There’s nothing worse than walking into your kitchen only to discover that your sink smells like rotten eggs. Not only is it unappetizing, but it’s usually a sign that something is wrong. More often than not, your sink smells this way because of hydrogen sulfide. This is one of the compounds that make up gas found in sewage. There could be several reasons behind the offensive smell. So be sure to keep reading to find out what could be causing the smell in your drain.
Determining Where the Smell Is Coming From
It’s hard to know whether the smell of rotten eggs comes from the water itself or your drain. The best way to figure it out is to simply pour some of the water into a cup. Then take it somewhere else to smell it.
If you can smell the sulfur, go ahead and test the rest of the sinks in your home. If the water smells fine, chances are that your drain is the culprit. Once you’ve determined where the smell is coming from, it’ll be much easier to find a solution to the problem.
What Causes the Smell?
A clogged drain is one of the many reasons your sink may smell. A clogged drain means a buildup of bacteria, resulting in the creation of hydrogen sulfide gas. Many people find that the kitchen sink is more often than not the place where the smell is coming from. This is mainly due to a dirty garbage disposal.
Another reason behind the smell could be that your drain hasn’t been used in quite some time. Drains all have a trap in them that keeps the sewer gas from coming up through the pipes and into your home. The trap has water inside that keeps the gas out, but if your drain isn’t being used, the water could end up evaporating and thus causing the smell.
Others may find that their sink doesn’t have a drain trap at all or that it hasn’t been installed correctly, which is another reason for the smell.
As mentioned before, a dirty garbage disposal may often be the cause of a smelly kitchen sink. Even if you don’t see food in your drain, there may be grease or fat stuck in your pipes that has begun to decompose and therefore cause the smell.
How Can You Fix the Problem?
Now that you know what is causing the issue, you can start looking for viable solutions.
Garbage Disposal Issue
If the issue happens to be your garbage disposal, your best solution would be to clean it. You can do this by using a garbage disposal cleaner and running it with some ice cubes. The ice cubes will help knock off some of the food that may be stuck to the blades of your disposal.
To get rid of any grease that may be stuck in the disposal, pour a few teaspoons of baking soda into the drain and follow it up with vinegar. The last step is to then pour boiling water down the drain. In no time at all, you’ll be able to see a foam that is eating away at the grease or fat in the drain. If your drain is still clogged after this, do the process all over again until it is finally fixed.
In order to get rid of the smell in your food disposal, try tossing in a few lemon or orange slices into the drain to help.
Here is a video demonstrating how to eliminate the smell by using baking soda and vinegar in combination and also a commercial product.
Garbage Disposal not Used for A While
If your drain hasn’t been used for a while and you have determined lack of usage is the likely cause of the smell, a simple solution would be to run the water. Running water may help eliminate the odor as well as refill the trap. When you don’t have a trap at all or the trap was installed incorrectly, the best option you have is to call a plumber to come and install a new trap into your drain.
If the issue is a clogged drain, you can attempt to try and unclog the drain yourself, either by reaching in and pulling out the debris yourself or by using a garbage disposal cleaner. If neither of these options works, the issue might require additional help. You may have to call in a professional to come and unclog the drain for you.
Preventing the Smell
There are a few things that you can do to prevent the smell of rotten eggs from penetrating your kitchen. One of the main things is to make sure that you don’t dispose of any food in your sink that may be too big for your garbage disposal to handle. This will cause parts of the food to get stuck in the pipes and eventually decompose and cause a clog. Be sure never to pour grease or any form of fat down your drain.
Another thing you can do is purchase a drain screen to put over your plughole to stop large amounts of food from going down the drain. You can also pour baking soda down your drain every so often to keep your drains clean.
If you’ve just bought a new home, be sure to run all of the drains in your home as soon as possible to prevent the water in the drain trap from evaporating.
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