Why bathroom sink drain smells

Dom Lees-Bell, bathroom expert at Drench advises "to avoid a blocked sink the rule of thumb is to be careful as to what you put down your drain, and take regular action to clear any deposits that might form.

Ensure that you don't pour grease down your drain, and we recommend opting for a waste with hair catching properties to prevent hair, soap scum and other solids from making their way into the drain. The above methods every week or two should prevent the drains in your home from developing any nasty residue that can congeal and form an unpleasant smell.

If a smelly drain is something of a persisting issue, it might be worth seeking professional advice from a plumber as it could be due to an external issue rather than an internal issue.

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Using A Plunger Using a plunger can also help clear a smelly drain. Sometimes, it's necessary to completely remove the P-trap to solve the issue [source: Wm. If the suggestions above don't lead you to the source of the sewage smell, you may be dealing with a more complicated issue. Keep reading to troubleshoot this troublesome issue. So, there's water in all the P-traps, you have no visible leaks and the pipes are free of clogs.

What next? It seems natural to assume that the toilet would be the obvious source of any sewage smells, but if there's water in the bowl, chances are the commode is not the problem. This is because the toilet water acts as a smell barrier -- just like the water in a sink's P-trap. But if the bowl doesn't fill up as it should, the problem could be a broken seal. When there is no caulk around the base of the toilet, water and urine can seep underneath and water that gets stuck in crevices and doesn't dry will grow bacteria.

This bacterium can often cause a foul odor if left unchecked [source: Angie's List ]. This is an issue that Patrick encounters frequently, noting that that it's easy enough to solve by adding a bead of caulk around the bottom. Sometimes it's also necessary to caulk the bolt holes because smell can leak through there, too, he says. The wax ring, which is installed with a toilet to seal the drain and prevent water seepage, can be damaged if the toilet bowl is loose.

This can result in water leaks and sewage smell. So, you should check to see if your toilet bowl is loose or wobbly — if it is, you can reset the toilet with a new toilet ring [source: Angie's List ].

Occasionally, the problem is actually coming from somewhere else, even though the smell itself is inside the bathroom. For example, a roof vent blocked by a bird's nest, leaves, or snow and ice prevents fresh air from coming into the plumbing system and preventing the sewage system from venting the way it's supposed to. It can be tricky to distinguish between a blocked drain pipe and a blocked vent, so homeowners often spend plenty of time focusing their efforts on a single pipe.

A few telltale signs in addition to the sewage smell that a blocked vent is actually the culprit are that all of the drains in the home are slow to drain, and that water makes gurgling noises or bubbles up when trying to drain [source: Jim Dhamer Plumbing and Sewer, Inc. A vent pipe that's been improperly installed, cut or cracked can also send offensive gases into your home.

A cracked vent pipe can be even harder to track down, since the break is probably hidden somewhere within your walls. Fortunately, a plumber can locate a vent pipe leak with a device called a smoke machine, which fills the drain system with a harmless visible smoke.

When the smoke finds its way out, the source of the leak is obvious [source: American Leak Detection ]. Although some of the fixes are done easily enough by the average homeowner, you should evaluate your comfort and skill level before tackling a project like this.

This process will give off a foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide gas, which smells like sewage or rotten eggs. If your kitchen sink drain smells, especially if there is a sewer smell, you may have a dry P-trap. The P-trap is the curved portion of pipe under the sink. It is supposed to hold water, which creates a seal that prevents sewer gases from getting into your kitchen. There needs to be water in the P-trap at all times.

There may also be a drain pipe or vent problem. This could involve pipe damage or an obstruction in your vent. The thick gel formula will dissolve drain clogs, prevent new ones and get rid of drain smells and odors. Check out our article Spring Plumbing Tips for Your Drains for more information about how to clean smelly drains and drain maintenance throughout your home.

Step 1: If the smell is coming from a sink that is rarely used, flush your drain to ensure your P-trap is filled with water. When filled, the P-trap can do its job, which is to create an airtight seal that prevents obnoxious sewer or septic smells from escaping. After seeing what was inside that pipe.

I have always cleaned the pipes with the bottle brush and do come up with black stuff. Think most of the glob comes from toothpaste. Why is it that in all the houses there were never any order and now after that learning episode, I always smell the sinks about a couple of months after cleaning? Again, thanks for your web site. My question is how exactly do I know where this god awful sewer stench is coming from?

