What does water smell like? The answer should be “nothing.” Water is clear, tasteless, and odorless. Your sink should be the same! However, there are times when something besides water goes down a sink and then you can’t say your sink is odorless anymore. This “sink stink” is pretty common in both bathroom and kitchen sinks. Fortunately, you can get rid of stinky sink drain odors with a few ingredients you probably already have in your house.
If your bathroom sink or kitchen sink is emitting a foul odor, here are a few different ways of eliminating the smell:
#1 Baking Soda and Vinegar
You get a fizzy reaction from baking soda and vinegar, which means a chemical reaction is taking place that expands and cleans away debris inside your pipes. That’s perfect! While both of these items are inexpensive and safe, adding them together works well to break up minor clogs and freshen sink drains. All you will need is one cup of each ingredient and to follow these four steps:
– Place the baking soda directly into the sink drain
– Next, place the vinegar directly into the sink drain as well
– Let the mixture sizzle in the drain for 15 minutes
– Flush with hot water
#2 Salt and Ice
Even if you never cook, you have some salt and ice in your kitchen! These two ingredients are all you need to create a combo that will slowly works its way into your drain and clear out your garbage disposal and pipes. Simply place one cup of salt with one to two cups of ice into the sink drain and run the garbage disposal for 10 seconds. All that salty ice will destroy whatever is making the smell!
#3 Lemons and Ice
If you have a few lemons around your home, this method works great and your kitchen will smell lemony-fresh afterwards. Place two peeled and halved lemons with one to two cups of ice directly into the sink drain. Run the garbage disposal for 10 seconds and you’re done!
#4 Borax and Ice
A few tablespoons of Borax is all you need. Just like the mixture above, three tablespoons of Borax and one to two cups of ice placed directly into the sink drain will do the trick! A quick 10 seconds of the garbage disposal running and your stink is gone!
Go ahead and give one or more of these methods a try. You can repeat it a few times if you need too. After all, a few rounds of lemons and ice won’t damage your pipes the way harsh chemicals will! If your drain is still omitting unpleasant odors or is draining slowly, it could be a sign of a much larger problem. The stink could be coming from fats, fruit skins, or something else stuck deep inside your pipes.
If you’ve tried a few DIY remedies and there’s no end to the bad smell, you can always count on DrainBlaster Plumbing Service to come out and help. It may be that you have a really serious clog you can’t handle on your own. That’s okay! We handle Birmingham, AL drain cleaning every single day and our plumbing experts will be able to get your sink back to how it should be: draining easily and odor-free. We have the tools and expertise to get rid of the bad smell. Call us at (205) 637-0668 to let us know you have sink stink and need someone to help!