What is that awful aroma floating around your house, and where could it possibly be coming from? Everybody has taken a shower today — you already checked to make sure. Could it be a stinky sink drain?
You have a sinking feeling that you know where it’s coming from, but clearing out a stinky drain is not the ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
It’s too late for you already, but there are a few things you can be aware of to keep the stinky drains away in the future.
Here’s what you need to know.
What Causes Stinky Sink Drains & How to Fix Them
Here’s how you can fix stinky drains if it is getting too much to handle. Check out the following list to see what causes it and how you can prevent it:
Blocked Drains Lead to Stinky Drains
How does a stinky sink drain exist in the first place? They get blocked by dirt, debris, and other particles. This muck starts rotting in your drains and gives off that supremely unpleasant odor you’re forced to enjoy.
The good news is that you can do plenty of things — or instead not do. To keep your drains clear and decidedly less smelly.
Another Great Way to Check this is by Inspecting the Overflow Drain
The overflow drain holds a small amount of water that stagnates and causes an unpleasant odor. Check if this is true by plugging the sink and filling it with water.
If there is stagnant water in the overflow drain, you’d need to resolve it by pouring clog cleaner down the drain.
Avoid Putting Any of the Following in Your Drains
These are some of the things that should NEVER find their way to your drain. They can cause a lot of problems for you to keep it clean for a long time. Here’s what you need to take care of:
Hair
Your luscious locks are gorgeous, but not when stuck in your drain. Whether your hair is long or short, get in the habit of cleaning it out of your shower drain after each shower so it won’t get washed into the drain and start building up.
Cat Litter
We get that the toilet is for flushing waste, but animal waste with cat litter stuck to it is a bad idea to throw in the toilet. Cat litter is designed to clump up and expand when wet, so you can easily clean it from the litter box. When it does that in your pipes, bad things start to happen.
Cooking Grease
Cooking grease is liquid when it’s hot, which might make you think that you can toss it down the drain. However, that would be a big mistake.
Why? What happens to cooking grease when it cools in your frying pan? It thickens, builds up, and may become jellylike.
What do you think happens to that grease when it cools in your pipes? It doesn’t do the same thing and quickly stops up to your pipes, contributing to those stinky smells you wish to avoid.
Toiletries
Toilets are for flushing away #1 and #2 and just enough toilet paper to clean up with. Items like sanitary pads, tampons, condoms, makeup wipes, and any other items you might think about tossing in the toilet don’t belong there.
Even if they miraculously make it out of your house’s system without causing a blockage, they take far too long to disintegrate when being processed in the wastewater plant and will cause problems there.
If you get lucky, you can clear a blockage with a plunger or DIY snake, but you will need to call a plumber for more severe blockages.
Keep Your Drains Smelling Fresh
You can occasionally pour some cleaning agents, such as vinegar and baking soda mixture, into hot water. This works wonders, especially if you have a stinky sink drain that will not let go of the odor.
Alternatively, you can add a generous quantity of baking soda and let it sit in the stinky drain for a quarter of an hour before you add the same quantity of vinegar.
Then, wait 15 minutes after the foaming has settled before running hot water down the drain. This alternative cleaning hack will come in handy when you have the time, such as on weekends!
Try Installing a P-trap
If your efforts go to waste and you still cannot see any changes in the condition of your drain, here’s how you can change that. Contact your plumber and ask them to install a P-trap for your drain.
This fixture will help you avoid the nasty smell that emanates from your drain. The P-trap holds the water in the drain, providing a seal to keep the sewer gases from getting into the space.
Also, ensure through your plumber that there is proper ventilation to get rid of the gases. Otherwise, they may bubble up in the drain.
Conclusion
That’s all there is to fix a stinky sink drain! Don’t put anything besides water and the shortlist of toilet-appropriate items down your drains. You can avoid the dreaded stink of a clogged drain.
Keep in mind that you must follow these steps to keep your sink free of any clogs and your house smelling fresh! As they say, prevention is better than cure, right?
Did any of these hacks fix the smelly drain? Tell us in the comments below!
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