baking soda and sprinkle it directly into the drain where odors originate.
The fine powder will flow into the pipes with ease. Then, run water down the drain to distribute the powder throughout the pipes and activate its deodorizing properties. Do this weekly for best results, as regular applications can prevent odor buildup and maintain freshness.
4. Pour Hot Vinegar
Hot vinegar is a proven versatile cleaning agent, tackling stubborn sink stains and drain odors in one go. It contains acetic acid that inhibits odor-causing bacteria. To make the most of this economical and effective solution, simmer the clear liquid for an hour and splash it around the sink.
Then, stream the hot vinegar down your drain. Let the solution chemicalize in your pipes for 10 minutes, and rinse with hot water to freshen your drain. And if you are worried about the pungent vinegar smell, rest assured, it does not stick around.
5. Try Some Vinegar and Baking Soda
Combine the baking soda and vinegar if you want to take it up a notch.Remove the cover from your drain if it has one. Pour the baking soda slowly to get as much of it as you can down the drain. The baking soda will stick to the grime inside the drain. After that, slowly pour distilled white vinegar down the drain so it starts to bubble and fizz with the baking soda.
Cover the drain with its stopper or towel to force the bubbles further down the pipe. The fizzing reaction breaks apart the debris and deodorizes the stench even more. For best results, you can leave the mixture overnight. The next morning, pour boiling water down the drain to wash away everything.
Don’t use your bleach only to remove clothes stains. This powerful chemical cleaner can tackle smelly drains, sink stains, and clogged drains all at once, saving time and effort. But remember to use it cautiously because it could do more harm than good when natural methods are ineffective.
Nevertheless, bleach might be the most effective cleaner for unclogging drains caused by hair. To use bleach to clean your drain, pour a cup of bleach into your drain and wait 10 minutes. Then, run hot water for 5 minutes. Repeat until the odor is gone.
7. Use a Drain Auger
A drain auger is a metal cable almost 25 feet long that fits down your drain pipe and catches onto any clogs. It is effective when chemicals and natural methods fail to deliver results.
To use the auger, remove the cover at the end of the metal cable and feed it down the drain. It will slide with ease if there are no clogs, but if there are, you might need to wiggle the wires and crank the handles to reach a massive blockage. You will know there is a blockage when you cannot push the wire further.
At this point, the auger will grab onto the gunk, which you will pull out by turning the handle to pull back the cable. Once the debris comes out, dispose of it and repeat the process until you no longer feel the blockages.
8. Pour A Dash Of Mineral Oil
Once you have cleaned the sink and the drains using the methods mentioned above, you can pour a dash of mineral oil into the sinkhole to improve the smelly situation. The mineral oil will not solve problems directly related to the causes of smelly drains, such as blockages or organic matter buildup.
However, the mineral oil will provide much-needed sensory relief. It acts as a barrier between your nose and the sewer gasses that can escape from rarely used drains. So, if you have a relatively new drain in your home that has started to stink, try pouring a dash of mineral oil down the trap to see if it clears up the problem.
Many home cleaning hacks feature this powerful trio, and we had to include them in this as well because they work like magic when cleaning surfaces and killing stubborn odors, like one caused by your sink drains. Here's how to use this method:
In a small bowl, add three spoonfuls of borax and then pour it down the drain. Ensure it gets inside the drain and not around the plughole.
Add two to three cups of ice cubes on top of the borax.
Half a fresh lemon and squeeze its juice directly into the drain.
Let the borax, ice, and lemon juice blend work its magic for a few minutes.
Finally, run hot water down the drain to flush everything away and enjoy the fresh scent.
10. Run the Garbage Disposal
If you are wondering how to get rid of the kitchen sink smell, you might have to check your garbage disposal. Food scraps and other waste are stuck in your garbage disposal and starting to rot, causing a distinct foul smell that is easy to discern. Solving this problem is straightforward.
Turn on the garbage disposal and let your kitchen faucet run for 10 to 15 seconds. This step will allow your disposal to shred the food waste and scraps inside. Or optional is tossing small chunks of strongly-scented fruits like lemons and oranges in the disposal to make it smell fantastic.
11. Ice Cubes
Another method to clear out the smell caused by the garbage disposal is to clean your drain with ice. We know it sounds orthodox, but pouring a cup of ice down the drain is said to sharpen the disposal blades. The blades then break up food scraps and residue on the blades and eliminate the odor.
Fill your sink drain with ice cubes and turn on your faucet to let cold and hot water run into the drain. Turn on the garbage disposal, ensuring your hands are away from the blades. Add more ice to the disposal, if necessary, and repeat until the gross debris is down in the sewer, where it belongs.
You already know that a dry P-trap releases sewer gas in your home and gets dry if you have not used your sink for some time. To reverse the damage, you have to fill the P-trap with water by letting the faucet run for 10 to 15 seconds.
Sometimes, the p-trap is dry because of leaks. It will be dripping, or there will be damp patches under the sink. If there is a leak, call a professional plumber or drainage expert.
13. Clean The P-Trap
You have refilled the p-trap. You have checked for leaks, and there aren’t any, but the smell still persists. So what do you do now? Clean the P-trap! The stench will not dissipate if the p-trap is filled with dirt and gunk.
To clean the P-trap, remove it by unscrewing the plastic or metal nuts on either side with a wrench. Once it is loose, pull off the trap and empty the water inside. With a nylon brush, scrub away the grime and rinse it. Then, reassemble and run the faucet to ensure it is not leaking. If it is leaking, align the trap again and screw the bolts tightly.
In the sides of your sink, there is a small hole. Most people never even think twice about it, but the little thing does serve a purpose. The hole is called an over flow and is placed there for a reason- to keep your sink from over flowing. As we go about using our sink, it captures things such as soap scum and other types of buildups. Because of that, it has the tendency to smell over time.
It does tend to require cleaning much like the plug hole; it is possible to pour vinegar or bleach down the hole, then take a little toothbrush and scrub the insides, making sure the brush will go inside.
15. Call a Professional
If by now you still wonder how to stop smelling drains, after the application of the above natural remedies, then you should stop trying and call a professional.
We understand that you probably wanted to apply quick fixes in the first place because you simply believed you could take care of it yourself and avoid paying the service fee.
