Have you ever noticed smelly drains in your home and not sure if it is due to a clog? Many homeowners who often use their sinks, come across this unwanted stink. If you regularly use your sink, no matter how cautious you are about what goes down your drains, grease, food particles, and other unpleasant things will ultimately enter the pipe and generate a foul smell. So what do you need to do? How can you get rid of this unpleasant smell coming from your drains?
What causes the drain to have a foul smell?
There are various potential reasons for drain odors. The most frequent cause may be a rotting object in the drain line, which allows foul gasses and odors to return up the line and out of the drain. Your plumbing-trap (p-trap), a tiny 180-degree bend in your drain pipe that keeps a little amount of water in place to stop the smell from going through, blocks drain odors under normal usage conditions. However, with time, the water in this trap may evaporate, allowing foul smells to escape once more.
A few common reasons for smelly drains are as follows:
- Sewer: Noxious gasses or fumes are released when sewage decomposes. These gasses are unpleasant and make you feel nauseous. Empty drain traps allow foul smells to permeate through your drain.
- Mold and Mildew: The existence of mold or mildew near your drain pipes can be another reason for the foul smells. These kinds of smells occur mostly when there is a leak in the drain pipe or connecting pipes.
- Plumbing Errors: Simple errors like forgetting to add a drain trap or a sewage vent can cause severe drain odors.
- Drain backups and clogs: Clogs can cause disgusting water to back up past the p-trap to the point that you can smell the foul odors.
5 Ways to get rid of Smelly Drains:
1. Refill your Plumbing Trap:
The sewer gasses creeping up into your homes is one of the most common reasons that your drain smells so foul. This happens when the water in the trap begins to evaporate or dries up completely. If the drain is not used regularly, the water dries up. For example, the drains in the basement are hardly used, unless you experience flooding in the basement or decide to give it a wash.
This kind of smell might not be too strong but can be harmful to your health. Pouring a quart of water into the drain and adding a few tablespoons of cooking oil to it will seal the harmful gases and keep them from passing through. This ensures that the water does not evaporate easily and the trap is sealed.
It is suggested to do this 3 to 4 times a year to keep the trap in good shape.
2. Pour Hot Water:
Boiling water or hot water is ideal for smelly drains. Hardened dirt and grease can be melted by pouring hot water into the drain. This can further suppress mild smells coming from your drains.
A simple hack is to take any boiled water left over from the cooking and pour it down the drain when it is still hot. Regularly flushing hot water down the drain ensures that grease and fat do not harden inside the drain and clog it. As boiling water is not toxic, it will not damage or melt your pipes even if they are considerably old and weak. Make sure to put the hot water left from boiling pasta to good use next time.
3. Sprinkle Baking Soda:
Sprinkling baking soda down the drain from time to time can help you get rid of smelly drains. It is a great way of keeping your drains odor-free. Baking soda absorbs all the smell and dissipates it, instead of letting it escape into your home.
When should you sprinkle baking soda? Right after washing your dishes, pour baking soda at least once a week. A good practice would be sprinkling baking soda before leaving for any vacation.
4. Pour Hot Vinegar:
People are familiar with using white vinegar against smelly odor but not many know about using hot vinegar. Hot vinegar is a great way of keeping your drains clean and is ideal for cleaning your coffee makers as well.
Put water and white vinegar in equal parts in the water chamber of your coffeemaker. Let it brew for half a time before you shut it off. Once you are done, pour the hot vinegar down the drain instead of throwing it away to get rid of the stale smell coming from the smelly drains. Another efficient way of suppressing the smell is to mix vinegar with baking soda.
5. Book a Drain Cleaning Service:
If none of these solutions work, your drain line might be experiencing a more serious issue. If so, do not hesitate to take assistance from professional drain cleaners. A professional drain cleaning service clears the gunk and buildup from your drain line, getting rid of odors and lowering the likelihood of a drain clog developing soon.
If you have any questions about what to do, please contact the Warrior Sewer and Drain team. We are here to help and are honored to be chosen to fight your sewer and drain battles for you.