A nasty niff in your kitchen or bathroom could be coming from your drains. They’re probably being caused by decomposing food particles, hair, grease, soap and so on.
So how do you keep them smelling fresh?
Firstly you should check any traps under the sink to see if they are clogged. Kitchen smells could also come from a blocked dishwasher so check that too. And a drain that is too dry from not being used much may just need flushing through with water. But if that doesn’t work, here are a few solutions using common household items.
- Boiling water and a little washing up liquid is often a good thing to try first. The boiling water will start to melt any solidified grease or fats, and the detergent will also help in breaking them down.
- Run the hot water tap for a few seconds then pour in a cup of baking soda. Wait for half an hour or so, and then in goes a cup of warmed up white vinegar. It’ll foam up, so leave for few hours or even overnight, and then rinse through with more hot water.
- If you don’t have vinegar to hand, try another acid such as lemon juice – this works just as well, with the bonus of a fresh citrus smell! Or just pour in the baking soda and flush it through, then add a few drops of your favourite essential oils to give your drain a much better fragrance!
- You can of course pour a small amount of diluted down bleach into the drain. But take care, pour it in slowly and watch out for it splashing you. Then carefully rinse the drain with cold water.
To avoid future problems you could get a plug hole strainer, which you can clean off regularly. This will help prevent anything unwanted going down the drain.
But if the nasty smells persist even after trying some of these home remedies, give us a call at Happy Drains! The cause may be something more serious, so we’ll come and check it out for you.
