What to Do When Your Sink Drain Smells Bad

Who is Herrmann Services?

For more than 50 years, Herrmann Services has been taking care of the heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical needs of clients in the Greater Cincinnati Area. With a family name on the door and three generations working in the business, the company strives to do work competently, for a reasonable rate, and above all, to impress customers with service that goes above and beyond. Herrmann Services technicians are highly trained to handle residential and commercial projects, so we can help whether the problem is large or small.

Tips to Get Rid of Odors

A common issue that consumers encounter in their homes is a bad smell emanating from a kitchen or bathroom drain. The likely culprit is a drain that needs to be cleaned or has a clog. Everything from food to hair to soap and grease can accumulate in the plumbing and create a nasty situation. While air fresheners and potpourri can help mask odors, if you want to get rid of the smell, you have to go to the root of what’s causing it.

For bathroom sinks, a few specific issues account for most smelly sink drains.

• If you look at the pipes underneath your sink, you’ll see a curved portion called the P-trap. While it’s handy for recovering things, like jewelry, that accidentally go down the drain, the real function of this component is to hold water and create a seal that keeps sewer gases out of the room. If the P-trap isn’t working properly, the gases get in and stink up the space.
• Sinks have vents that provide an outlet for backflowing gases. If some debris blocks the vent, the gases have nowhere to go except into your room. This problem can be more than just annoying; because some of the gases may be dangerous, such as methane, which can be hazardous to your health and that of your family members.
• Stagnant water accumulating in an overflow drain can create bad smells as well.

Kitchen sinks share some of the same problems as bathroom drains. For example, a dry P-trap in a kitchen means there is no water to create a seal and keep gases from escaping into the room. Dry P-traps are common in sinks that don’t see much use. Damage to pipes or vents may have the same result. Many homeowners develop a problem in the kitchen if dishes are not adequately scraped and rinsed before they go in the dishwasher. Old food collects and backs up into the drain.

Garbage disposals are another source of smelly kitchen drains. Many homeowners don’t realize that you can’t just throw anything down the disposal as if it’s a trash can. Large chunks of food, bones, and non-food trash should not go down your disposal. The can create debris that can clog, which can generate a bad smell from garbage disposal in your home.

Bacteria usually cause smelly drains in showers and bathtubs in the pipes. The warm and wet environment, along with the debris in your pipes, is a recipe for bacteria to thrive. As the organisms feed, they release hydrogen sulfide gas, which smells like rotten eggs or sewage to the human nose. Mold also loves this type of environment and often grows on the material clogging a drain. Like bacteria, mold releases an odor from the sink into the room.

What Can You Do?

Use Total-C as a preventative maintenance treatment that actually keeps organic materials such as greases, soaps, fats, and detergents from building up on the inside of your pipes. Total-C is a water soluble formulation containing ingredients that produce a pleasant, fresh citrus scent which eliminate the source of the odors and keeps your drains smelling fresh. It is one of the best ways to keep clogs from reoccurring.

• Fresh Natural Citrus Order
• Keeps drains free-flowing longer
• Treats the whole plumbing system
• Concentrated makes 32 treatments
• Safe for the environment no harsh, toxic chemicals

How Can Herrmann Services Help?

Herrmann Services knows where to look to determine the cause of smelly drains. Sometimes errors in construction, such as leaving out a trap or vent, lead to gases getting into the room. Deteriorating drain tubes and leaking components can all do the same thing. The P-trap may need to be removed, cleaned, and reassembled. Drain vents in the roof may need to be cleared from leaves and debris. Once the problem is fixed, and the smell is gone, Herrmann Services can give you some tips to help you prevent it from coming back.

The good news is that bad smells from drains are usually simple to fix. Dumping a five-gallon bucket of water into drains to clear traps when they start to smell can help clear out any blockages that may be causing odors. For more stubborn blockages, buy Total-C, which can emulsify the grease, oils, and fats making up the blockage with a fresh natural citrus scent.

If you’re experiencing bad smells from the drains in your home, don’t wait to call in a professional. Contact Herrmann Services to set a time for evaluation of your system to see what your best repair options are. Our team has the knowledge and equipment to get the problem fixed quickly.