How to sort a stinky sink ....

[Sue]

I have a vile smell coming from my kitchen sink (the plughole not the actual sink obv).

So far I have tried:

Disinfectant

Bleach

Bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar

Ecozone enzyme sticks

None of them have worked.

Can anybody suggest anything? I asked at the DIY shop but they only had one citrusy thing which was quite expensive and didn't look particularly strong.

The drain where the water goes to at the back of the house doesn't seem to smell, and there is no apparent blockage as water is running away OK.

Grrrrr. I have people staying soon and at present the house stinks of drains :(

[Siduhe]

Have you tried one of the expanding foam type sink cleaners? You may well have something trapped in the bend in the pipework by the sink. Can't remember which one I used recently but it was in Sainsbury's, orange bottle.

[Townleygreen]

Caustic soda powder usually does the trick

[Lowlander]

Try washing powder (non-bio if possible). Just put a large mug full down, a little water and leave for 30 mins. Not guaranteed but has worked got me in the past.

It's likely to be something rotten in the u-bend. The washing powder enzymes may get rid of them.

[vito]

Vinegar...red wine vinegar! make it boil, poor it in..

it works for me

best!

[Sue]

Hey thanks all.

Just sitting in the garden and there seems to be something BUBBLING in the drain?!?

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhh :(

[Jah Lush]

Give it a good go with a plunger first, it may push out whatever is blocking and causing the smell, then use some strong bleach, leave for ten minutes, then add a little more before flushing. Hopefully, that'll sort it out.

[Otta]

What Jah said. Kettle of boiling water and a plunger (careful of splash back).

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Soda crystals and boiling water. Repeat until clear.

[Salsaboy]

Remove the trap under the sink and see if it needs cleaning out? Usually these are full of gunk.

[DulwichFox]

I had a stinky sink problem that nothing would solve..

... but I then found there was a waste outlet pipe for a dish washer (That I did not )..

The U-bend(trap) had dried out and the smell was coming from the outside drain...

So just topped up the U-bend with water and bleach..

Foxy.

[Seabag]

One word of warning. Caustic Soda is good, but it's a lethal chemical. I used to work with it and the burns it can cause are very very nasty. It's a strong alkali which has aggressive fat (flesh & eyes particularly) eating properties. Being anhydrous the powder can drift in the air and into unprotected eyes. The moisture in the eye will activate it enough to cause damage.

If you do use it, then gloves, eye protection and someting over your hair are all good practice.

It attacks fats, hair, oil paint and such like. It doesn't burn plastics or stainless, but it does react with aluminium.

[Sue]

:(

Maybe that's a last resort then.

I put washing powder (I did use bio) down the sink and the overflow (it's a butler type sink) last night and the smell does seem better this morning, but maybe the smell of the powder is just masking the other smell :(

[jimmah]

I also love soda crystals, they are really cheap and seem to have a use for everything around the house.

[alice]

this has worked for me. fill all sinks baths with hot water then simultaneously pull all plugs.

[Gaynor Hill]

I get this now and again from waste disposal so put down washing powder with boiling water and leave it for a bit also lemon's that I have used always goes down there

[Sue]

alice Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> this has worked for me. fill all sinks baths with

> hot water then simultaneously pull all plugs.

Thanks, but the drain isn't blocked, and the bath water goes to a different drain from the kitchen sink anyway.

[ed_pete]

Have you tried removing and cleaning the u-bend ? The water in the u-bend is supposed to block foul air from the drain maybe it's not working correctly.

[Guest]

If no one else has suggested it, a good plunge with a plunger should do it.

[Sue]

Thanks all!

[Sue]

jimmah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I also love soda crystals, they are really cheap

> and seem to have a use for everything around the

> house.

What sort of soda crystals are these, and where do you get them??

[DulwichFox]

Any Super Market..

http://img.tesco.com/Groceries/pi/737/5054268869737/IDShot_225x225.jpg

?1.00

Foxy

[Sue]

Thanks :)

[Sue]

Well eventually I dismantled the u-bend thing and gave it a good wash.

Fingers crossed.

What I can't understand is, my old kitchen sink was well over twenty five years old and I never once had this problem.

This sink is just over a year old :(

[MarkT]

Do you have a washing machine waste joining the sink waste above the u-bend? If yes, then sink water can run back into the washing machine waste pipe, partially blocking it with sink sludge. It's above the water trap so it stinks. To minimise that problem tie up a loop of the hose as high as you can, so it is above the water level in the sink. The washing machine should then keep it flushed out.

MarkT