Because my entire house wreaks.. Good god please help me …. Smells as if someone signed up for a farting contest!! Lol can I get a plumber to fix it, so he can deal with the stench … Thank you.. Stench in Phoenix. Your dishwasher may be the source of all your problems. This is essentially like not having a P-Trap under a sink or other drain. Your house smells. Check out air gapping for dishwashers and make sure yours is good to go.

Jeff, my problem is in my upstairs bathroom. Could this be my drains or something else? Hi Jeff, Thank you so much for your tutorial!

I have this problem as well but it is coming from my bathtub. The bathtub is used daily but could it still be the P-Trap? Thank you!! You said to remove the pivot Rod and then you can remove the pop-up stopper and then to put back together, reattach the pivot Rod and then put the stopper back in.

Or does it matter? Thanks for the instructions! I followed your instructions to a T and cleaned out some truly gross poopy looking crud. I have repeated this method twice with limited success. Anyway all was well for a few days and now the moldy smell is back again. Is it time to call a plumber? Someone commented about never having smelly drains before but now they do even after having their bathroom remodeled with new sinks, p-traps etc.

Did something not get installed correctly or missed? Our house was built in and we never had smelly drains. In we had the master bathroom remodeled. After the work was done, I heard loud noises coming from the pipes after taking a shower or running lots of water in the sink. I mentioned this to the company who did the remodel but they said it was nothing. I also notice that there is often a sewage smell in the shower and in the two sinks that were replaced during the remodel.

There are six other drains in the house and none of them smell. It seems odd that things begin to smell after a remodel. Any thoughts on that? Perhaps they messed up the connection to the vent stack. This is the pipe that sticks out of the roof, generally right above the bathroom s. Its purpose is to keep the proper air pressure in the drain system. If it is clogged or otherwise ineffective you will get noises and bad smells from time to time.

Note: I am not a plumber, nor do I play one on TV. Check with a real plumber. I tried all of the sink stuff. Nothing worked. I remembered that bacteria like dark, wet, and warm. We kept leaving hot water in the drain because we thought it was killing the germs.

I guess the ones that survived were the really bad ones and they multiplied. Anyway, just leaving cold water in the drain after using the sink has fixed the problem for almost a year now after having the problem for 20 years. Anything else just temporarily fixes it if at all.

You could also try pouring vinegar down the overflow hole and see if that helps. I cleaned the drain yesterday. All steps were followed and the smell went away for about 5 hours. This particular sink is the only place in the whole house that stinks. Any suggestions? Thanks for the guide. I cleaned my sink this morning. Took about an hour and it was absolutely disgusting… haha! Good morning Jeff, I used your cleaning tips and it worked like charm on my half bath sink.

I had some issues with leaks at first coming from the goose neck, but once I replaced the old plastic seal with a new one it was as good as new!! My spouse loves it. Hi Jeff, Great work here! I could actually see your passion for Diy in this write-up.

My issue is slightly different. My plumber is clueless. What do I do? I moved into a new house and the bathrooms stank like hell even though they were brand new. They have those flexible pipes that fold like an accordion, so I moved them around to make p-traps and now the stench is gone.

I am SO happy. Thank you. Thanks for the advice. Do you know how to get the stench out from a trench drain in a wheel chair accessible drain?

Dumped a pot of boiling water into the sink. The sink cracked in half. Hi Jeff as everyone else I also have a bathroom sink with a disgusting smell coming out of it. Is that normal or do I need to install a p-trap? Yes, regardless of the type of sink in a bathroom you should have a p-trap Martha. Absolutely LOVE your tutorial and appreciate how you make it stupid-proof! Before I embark on this little task, I wanted to ask you a question… Is this the proper method to use when I only smell the awful odor while the water is running in my bathroom sink?

Btw, I do have a p-trap Thanks much! Outside of hiring a plumber to potentially replace the actual copper water pipes feeding that sink. You can replace the outside the wall supply lines older houses will be copper tubing, newer stuff will be a braided flexible line, either metal mesh or just reinforced poly line.

Those are fairly easy to replace. Removing and taking apart the fixture itself can be an absolute pain in the butt for not much ROI. They probably need it anyways. Thanks for making this super easy! I cleaned out so much gross gunk out of our sinks. I had tried vinegar and baking soda, but it only worked for a day.

Hi Jeff, the most important and should be on top of your supply list is rubber gloves. That stuff is nasty and it smell like old lady to me.