Unpleasant smell from the sink - what to do?

It is impossible to achieve full comfort and coziness in a house without eliminating undesirable odors. Often unpleasant "aromas" come from the kitchen, from the place where the sink is installed. Let's try to figure out what can cause stench from the sink and how to get rid of it.

Siphon device under the sink

Strong odors due to siphon problems

Small pieces of food, fats, and so on are left on dirty dishes. Then they fall into the drain, stick to the walls of the pipe, accumulate there - as a result, all this causes rotting processes and causes the stench. But at the same time, it could not spread throughout the kitchen and bathroom, if not for the presence of serious problems with the sink or siphon sink. That is, the smell from the sink in the kitchen is a kind of evidence that some elements of the bathroom are not working well, can not cope with the tasks assigned to them.

Check in this case should first of all a siphon. One of its main functions is precisely the suppression of the smell coming out.

To date, two types of siphons are installed under the sinks:

  • corrugated;
  • barrel-shaped.

Barrel-shaped siphons are especially convenient in the context of our topic; they have a removable part, which is easy to disconnect without special tools, clean, rinse and reinstall. When examining a siphon, it may be found that a match or a toothpick is stuck there, on which various food waste and garbage were wound, which led to blockage.

Old siphon

What to do if the siphon was not installed correctly?

But sometimes a banal cleaning does not help (or only leads to a short-term victory over the smell), the whole thing may be in the wrong location of the siphon.

All siphons are specially designed to hold water in them. Each siphon must have a water lock (or, as it is also called, a water lock). After draining the water, a certain amount of liquid should remain in the S-shaped part of the siphon. It is she who blocks the path to smells, does not allow them to escape from the sewer to freedom, that is, it plays the role of a kind of cork.

Suppose that a barrel-shaped siphon was installed incorrectly. For example, unfortunate plumbers fixed a plastic pipe so that it does not reach the water in the siphon flask. In this case, you just need to adjust its position - the pipe should be buried in water by about 2-3 centimeters.

Many kitchens have simpler corrugated siphons. Unfortunately, they tend to stretch and eventually lose their S-shape. This could very well cause an unpleasant smell from the sink. The easiest way to solve this problem is to fix the corrugation with electrical tape or other similar devices.

It also happens that from the very beginning the corrugated pipe was not mounted according to the instructions - as a result, water from the pipe constantly rises into the sink or, without stopping, just goes down. How to eliminate the smell from the sewer in the kitchen in this case? There really aren't many options here - reinstalling the siphon on your own or by specialists.

Kitchen sink clogging

Ways to get rid of blockages - the main reason for the stink

If the cause of smells became a commonplace blockage, then the problem can be solved in several ways using various devices.

Vent Clog Removal

Vent Clog Removal

The good old plunger is still an effective and noteworthy device, which can come in handy if the water in the sink in the kitchen does not leave well. At the same time, so that the plunger has significant suction power, you need to collect a little moisture in the sink.

It is necessary to use a plunger until the drain is completely restored, until the flow of water through the pipe becomes habitually fast.

Plumbing cable

Using a thin hose and plumbing cable

You can remove the smell from the sink in the kitchen and clean the pipes using a special hose with a tip. A hose connected to the tap is inserted into the drain hole, and the insertion point is sealed (for example, with polyethylene or rags) so that nothing can escape back into the sink. Then the water turns on - it must have a high pressure in order to break through the blockage.

The so-called plumbing cable can help here. It is a long wire that is rolled into a spring. At one end of the cable there is a special handle, which ensures the convenience of operation of this device.

The cable must be shoved into the drain and, vigorously moving it, clean the pipe. The blockage should feel like something soft in structure. If you cannot push the accumulated food remains down, you can try to pull them up into the sink.

The cable can repeat pipe bends, which allows it to penetrate very deeply. By the way, to improve the effectiveness of this method, experts recommend letting water from the tap.

Kitchen sink cleaning

Cleaning products from the store and folk recipes

You can also clean the drain with chemicals. They are sold in a wide range and at low prices in any household goods store. These funds have a fairly high efficiency. They are able to dissolve both fat and many solid objects, but they must be interacted with and applied carefully - these agents are also toxic. The application here is this: you need to fill in a liquid or gel, wait a while, according to the instructions, and then rinse the pipes with plenty of water.

Suppose you want to solve the problem of clogging and bad smell as quickly as possible, but there are no cleaning products in the house. What to do in such a situation? There are several folk recipes that will cope with the problem.

  • Almost every kitchen has soda and vinegar. These ingredients will help to cope with blockage. To do this, they need to be poured and poured into the stock in the ratio of one to one.
  • Instead of soda and vinegar, you can use the usual salt with water. To prepare an effective product, salt is first added to boiling water (at the rate of two tablespoons per liter), mixed well, and then this solution is poured into the sewer. After a while, the stink should disappear.

Sink drain clogging

Blockage prevention

The question of how to eliminate the smell from the sink can be solved proactively - there are certain preventive measures for this. For example, mesh pads made of metal or plastic may be used. These pads let only water pass into the siphon, while breadcrumbs and other hard objects are delayed.

Of course, such filters are constantly clogged and must be cleaned. This takes time and is not entirely practical, but many are willing to put up with inconveniences for the sake of the absence of blockages in the pipes and unpleasant odors from the sink.

Tip

For prevention, specialists also recommend regular (at least once a month) preventive pipe cleaning. You can simply remove them and rinse with hot water, or you can use special products for cleaning.

Kitchen faucet

The reason for the smell is the prolonged use of the sink.

A disgusting odor may appear if the sink is not used for a long time.For example, upon returning home after a vacation, some notice that it smells strongly from the sink in the kitchen.

The problem here is usually that the water has evaporated from the siphon. You can fix this simply by letting out more water. After some time, the smells will go away.

Note that the smell for this reason can also be prevented. To do this, before leaving, pour a little bit of sunflower oil into the drain. This product creates a thin film on the water, and this delays its evaporation.

Woman shows plumbing to flow under the sink

The cause of the smell is leakage.

Be sure to examine the pipes for leaks (holes and cracks). Leaks can cause bad odors. Water, seeping, permeates the walls and floor, which gradually begin to grow moldy.

As a rule, pipes leak due to mechanical damage and wear. Today, sewage is almost universally made of plastic, such structures are very easy to disassemble, and this is their big plus: if there is a leak, you just need to replace the leaky part.

In old private and apartment buildings you can still see cast-iron sewer pipes - this is the Soviet legacy. If they begin to leak, then restore their integrity and eliminate the smell under the sink in the kitchen will not be easy. It is almost impossible to disassemble these pipes yourself - you will have to call the plumbing.

If you wondered how to eliminate the smell from the sink in the kitchen, then one of the methods described above will probably bring a positive result - this problem is completely solvable. And let only pleasant aromas always be felt in your house!

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