Why Your Drain Smells And How To Fix It Fast

09Jan2023

Why Your Drain Smells And How To Fix It Fast

By : angila

Have you ever entered your home and found it reeks of sewage smell or rotten eggs? This is often because of a problem in the sewage water treatment due to a dry P-trap or a problem in the plumbing vents. To fix the plumbing vents, you will have to call a plumber in Australia, but you can fix the dry P-traps by pouring some water down your drain.

These P-traps are U-shaped pipes beneath your kitchen and bathroom drains filled with water to keep out sewage waste and gas from your home. When these drains are underused, the water in the P-traps can evaporate, which will cause an overflow of the sewage water and gas into your main drain line.

Therefore, bond cleaners in Melbourne recommend running your cold water drain for 15 minutes to keep the sewage smell out.

If your drains still smell bad, it could be due to other reasons like stuck food bits, bacteria, clogs and more. Thus, it is necessary first to identify the cause and then fix the smell so that your home smells fresh and good again. Here are a few tips given by expert bond cleaners in Australia on what causes drain smells and how to fix them:

Causes Of Drain Smells

1. Build-up Of Gunk And Dirt

Food scraps, hair, and soap scum can get intertwined, solidify in your drains, and cause clogs. These clogs attract unwanted bacteria that cause bad smells and lead to diseases and viruses in your home.

2. Water Issues

If your drain smells like rotten eggs, it could be due to the sulphate-reducing bacteria mixing with sulphates in your water filter or heating system.

3. Tree Roots

If a tree grows near your home, its roots can get entrenched in your plumbing system and block your pipes. These blocked pipes will cause the sewage gases to go upwards and cause smelly drains.

4. Grease And Oil

If you pour grease and oil down your kitchen sink, it can get stuck in your drain and cause highly unpleasant odours.

5. Garbage Disposal

Bond cleaning experts in Melbourne recommend that you clean your garbage disposal regularly, as it can get filled with dirt and grime over time and will cause a rotten smell.

6. Mould

Lastly, mould grows in places with moisture and bacteria and thus can easily be in your kitchen and bathroom drains and sinks and cause a horrible musty smell.

To help you remove mould at home and get rid of food scraps as well as grease and oil from your drain, bond cleaners in Melbourne recommend that you use natural techniques and solutions such as:

Natural Solutions To Fix Smelly Drains

1. Boiling Water

The easiest solution to fixing your drains is to pour boiling water slowly down the disposal every week. This will loosen and remove any stuck food bits and gunk lodged in your drains. It will also help fill your P-traps and prevent sewage gas and water from flowing into your drain.

Important tip

Avoid this method if you have PVC pipes, as boiling water can damage your pipe material and insulation.

2. Vinegar

If you have a stinky drain, bond cleaners in Melbourne recommend that you boil the natural cleaning agent white vinegar until tiny bubbles appear.

Next, slowly pour half of this vinegar down the drain to remove any gunk.

Next, pour cold water to solidify the dirt and pour the remaining vinegar down the drain to wash away the gunk and deodorise your sink.

The hot vinegar also contains acetic acid that will lift and remove bacteria and germs from your drains.

3. Baking Soda, Salt And Vinegar

Baking soda and white vinegar are highly reactive and effective natural cleaning solutions that can easily remove clogs and debris from your drains. This is because the acetic acid in white vinegar reacts with the alkaline base in baking soda to create a fizzing solution that lifts even the toughest dirt. This is how you can use these natural solutions along with salt to clean and unblock your kitchen, bathroom and shower drains:

Start by pouring ½ cup of baking soda and ¼ cup of salt down your drain.

Next, take boiling water and pour it down your drain slowly.

Leave this for an hour to let the solution bubble and react and cause a fizzing foam that will unclog your drain.

Next, pour cold water down your drain to remove this clog and clean and deodorise your drain.

4. Run Lemon Slices And Ice Cubes

Lastly, if your drain still stinks after these methods, it could be due to food bits stuck in your garbage disposal. To clean this, you should cut lemon slices and wedges and run them in your garbage disposal to give it a citrusy smell. You can add a few ice cubes to crush the food bits.

Conclusion

If all these methods fail to eliminate the smell in your drains, there could be a lot of dirt and bacteria lodged in your drains. In such cases, it is better to hire professional cleaners who offer end of lease cleaning Melbourne to help you deep clean your drains and get rid of any funky smells and odours. You should also call a plumber to check your pipes and vents to ensure no damage.