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Dealing with a smelly sink

Smelly Sinks

It can happen to anyone - you go to the sink and you get a whiff of something rotten! (Provided the sink isnt full of something rotten you can safely say that the pipes are a bit gross and gungy and needs sorting out)

Some people swear by throwing some bleach down - this is often only a short term solution though as bleach just masks the smell without curing the problem.

Some people swear by this method of curing smelly drains.
Put two or three tablespoons of baking soda in the drain, using a few ounces of water to get it down into the drain and the trap, and follow it with a cup of white vinegar.
This will foam up a bit, like carbonated soda pop, but will not harm the sink or plumbing. Let it stand in the drain until you need to use the sink again.
This method is probably best used a couple of times a month.

If the sink is blocked and water won't go down then this calls for more drastic action.

You can use a sink plunger or a thin bit of flexible wire to try and unblock the sink. The sink plunger works by suction and the wire would work by breaking through the blockage. If these don't work then you may need to resort to more drastic action still. The removal of the u-bend.

sink plunger - hints on using a plunger - Stuff a damp cloth firmly into the overflow opening and hold it there. This stops air from escaping through the hole and losing the force you build up by plunging.

auger -(plumbers snake, sink auger, drain auger) - thin bit of wire will do instead - but needs to be firm eg: curtain wire might do but don't use a hooked end...
An auger is a long flexible steel coil for dislodging stoppages in curved pipes (

Look under your sink. You'll see a pipe coming down, often with the overflow pipe fitted in somewhere and this will go into a u-bend shape and then leave the house. If two much gunge builds up in this then the sink will cease flowing. The gunge in this can also be the cause of bad smells, especially if it dries out and no water is there to ensure drain smells don't come back into the kitchen.

Removing the pipe will be a struggle. not just because its done up very tightly but because its under the sink and usually in a small space. YOu'll alsp want to catch the contents of the pipes and sink (You might want to ladle out the water in the sink to remove this problem first)

Once you've undone the pipe, removed it and then cleaned up the gross water which comes out you'll get to see what the situation is. Often the gunge will be easy to remove, or you'll notice something which has been forced down the plughole and is now blocking it.
Take this opportunoity to degunge the pipe you removed and have a wash round with a brush or cloth on the other bits now exposed. Check with a torch if you need to see if the way is clear.
Don't turn on the taps at this point. The water will soon fill up a bucket. Wash out the pipe in a different sink!

Once its all clean reassembly the pieces and ensure its tightly fixed together. Then wash down some bleach and detergent and hot water checking that there are no leaks. IF you've done this right you'll have a freeer flowing sink and less pongs (If any!)

Train people to not throw everything down the sink. Ensure items which need mashing to get down the plughole are actually removed and put in the bin.

If this doesn't sort out the smell problem you might need to investigate the overflow which is a smaller pipe and often harder to clean. You might not be able to remove this to clean it thoroughly and might have to rely on a stuff bit of wire to poke down it and clean it out. A funnel might help you pour cleaning materials into it, and hot water might help unlock any grease which is blocking it.

Also check flooring around the sink to ensure you have no rotten floorboards or units which might be stinking.

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