8 Ways To Get Rid of Stinky Kitchen Sink Smells

Kitchen Sink Smell – You have discovered a foul smell coming from your kitchen sink and although you do not recall collecting dead rats, you are pretty certain you’re about to meet one. Take heart, do not call pest control just yet. There may be a simple reason for your smelly troubles and an even simpler solution.

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Although the likelihood of an animal decaying away in your waste trap (the u-shaped pipe beneath your sink) is slim to none, the chances of it being old food and debris are higher. Washing up dishes after a meal sends a multitude of debris down our drains daily causing a foul kitchen sink smell. Food, oils, coffee grinds and a world of other waste washes through our drains and can build up from time to time. This build-up is a breeding ground of bacteria which gives off terrible smells. You could also have blocked drain vents, or your previous plumber has some explaining to do.

Here are some solutions on how to get rid of a smelly sink:

1. The first choice is to try flushing the waste trap. There are a few cleaning mixtures you can use depending on the degree of the blockage.
2. If you would like a more natural solution you can also try putting down lemon zests in a natural mesh bag in your kitchen drain and down it with boiling water to eliminate fats and oils in the waste trap.
3. Cleansing your drain with boiling water can help eliminate a mild smell. The water should dislodge any debris or flush stagnant water from the waste trap and clean the smell out.
4. If that did not work, add a handful of baking soda to the drain. Then add ½ a cup of vinegar. Leave it to work for a few minutes before flushing with boiling water. The reaction between baking soda and vinegar creates a froth that will eat away at any grease and deodorise the drain.
5. You can add coarse salt to the baking soda and vinegar solvent which helps break up stubborn muck.
6. After cleaning you can add a few drops of essential oils to the drain, like eucalyptus or tea tree, which will add an extra clean scent. Leave it overnight if you can and rinse with boiling water in the morning.
7. If you have a garbage disposal, you can try any of these solutions and add a few ice cubes to help dislodge any stuck debris.
8. If you do not have baking soda or vinegar, then your second choice is to clean the waste trap is manual. This is messy, so have towels, gloves and a bucket close by. Place the bucket underneath the u-shaped waste trap beneath your sink. Unscrew it and allow the water and any build-up to drip into the bucket. Take the waste trap outside and rinse it well with a hosepipe. Fit the trap securely and you can run some water through the drain. This should clean out most pungent smells.

Avoid future blockages and smells, you can try adding these simple habits to your daily sink use.

1. Sprinkle some baking soda down your drain from time to time.
2. Allow your garbage disposal (if you have one) to run for 20 seconds after each use.
3. Flush your drain with boiling once a week.

Finally, if the flushing has not helped, and the smell lingers, it may just be poor maintenance on your pipes and can be missing pipes, rotting tubes or leaks can be the culprit. If so, you will need to contact a professional plumber like DMS Plumbing to assess and fix the drain and connected plumbing.

Source: https://gardencourte.com
Categories: Kitchens