Why Does My Drain Smell

October 20, 2022

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Why Does My Kitchen Drain Smell

Why Do I Have Sewer Odor in My Shower?

If your kitchen sink drain smells, especially if there is a sewer smell, you may have a dry P-trap. The P-trap is the curved portion of pipe under the sink. It is supposed to hold water, which creates a seal that prevents sewer gases from getting into your kitchen. There needs to be water in the P-trap at all times.

There may also be a drain pipe or vent problem. This could involve pipe damage or an obstruction in your vent.

Drain Odor How To Get Rid Of It Yourself

You just walked into your kitchen or bathroom only to discover an unidentifiable smell. If you cant find the odor source, it is most likely a drain odor. Thats right. Drains can smell bad.

If your drains smell foul, dont fret. There are several different DIY steps to rid your home of drain odor. However, before we get into the specific ways to eliminate smelly drains, we should first discuss just what causes them in the first place. After all, the better you understand your enemy, the better off youll be when it comes time to face them. So, without further ado, lets get started.

Get In Touch With Tunnel Vision

Smelly drains are an unpleasant household problem that you can try resolving on your own.

Depending on the root cause, finding out what will work depends a lot on trying a few simple solutions.

However, when all else fails, make sure to call in the professionals. Tunnel Vision has the tools and the skills to clean any smelly drain and clear any blocked drain quickly and with minimal convenience to you. Call us on or book online today!

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Why Do My Drains Smell Like Pee

If a drain is emitting a strong urine smell, then a faulty toilet seal or mould problem could be the reason. Faulty Toilet Seal: Every toilet should have an effective seal ring. Should this be faulty or missing, this could result in the lingering urine smell. This should be fixed by a quick call to a plumber.

Solution: Clean And Sanitize The P

A dirty P-trap is relatively easy to clean and sanitize in order to get rid of musty odors. You can use chemical cleaners to remove any dirt and grime clinging to the inside of the P-trap, but if you are concerned about using harsh chemicals in your plumbing lines, then you may want to try an alternative solution. Pour about 0.5 cups of baking soda into the drain and follow it up with about 0.5 cups of distilled vinegar. Cover the drain with a stopper and allow the chemical reaction to take place within the drain. This should remove any odor-causing bacterial and clean out any grime or debris that is clinging to the inside of the drain line.

If the problem is a dry P-trap, it’s likely a result of a broken, clogged, or obstructed vent line. This situation tends to be beyond most DIYers, so it’s recommended to contact a professional plumber to help resolve the problem.

Diy Drain Cleaning And Deodorizing

Dont wait until your drains are clogged and smelly to do something about it. Here are some pro tips for maintaining clean and free-flowing drains:

Pour about ½ cup of baking soda and ¼ cup of salt over the drain.
Then, start pouring a big bottle of household white vinegar.
You should see foam and bubbles rise from the chemical reaction.
Let everything sit for about 15 minutes.
Then rinse everything with just-below-boiling water.
Finally, let the cold tap run and rinse everything away.

If water freely flows down the drain, great! If not, try the process one more time before calling a professional plumber. Do this every few weeks to help prevent smells and blockages. Other tips include keeping hair out of the drain and avoiding chemical drain cleaners, which can harm your plumbing system.

Keep your garbage disposal clean and fresh by periodically putting some ice and lemon/lime wedges in the disposal. Learn more drain cleaning and garbage disposal tips.

Sprinkle Baking Soda Down Your Drain Periodically

Is that smell finally gone? Keep it that way by periodically sprinkling baking soda down the drain to absorb odors. You can do this after you wash the dishes or just once a week, but its especially useful when youre headed out of town and wont be using your sink for awhile.

I also sprinkle baking soda down the drain if Im going to be out of town for more than one day it prevents coming home to a nasty funk in there.

I once a week and it works a charm!

Even just sprinkling some baking soda down the drain after washing the dishes makes a huge difference for me.

Which of these tips or any others not listed here! have worked for your smelly sink drains?

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Relax Its Usually An Easy Fix

If you are worried that the sewer smell thats oozing out of your plumbing is going to be a tough fix, dont be. Most sewage smells can be fixed with careful cleaning and a little bit of extra ventilation. However, if it is a more unique situation, typical fixes still wont take more than a week.

