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Do you suffer from smelly drains besides the foul odour from your garbage disposal? It’s not like a musty odour, but like something has croaked. You’ll get a smelly drain when you think about the food, dirt, and hair that got stuck. The build-up is the most common cause of stinky drain smells. Or it could be moulds that have already thrived in the moist environment, releasing tiny puffs of gas that smell, causing your smelly drain problem.
This is a perfect time to unclog your pipes and eliminate the foul smell and sewer gases filling your home. Bacteria and gunk build-up could be in your blocked drains, causing the drain smell. Authentic plumbing maintenance is highly recommended, and you’ll need plumbing services now and then, but believe it or not, unclogging your pipes of build-up and giving your blocked drains a proper clean today — it’ll save you from a lot of spending and headache in the future. And it’ll prevent the drain flies from coming into your drains.
There are many ways to clean drains without calling for a professional plumber and plumbing service. You can pour boiling water down the drain pipes or explore other simple solutions. To clean a double sink, plug the gutter on one side and work on the open side before switching sides. But have you ever wondered what the common causes are, aside from the build-up behind the foul odours and, sometimes, the accompanying gurgling sounds in your kitchen sink drain or smelly bathroom drains?
There are many causes of smelly drains. Some reasons can be fixed by having hot water and hot vinegar baking soda mixture poured into your smelly drain, as well as others. But with sewer line problems, like a sewer gas trap problem, behind the bad smell and foul odour, you might need something stronger than a baking soda vinegar concoction to clean a smelly drain and the p trap. Your piping system must have a p trap and a vent system. For instance, one side of the U-shaped pipe is connected to the septic system for your bathroom, while the other runs up to the roof. This allows terrible smells to exit the house and fresh air to come in. You must also pay attention to your vent and p trap; regular maintenance is necessary.
Here are three of the most common reasons behind your smelly drain.
Nothing prevents sewer smell from entering your home without a drain trap in your sink or bathtub. So, you’ll most likely notice a foul smell from your drains without this.
Never pour grease down your drain. If it gets stuck down your drain, you will have smelly drains.
This is the most common cause of the foul smell in your drains. When left to rot, unconsumed food will cause moulds, and your kitchen drain will stink and emit a foul odour to match your garbage.
Preventing smelly drains is always one of the goals. But in most cases, this isn’t always realised. When faced with no choice and your bathroom sink smells, and you already have a minor clogged drain, the goal becomes different and now, aside from getting rid of the causes of smelly drains, we can add preventing further problems in the plumbing system or figure out if you have sewer line issues to your goals. We can start with removing the smell from your drains using hot water and these organic ingredients.
Let’s clean a smelly drain and get rid of a blocked drain quickly with these ingredients and easy ways! Some of these solutions will even leave your gutters smelling fresh. No more sewer gases, causes of smelly drains, and further pipe damage.
For your garbage disposal, you may be used to using cold water and ice cubes. However, for your drain and p-trap, you’ll need to work with boiling water or hot tap water. Slowly pour hot water into your smelly drains to eliminate unwanted debris. Adding a cup of baking soda before pouring hot water can enhance the cleaning effect by creating a chemical reaction that helps break down grime and refresh your pipes. This method effectively dissolves congestion, clears remaining debris, and eliminates odours.
Pour half to one cup of vinegar down the drain, then quickly insert the drain plug. The acidic nature of vinegar helps soften grease, grime, soap scum, and other waste materials that cause unpleasant smells. It also acts as an antibacterial agent, killing bacteria and contributing to bad odours. For an enhanced effect, first sprinkle baking soda into the drain, followed by vinegar to create a fizzing action that helps dislodge stubborn blockages.
Using citrus peels, such as those from oranges or lemons, can help combat foul smells and sewer gases. Their sweet scent cuts through unpleasant odours, while their acidic properties suppress bacterial growth. Grind peels are at your garbage disposal or placed directly into the drain. This natural remedy freshens your drain and keeps it flowing smoothly.
Here is a straightforward recipe for an environmentally friendly solution to cleaning smelly drains and minor blockages. Don’t wait for a serious blocked drain to plague you. Let’s remove the stinky drain smell and clear up your minor blocked drains. So, before you rush out and buy a commercial drain cleaning product and the harsh chemicals that come with it, try this first!
Baking soda and vinegar are natural, non-toxic ingredients. While unclogging drains, they pose no health dangers. They are preferable to the sodium hydroxide, commonly known as lye, found in most drain cleaners.
Combining baking soda (base) and vinegar (acid) can form carbon dioxide and sodium acetate. This presents as the bubbles scrubbing the drain’s insides. These natural, non-toxic ingredients get flushed further down, ensuring a clog-free drain.
Check the ingredients below and follow the application.
Ingredients:
Application:
This should help with smelly drains and even minor blockages. You can also scrub the drain with an old toothbrush.
Suppose your baking soda vinegar mixture and other environmentally friendly solution to clean smelly drains doesn’t stop the smell, or you’ve noticed most of your gutters with sewer odours. In that case, the problem is likely a damaged sewer line or in your sewer gas trap. It’s time to call a plumbing expert, then. The sewer line takes the wastewater from your home to the local sewer system or a septic tank. If the sewer pipe becomes blocked or sustains damage from corrosion, tree roots, ground shifting, or construction, it will back sewage into your lines and eventually into your smelly drain.
This is an urgent concern. Act on it immediately, or sewage will seep into the basement and cause severe damage to your structure’s foundation. You will need a professional plumber to repair or replace the sewer pipe.
Do you think you’re dealing with more than bad smells and need excellent service immediately? Despite trying different solutions already in your shower drain, bathroom sink, and other drains in the house, from half a cup to two cups of hot vinegar to boiling water mixture and drain snake, are there still bad smells? And now, you’re attracting drain flies, and in other cases, you also have stagnant water refusing to go down the drains. You could be facing a different problem or, worse, plumbing issues. Call a professional drain cleaning service.
For a more severe blocked drain, read our post on unblocking a drain for more D.I.Y. tips, or call us about your other plumbing problems or if you need a prompt response on your hot water service and our drain unblocking services for Gold Coast residents. Contact a professional plumber to remove tree roots in your pipes, address septic system issues, sewer gas trap problems, and many more.
