The kitchen sink is one of the most used areas in your home. It’s no surprise that sinks, drains and pipes are often the first places to start smelling bad, especially if you have hard water and don’t have a garbage disposal. Even the cleanest kitchen sinks can develop musty smells. This is because sinks are often the most used equipment in the kitchen and must handle grease, food particles, and other nasty items we use every day when cleaning and cooking.

The main reasons for the musty odor in the sink area

Here are a few major reasons why musty odors form in the kitchen sink:

Sewage

When sewage decomposes, it causes foul smelling fumes and gases. These gases can go through your drains when there are empty drain traps. Usually, the sewer smells occur when the drains are used irregularly.

Mold and Mildew:

The smell of mold and mildew can be blamed on mold and mildew forming near your drains. This means that your drain or pipes that connect to it have a leak.

An error made by a Plumber:

At times, plumbers will forget to install drain traps or sewage vents which can cause extremely severe drain odors.

Steps to prevent your sink or tub smell

Luckily, there are ways that you can easily clean drains in your home yourself. You can also call a professional to ensure that your drains have been fully cleaned and the musty odor is gone. Here are a few ways you can help prevent musty smells in your drain:

1. Trap Water level:

Usually, your drain will smell bad because sewer gases have come into your home. This happens because the water level in the trap has somewhat evaporated or fully dried out. If the drain is not used often, it will dry out and will have a bad odor. This can affect your health negatively. To ensure that you have the correct trap water level to seal these odor-causing sewer gases, pour a quart of water into the drain and a few tablespoons of cooking oil. This will make sure that your water cannot easily evaporate, and it will keep the trap sealed. To maintain your drain and keep in in good shape, repeat this process at least three to four times a year.

It is recommended that you inspect kitchen trap every six months and clean it if necessary, since any food accumulation could cause a clog in your drain line.

2, Pouring in Hot Water:

Pouring how water into your drain can be extremely helpful to break up or melt dirt that has hardened and may be causing the bad odor to come through your drain. When you have boiling hot water leftover from cooking or food prep, you should pour it down the drain. This will help flush your drains from grease and fat so that they do not harden inside the drain and cause them to clog. Hot water is not toxic, and it will not cause any damage to the pipes. Therefore, anytime that you have leftover hot water in the kitchen, put it to good use and flush out your drains by pouring it down the drain.

3. Using Baking Soda:

Sprinkling baking soda down your drain can help you get rid of bad odors and keep them away from your kitchen sink. If baking soda is left to rest in your drain, it will absorb bad smells and get rid of them, instead of having them come into your home through the drains.

You should sprinkle baking soda down your pipes at least once a week, right after you are done washing your dishes. Also, if you are going on vacation, sprinkling baking soda down your drain before you leave is a great idea.

4. Pouring Hot Vinegar:

Using hot vinegar down your drain is a great way to keep your drains clean, and it can also be used to clean your coffee maker as well. Once you have run vinegar and water through your coffee maker, you can use that water and pour it down the drain to take care of any bad odors in your drains. You can also use vinegar and baking soda to tame any bad odors coming out of your drain. Just make sure that you have not used any commercial cleaners recently as mixing those with vinegar and baking soda can be dangerous as the ingredients in them can counteract.

If you have tried all the suggestions outlined above, as well as doing regular cleaning and maintenance of your drains and you are still experiencing bad odors, make sure to call a water damage restoration professional.

Water damage restoration experts are available 24/7 to help you recover from water leaks, sewage back-up and any other damage caused by water. We use the latest technology, equipment and techniques to ensure property owners have their home or business restored back to normal as quickly and safely as possible.

These professionals will make sure to get your system checked and clean your drains quickly and efficiently. They have the tools to address and restore any water damage happening around your drains which prevents property damage and the appearance of mold and mildew which can lead to bad odors.  Restoration professionals also use advanced deodorization methods to remove any lingering odors caused by sewage, mold, other substances in your drains.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.