Like with all things related to plumbing, the most important thing to do is to keep an eye on your plumbing maintenance and cleanliness. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Can I Pour Bleach Down The Drain

Shower Drain Smells Like a Sewer? Quick Easy Fix

Bleach is a powerful, toxic substance that should be used carefully and properly, and pouring it down a drain is not a proper use. Bleach can react with other substances in your pipes, potentially release fumes, and further plug up the system. Pouring bleach down them will do much more harm than good.

What to use to get urine smell out of shower drain?

To get rid of the urine odor in your shower drain, combine two inexpensive cleaning and deodorizing ingredients. Remove the urine odor from your shower drain with baking soda and vinegar. Pour 1/4 cup baking soda down the drain.

How to get rid of urine smell in the air?

Expert Trick: Remove urine smells from the air by placing bowls of vinegar around the room. You should also clean every possible surface with pure white vinegar. 3 Use straight baking soda.

How can I get the smell out of my sink drain?

Once the trap of the smelly drain is dismounted, it can be soaked in a mixture of water and detergent. Leave it in there for some time to properly clean it and to remove the bad odor in the drain. Then, you can use a wire brush or pipe cleaner to remove any persistent dirt.

What can I use to get rid of urine smell on furniture?

These odor eliminators come in spray bottles that you spray over your furniture until damp and then let air dry. Using fabric odor eliminators will give your fabric a nice, fresh scent. However, they generally mask rather than treat and fully remove bad scents and stains.

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What To Do When Your Sink Drain Smells

Creating a home that looks and feels good is a priority for most. Having a home that is friendly on the nose is equally important. If you have a smell that you just can’t unearth, the culprit might be one of the many drains in your home.

When you enter your house only to be assaulted by a bad odour, nothing will stop you from uncovering that smell. If your odour investigation has come up dry, you might consider looking to the many drains in your home. If your nose can narrow down the type of smell, you’ll be well on your way to determining which drain contains the assaulting odour.

Consider inspecting all the drains in your home. Kitchen and bathroom sinks, floor drains, toilets, and garbage disposals. All are susceptible to odour causing bacteria and all your drains can fill your house with an unpleasant odour. Once you’ve unearthed that smell, consider your plans for eradicating it.

Ways To Eliminate Drain Odor

Many homeowners are beginning to appreciate the usefulness not only of garbage disposal units, but even the simple sink strainer. This is especially true if you are one of those homeowners who work their kitchen sink drains very hard. However, no matter how careful you are with what goes into your drains, inevitably, grease, food particles, and other nasty things will find their way into the drain and cause smelly odor. So what should you do? How can you eliminate the smelly odor from your drains?

First, its important to have an idea of what is causing the odor in your drain. While in your kitchen, food and grease are usually the issues, in other parts of your home you may find other causes of odors. Here are a few other common sources of smelly drain odor:

Sewage: As sewage decomposes it releases noxious fumes and gases. These gases are unpleasant and smell like old sewage. Sewer gases can permeate through your drains when there are empty drain traps. Usually, sewer smells occur in irregularly used drains.
Mold and Mildew: Mold and mildew smells are directly attributed to the existence of mold or mildew near your drains. Usually, the mold and mildew smells occur in drains when there is a leak in the drain or pipes that connect to it.
Plumber Error: Plumbers, like everyone else, arent perfect. Sometimes they make mistakes. Simple errors like forgetting to install drain traps or sewage vents can cause severe drain odors.

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Reasons Why Your Kitchen Sink Drain Smells Like Sewage

One of the most common reasons a kitchen sink drain smells like a sewer is a lack of draining. When the pipes cant adequately remove debris or sewer gases, the odor will start to escape into the kitchen. There are three main causes of a kitchen sink having poor draining, described in the sections below.

Hold the plastic tube tightly and, as you force the flexible tube into the drain, turn the handle on the other end of the flexible tube. This should clear out the clog. If this method works, make sure you sanitise the snake hose before putting it back in storage.

If you dont have a drain snake, you can improvise using a metal wire coat hanger or any piece of wire. Create a hook at the other end of the wire and slowly slide it down the drain until you reach the clog. Gradually pull the wire out.

How To Deodorize Shower Drain Manually

There are two important ways to deodorize a shower drain manually.

1. Remove any gunk, mold, and hair

Use a drain cleaner to remove any gunk and hair thats inside the shower drain. Sometimes there will be hair on the cover, just make sure to remove it. Make sure to clean the moldy areas as well.

2. Use liquid disinfectant

If you dont see any hair and gunk then its best to pour 1-2 cups of liquid disinfectant into the drain. This will make the drain smell way better than before.

