Smelly Drains

Whitby Cleaners Ltd

It wasn’t me – honest, it’s the drains!!

Smelly bathrooms aren’t always caused by your nearest and dearest, sinks, showers and baths can become smelly and is often caused by stuff like hair, nail clippings, and other assorted bodily debris getting stuck in soap and shampoo scum that’s lining the waste pipe.

So when you notice a whiff coming out of a drain, be it bathroom or kitchen here are a few tips on what you can do about it. As per our environmental policy we try to not use chemicals wherever possible and sorting a smelly drain is an ideal opportunity to show your green credentials.

Bathroom
Flushing - Start by pouring a couple of jugs worth of boiling water down the drain. Wait five minutes and follow with cold water, this will help congeal remaining gunk. Repeat the boiling water flush to remove that last bit of congealed stuff.

Deodorise - Boil four mugs worth of white vinegar. Pour half down the drain, rinse with cold water, follow with the rest of the vinegar. This method is often enough to get through small clogs – often the source of the pong.

Scour - Run hot water for a couple of minutes, turn the water off and then dump a mug of baking soda down the drain, this works to absorb and neutralise odours. Follow up with two cups of hot white vinegar, (Yes, it will FIZZ) Wait ½ hr, and then flush the drain with a jug of boiling water.

Use the above technique every couple of weeks or so and it will help keep your drain from residue build up that can lead to small clogs.

NOTE: A possible cause is a lack of water in the p-trap (that wiggly bit of pipe under the sink) allowing smells to come back up the drain. A p-trap is designed to hold a small amount of water that blocks sewer gases from rising. If it isn’t holding water properly, this may be allowing rising pong. In less frequently used drains try running the water occasionally to refill the p-trap.

Kitchen
Here are a couple of things you can do for your kitchen to help minimize pong.

Ice Cubes - Drop some into the waste disposal they are hard so they will scour the blades when it runs (makes quite a racket!) and the cold temperature helps collect any excess grease.

Citrus Peel - When you’ve finished with that orange/lemon/lime peel shove it down the disposal and let it whizz around until gone. It does give off a nice smell and the citric acid helps remove grease buildup.

Soda & Vinegar - Pour ¼ mug of soda down the kitchen sink and then ¼ mug of white vinegar, let it all sit for 10 minutes. Rinse with a jug of boiling water. This mix works well to break up gunk, improve the smell and flushes away the loose bits and pieces in the pipe.