Smelly Drain? These Could be the Reasons!

The last thing you want when you have family or friends at your home is an embarrassing smell coming from your drains. While this may be a bit awkward, it is a relatively common issue.  However, a smelly drain is an issue you want to be addressed quickly, and some scenarios require a professional to ensure the remedy is thorough.

Here are a few reasons why your drains may make everyone want to evacuate your home and plug their nose.

1.) Rotten Food in the Disposal

Old dinner leftovers or fruit peelings that you tossed in your disposal can come back to haunt you. If a moldy or rotten smell comes from your kitchen sink, that is your sign to clean out the old food pieces. To solve this problem, try running cool water over the disposal while you run it for about 30 seconds.  Adding several slices of lemon also helps to cut offensive smells.

Just take a second and think about all the things that go down your drain daily. This could be hair, food, cosmetic products, or even cleaning supplies. Over time, this could lead to a clogged drain and a foul smell. Drain cleaning not only ensures unpleasant odors will be a thing of the past but also ensures your drains are running at optimal levels, clean and clear.

Drain cleaning is a task that you should leave to a professional. While certain chemicals on the market are for unclogging drains, these are often short-term fixes and are only helpful for certain types of clogs.  And most are contain toxic ingredients that are harmful (or worse) to the skin and eyes. 

3.) Unused Drain

Plumbing traps, or P-traps, are U-shaped dips in the bathroom drain. These traps work to prevent your home from smelling like sewer odors. However, P-traps must be filled with water to do their job correctly. When a drain has gone an extended period without being used, the water in the traps evaporates, which can cause the sewer odors to seep in.

But there is good news! Unused drains are usually an easy fix. To put water back in the P-traps, you can run water in the drain for a few minutes periodically throughout the year.

4.) Sewer Line Damage

You must take immediate action if you realize that a foul odor is coming from multiple drains in your home. The sewer line is essential, as it transports wastewater from toilets, tubs, and sinks to the main sewer. If this sewer line somehow becomes blocked or damaged, the sewage will begin to back up the pipes, frequently leading to a bad smell.

If you suspect this could be the reason for your drain odors, you need to contact a professional plumber to take care of this issue immediately. If not, severe damage could be caused to your home.

Smelly drains are not ideal, but the first step in solving the issue is figuring out the cause. If you need plumbing assistance in your New Jersey home with clogged or smelly drains, give our experts at C&C a call! Just dial 732-860-2660 to schedule your appointment!