These two methods arent permanent methods. So if you want to make sure your shower does not smell again then you should check out these next solutions.

If you are interested in how to make your bathroom smell great then

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Is It Bad To Breathe In Sulfur

Sulfur dioxide is severely irritating to the eyes, mucous membranes, skin, and respiratory tract. Bronchospasm, pulmonary edema, pneumonitis, and acute airway obstruction can occur. Inhalation exposure to very low concentrations of sulfur dioxide can aggravate chronic pulmonary diseases, such as asthma and emphysema.

Ways To Get Rid Of A Smelly Drain

Bathroom Sink Drain Smells Bad, get rid of Odor

Now you know some of the most common causes of the dreaded kitchen or bathroom sink drain smell, we move on to discuss ways to get rid of foul drain odors. For the most part, these methods are safe for homeowners to attempt. An unpleasant odor caused by clogs, dryness, and similar issues are relatively easy to take care of for homeowners of all skill levels. For more major issues, its best to call in a licensed plumber for help.

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How Do You Remove Hydrogen Sulfide From Air

TREATMENT OPTION: AERATION Because hydrogen sulfide gas escapes rapidly from water to cause an odor, it may also be removed from the water by aeration. The process includes bubbling air through the water tank, then separating or “stripping” the hydrogen sulfide in the air by venting it to the outdoors.

Why Do My Drains Smell

Are you smelling rotten eggs, a sewage smell or just any other unpleasant odors?

If youre getting a sewer smell coming from one of your sink or shower drains, it is likely one of two causes:

Something is wrong with the trap.

A buildup of organic matter.

In very rare cases it can be something else, like mould, a broken sewer line or even a dead animal in the walls close to the sink drain.

Lets hold our noses and explore the most common causes in more detail. Meanwhile, run any exhaust fans and open any windows in the room. If the problem is actual sewer gas, its not only unpleasant it can be dangerous if it builds up too much.

What Causes Bad Odours In Kitchen Drains

If its your kitchen sink that smells, there are a few common culprits that might have found their way into your drainpipe. A lot of issues can be traced back to food scrapings or fatty deposits rinsed from plates and cookware. Bacteria from organic waste can cause a musty smell, and the best way to prevent this from occurring is to not let food waste cooking oils going down the drain.

The Fastest Way To Fix A Stinky Drain

You can deodorize most drains by pouring 1/4 cup baking soda into the opening, followed by a squirt of liquid dish soap. Then run the hot water faucet for 2 full minutes to flush the drain. If that does not eliminate the odor, try one of the methods below.

Many people find that a combination of methods works best to clean and deodorize their drains. So, start with the one most convenient for you, then try another approach if it continues to stink.

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Issues With The Sewer Gas Drain Trap

Another common reason you have smelly sink drains or sewer odors from your home could be that you have issues with the sewer gas drain trap.

Its a u-shaped bend that faces downwards and collects water, which is supposed to prevent the sewer smell from accessing your home.

The gravity inside the p trap holds the water, and it refreshes every time you use the tap.

However, if the gas p trap has a leak or its not filled with water, it could release sewer gasses.

These are the possible problems sewer p trap problems causing bad smells from your sewer system:

Leaking sewer trap If you think your sewer gas trap might have leaked, check for signs below your sink. If the kitchen or the bathroom sink smells bad, look for leakage signs on the floor.
No water in the gas trap When you dont use the bathroom sink or other sinks in your home, the water from the dry p trap could evaporate.
If this is your issue, you can run some water down the dry p trap to see if the smell will disappear or not.
As the room is probably already smelly from the stinky sink, it wouldnt hurt to air out the area and allow fresh air to help eliminate the bad smell.
Old homes might not have a gas trap Very old homes have different plumbing systems and might not have a p trap.

If thats the case, youll need help from a professional plumber to install a new p trap.

Baking Soda Salt Vinegar And Boiling Water

Some readers swear that adding coarse salt to the tried-and-true baking soda and vinegar combo offers just enough extra abrasion to break up the gunk.

I just dealt with this when we got home from a 10-day absence! I found this online and it worked beautifully.

1/2 cup coarse salt1/2 cup baking soda1 cup vinegar

Pour these into the drain in order. Cover the drain to get the bubbles working in the drain only . Supposedly the salt adds an abrasive component. Then pour a kettle of boiling water through to get it all out and dissolve any remaining salt. No more stink over here!

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