You are confident that you keep a tidy kitchen; however, if there’s a pesky smell permeating the air, you may want to check out what’s going on under your kitchen sink. From garbage disposals to sewer lines, here are some things that could be causing your kitchen sink to stink!
Garbage Disposals
While garbage disposals are convenient and an easy way to dispose of food, it still needs some TLC and maintenance.
Why Does My Garbage Disposal Smell?
Scraps of food, grease, and other gunk can get stuck to the garbage disposal blades, causing the food to rot and smell. That’s why it’s important to watch what you toss down the drain- avoiding items such as coffee grounds, eggshells, grease, and other fibrous foods that might get caught in the blades.
How to Clean a Smelly Garbage Disposal
You can clear away the grimy gunk on your blades by running your disposal for about 20 seconds and pouring the following into the disposal:
- Cold running water from the sink
- 2 cups of ice cubes
- 1 cup of salt
You can also drop lemon, grapefruit, or orange grinds into the disposal with the above ingredients to give it a fresh smell.
Pipe Drain
Pouring cooking grease down the drain is a big “don’t” and can really mess up your kitchen sink pipes. Any oil can congeal to the sides of the disposal, drain, and lower part of the pipe. The rotting smell is because the grease is decomposing. Other debris and food can also get stuck in the grease, which can make the terrible smell far worse.
How to Get Rid of Smell in Kitchen Drain
- Pour a cup of baking soda down the drain with vinegar.
- Let the vinegar and baking soda sit for about 10 to 15 minutes
- Then follow that with a pot of boiling water.
Sink Trap
If there’s a sewer smell coming from your drain, it’s likely coming from the sink trap. Your sink trap is “P” or “U” shaped located below the sink basin. A trap is designed to prevent sewer gas from making its way from the pipes into your house.
Why Does My P-Trap Smell?
When you get a sewer smell, it could mean that the water in the trap preventing the sewer gas from escaping has evaporated. This can happen if the sink isn’t used often. Running the water to fill up the trap usually does the trick in removing the smell.
If you’ve tried rectifying any of the above kitchen sink problems, and you still have a foul smell in your home, it could mean you have a bigger plumbing problem. Call (303) 313-3333 or schedule an appointment online with AAA Service Plumbing, Heating & Electric today. Our professional plumbers will assess and fix the problem in no time!
