Update: Stinky Drain

[Lady_MCSE]

OK, I definitely feel weird posting this, but I thought maybe my fellow HT members can help with some free advice if they've ever run into this . . .

In my upstairs bathroom, the sink has started to stink terribly. It's a sort of musty or moldy smell but very strong.

First I thought it was coming from cat box, so that got cleaned out. Then I thought maybe the sink was leaking and there was a mess o' mold in the cabinet under the sink . . . seems to be fine. Then I started to realize the smell is right down in there in the drain itself. If I close the drain for a few hours I can walk in and not smell anything. Open up the drain stopper and I get a wave of stench heading for my nose.

So far I have pulled out the stopper and cleaned it really well. THere was some black stuff on it, but it's cleaner now. I took a long wire with a loop on it and tried digging around down there, came up with a little bit of hair and gunk.

The drain runs great. If I open up the water to run full blast, it all goes right on down, does not start to fill because it can't drain.

Next, I plugged the hole wtih my hand, filled the sink all the way, then pulled out my hand and used the plunger to give it a good shove, thinking maybe there was some gunk trapped around the bend in the pipes and I might help flush it on its way.

Soooo . . .

Can I maybe dump a bunch of bleach down there?
I don't want to use something like LIquid Plumr or Drano if it's running fine . . . or should I?
Any other ideas?

I have the tools to open up the pipe if I have to. Although I swore to myself I'd never touch plumbing again after a near disaster while installing an ice cube maker a few years ago . . .

[Littlebitocolor]

I regularly run bleach down my pipes just to keep the drains fresh.

I let the water run and just starting pouring the bleach through it. Let it run for a little bit and then you have much fresher smelling sinks!

[dixie]

You can also place some baking soda down the drain - supposed to help with smell.

[taelesean]

Do a double whammy on it.

First, poor some bleach down the drain (unless you are on a septic tank - no bleach in septic tank!)

Then get some of the slow-drain restorer (the enzyme stuff) and treat it with that a couple of times to get the gunk off the walls of the pipe.

[Orchid]

Baking soda and vinegar for a cleansing volcano.

Lemon juice helps too...

Let me ask my plumber father if there are any plumbing issues that would contribute to a smell like that and I will get back to you!

It's not a sewer gas smell, right?

[Mariuch]

When I had my drain fly problem I poured bleach down the drain. I was told to do this by 2 drain companies. And I have a septic. They said it was fine to do. And I didn't run the water at the same time. Although it can turn metal parts green when you do.

[Luv2Ride]

Just make sure that if you use several different agents that they can be mixed. Sometimes a mix can cause toxic fumes.

[wildcat180]

Depending on how much bleach you pour in a septic tank, you could be killing off all your good bacteria that breaks down the stuff you flush, which will lead to septic problems later.

Of course a plumber would tell you it's OK...who do you call when you have a problem? The plumber my hubby worked for would do that routinely when business was slow. However, not all are out to make a buck! If it's every once a great while, and only about a 1/4 cup, there shouldn't be a problem.

Still, I don't use bleach in any water that goes to my septic tank. Stinky drains? Baking soda or white vinegar, sometimes when I'm bored, I'll do both!

I'm an avid reader of Back Home Magazine and they had an article on cleaning with non invasive things. Lemon is good for freshening drains.

Edited to Add: It should be noted, for those that do use bleach, that the American Red Cross says that 10 drops of bleach will sterilize a gallon of water. So it only takes a little bit to do a lot.

[Faceman]

Most odor problems in sinks come from one of two problems - gunk caked up in the trap, or the trap itself is not working properly - in other words it is draining TOO good, and no water is staying in the trap.

If it's the first, just take the trap apart and clean it. If it's the second, either replumb it, or run some water in very gently so the trap is holding water like it's supposed to. If that bathroom is used regularly, the latter isn't practical, of course.

[farmergal]

Originally Posted by Orchid

Baking soda and vinegar for a cleansing volcano.
It's not a sewer gas smell, right?

I use my kitchen sink all the time and it had the smell you are referring to? My mom told me this recipe and it works and it's not toxic to the environment. Pour the baking soda down the drain first and then pour the vinegar. Works better than any wire with a loop!

[Lady_MCSE]

So far I tried the bleach. Probably gave it too much because I was whiffing bleach everywhere upstairs . . . but it subsided within 12 hours or so, and now the drain smell is about half as strong, so it's definitely better but not gone. I think I'll try another dose of bleach tomorrow, then if that doesn't do it, I'll try the baking soda and vinegar trick toward the end of the week.

edited to add:

PS: how would I know if it's a sewer gas smell? My best description of it is that it really smells moldy, like a basement, but it's just so darned strong I practically expect to feel a breeze from down there . . .

[taelesean]

Sewer gas would smell like a Port-a-potty in July.

[version1955]

Originally Posted by Faceman

Most odor problems in sinks come from one of two problems - gunk caked up in the trap, or the trap itself is not working properly - in other words it is draining TOO good, and no water is staying in the trap.

If it's the first, just take the trap apart and clean it. If it's the second, either replumb it, or run some water in very gently so the trap is holding water like it's supposed to. If that bathroom is used regularly, the latter isn't practical, of course.

Your problem is NOT a clogged drain. It has to do with the trap or the vent pipe. The trap is meant to trap water for that fixture so that the sewer gases (major poop smell as described) will have to go through water before it is can reach the drain and come out. A vent is a pipe that goes from the bottom to the top, from the sewer up through the roof of your house. This keeps the air and smells moving up and out the top of your house rather than back up through the plumbing and into each fixture, etc.

If your trap isn't full of water, then it can't work.

Typically the vent pipe vents more than one fixture. Are any other fixtures stinky? Maybe stinky below their traps? If fixtures are 'too far' from the vent pipe there could be a horizontal run from the fixture to the vent pipe. If any of those pipes are plugged or loose then sewer smell can come up. And it could smell musty instead of like a porta-potty or poopy. Ain't good regardless.

Good Luck!
Check the venting.

[Lady_MCSE]

Thanks Version . . . I was just starting to wonder . . .

I really first smelled this a couple of months ago down by the washing machine. I assumed it was because I had left a load of laundry in the machine for a couple of days . . . so I bleached the heck out of the machine about two weeks ago.

Shortly after, I was smelling the stinky smell in the drain upstairs.

Now after bleaching upstairs, I'm smelling the stinky smell in my kitchen sink, the washing machine, and the drain upstairs.

AAAARGGH!

Sounds like maybe I need someone more capable than myself to check otu the various traps \ vents.