Let’s be blunt: you’ve found your way to this page because your drains stink. We all know that foul drain smells and ignoring the problem won’t make that disgusting rotten egg-mixed-with-sewage stench go away. Worse still, the source of the putrid pong is almost certainly bacteria, mould and methane gas – and breathing that in won’t be good for you at all.
However, it’s just a fact of life that your dark, moist and nutrient-rich drains are simply the perfect petri dish for this organic gunk to build up and start to reek. But there are a few other causes to consider, too:
- Sewer trap: If the stench is in the bathroom, it could be the P-trap.
- Food & gunk: But it’s probably just decomposing food scraps or other gunk and debris, including soap, skin and hair that’s in a severe state of funk. Ew!
- Bad pipes: If your house is more than a few years old, something could have gone wrong deeper down the pipes, like a blockage.
- Tree roots: One of those pipe problems could be a tree root incursion, especially if you hear a lot of loud gurgling noises.
- Drain flies: They may be small, but put a lot of them together in a drain full of decomposing gunk, and a drain fly infestation can stink!
If you’re brilliant, your drains smell despite your best efforts to keep everything smelling more like roses than rotten eggs. The key to drain maintenance is simple, like regular, thorough cleaning, tipping only the right things down the drain, or the odd kettle of boiling water to unblock your drains (try combining it with baking soda & vinegar for really good results).
Simple DIY: How To Fix Smelly Drains At Home
But if you’ve got yourself into a stinking pickle, here are a couple of easy ways to potentially get your drains smelling a whole lot better without calling a plumber:
1. Use Baking Soda
We mentioned boiling water, baking soda & vinegar above for a good reason – it is one of the easiest and most effective smelly drain solutions!
Please start with the hot water, and follow it up with half a cup of baking soda. Let it sit briefly before adding a cup of white vinegar. Now listen to it sizzle that stench away! Finish the process with a whole kettle of boiling water.
2. Mix It Into A Paste
If the smell is more musty than foul, you probably breathe in mould fumes. To deal with that, you can whip up a special paste that you then apply to an old toothbrush to scrub the drain.
The paste is made by mixing baking soda with enough water to turn it into a paste. Simply apply it to the stinky drain and wait long enough to consume a cup of coffee. Then return to the drain with your toothbrush and start scrubbing.
Finish the process with some boiling water, and the offending mould will be gone with some luck.
Drain Smells Awful Still? Time To Call A Pro
After all of that effort, it can be disheartening if the easiest smelly drain solutions simply don’t work. Sometimes, the smell is from stagnant water in unused bathroom drains. But the stench’s source could lie deep within your plumbing system, and the problem could be more serious than you’d like to believe. Blocked stormwater drains and broken pipes can also cause smelly drains.
But don’t worry! Smelly drains are extremely common – Melbourne’s most popular blocked drain experts at Ezy-Plumb know all the tips, tricks and techniques to get them smelling like roses again. We also carry the best equipment, use the best tools, parts & products, and back everything up with a lifetime workmanship guarantee. So if your drain smells, contact the professional Melbourne Bayside plumbers at Ezy-Plumb – we’ll fix it!
