How to get rid of odors from drains?
It can happen over time and poor maintenance that strange smells emerge from the pipes. So, have you been smelling sewage odors for a few days that seem to be coming from the pipes in the house?
Above all, don’t panic, there are solutions! 10-Trucs offers you today several tips, advice and products to quickly remove bad pipe odors. Happy cleaning!
1. Clean the siphon to eliminate bad odors
The very first thing to do before looking any further is to check and clean the siphon. It is curious to say because the siphon is installed precisely to prevent odors from going back into the pipe.
The siphon is that part of the pipe which is curved and which contains a little water which (in principle) prevents odors from rising to the surface. Here’s how to clean a trap under the sink:
- Look under the kitchen sink or the bathroom sink and locate the trap (curved pipe with easy access).
- Place a container under the siphon and unscrew the siphon (there is occasionally a cap designed for this purpose).
- Empty the water from the siphon and remove the hair and other dirt that is there.
- Once the siphon has been thoroughly cleaned, it is simply put back in place.
To avoid bad odors in the pipes, clean the siphon once or twice a year.
2. Eliminate drain odors with baking soda
Using baking soda is a great idea to get rid of bad smells, so why not use it to deodorize the pipes?
- Sprinkle the equivalent of 2 tablespoons of baking soda
- Also sprinkle a tablespoon of coarse salt
- Pour a large glass of boiling water and leave to act for several hours
- Pour a pot of boiling water to finish cleaning (be careful not to burn yourself)
Replace boiling water with white vinegar to eliminate odors even more effectively and quickly.
Bicarbonate is therefore useful against unwanted odors. But other natural tricks also exist against odors: How to eliminate bad odors in the house?
3. Clogged drain and bad odors!
A partially clogged drain can of course cause bad odors everywhere in the house! So to avoid foul odors it is always better to keep the pipes clean and clear of all residues.
To unclog a pipe, a really effective trick is to use washing soda. This solution is effective for unclogging and deodorizing pipes in the house.
Soda lye is useful for many jobs around the house. Come read our full guide here: Using liquid soda lye.
So here’s how to use it in a pipeline:
- Mix the washing soda with a sufficient amount of water
- Pour the solution directly into the drain and leave to act for 8 hours
- Rinse with plenty of water for a few minutes
Before using washing soda, always put on protective gloves and goggles and above all, be careful of splashes.
4. Coffee grounds against sewage odors!
Why throw away your coffee grounds? The use of coffee grounds is popular on 10-trucs.com whether it is to keep insects away or to deodorize pipes!
Indeed, you can use the coffee grounds collected in a filter or a pod to eliminate odors. Here’s how:
- Drop the coffee grounds down the drain
- Then pour boiling water to finish
You can also add baking soda to coffee grounds for an even more effective deodorizing action on your pipes and drains.
5. Simply white vinegar
For regular maintenance of household pipes and to eliminate odors, white vinegar is ideal.
- Pour 220 ml or the equivalent of a glass of white vinegar water directly into the drain.
- Leave on for a few hours or overnight before rinsing off with warm water.
Once again, to be even more effective as an anti-odor trick, add baking soda before pouring in the vinegar.
6. Pour moldy yogurt down the drain
An effective anti-odor grandmother’s recipe is the use of yogurt! Yes yes, yogurt to pour directly into the pipes of the house.
Indeed, moldy yogurt contains a strong acidity as well as a large number of bacteria which will overcome bad odors in the pipes of the house.
Let the plain, moldy yogurt sit for at least 24 hours in the pipes before rinsing with hot water for a few minutes.
Odors should be completely gone with this trick.
If the pipe is completely blocked, you must act quickly! So here are our tips on this: How to unclog a drain?