What to do When Your Drains Smells Like Sewage?

What Causes Smelly Drains?

Smelly drains are a nuisance because they often filter through the rest of your pipping system, causing a smelly sink, toilet, shower and bath. The odour can soon overpower your home, and even cause a stench outside in your garden depending on how your drainage system works. There are many things that cause smelly drains, such as:

Personal hygiene products:

Products such as soaps, detergents, shampoos and conditioners are naturally going to build up over time and potentially cause a smell, especially if you don’t clean your drains regularly. Oil-based products are difficult to break down, and over time can cling to other liquids and emollients causing bacteria to multiply and cause a smelly bathroom drain.

Food:

If you don’t take care in disposing of food left in the sink, it will travel down through your drainage system. Due to how long it takes to break down, trapped food is one of the main causes of a smelly drain. This is because the solid pieces cling to dirt, grime and other liquids such as soaps and shampoos and often clog the rest of your drainage system. If you don’t regularly clean your pipes, this could cause you problems later on down the line. 

Broken or old drainage system:

A lot of people don’t think about this, but if you have a cracked or old pipe in your current drainage system, that could also be causing a foul smell. A cracked pipe over time will leak dirty water which will then seep into soil surrounding your home. Also, old pipes can often rust and absorb the bacteria that causes a smelly drain. 

There’s no way to truly know what is happening unless you invest in a drainage inspection with us!

Home remedies you can try…

Cleaning your drains regularly is the best way to prevent smelly drains and other problems later on down the line. Knowing how to clean a smelly drain is half the battle when resolving the problem, and can help you avoid any serious issues in the future.

Baking soda and vinegar

A classic combination, baking soda and vinegar has been used for many years, acting as an excellent anti-bacterial as well as having the ability to break down even the toughest blockages. Simply pour 50-60 grams of baking soda down the drain (for example your sink) followed by 50ml of vinegar and cover with a plug. Leave the mixture to sit for 15-20 minutes and then flush away with a litre of hot water. You can repeat this process 2-3 times to ensure that you’ve cleared away as much as possible.

Hot water

We recommend flushing down hot (nearly boiling) water down your pipes at least once a month. You could also incorporate some vinegar into the mixture beforehand. This method will also show you quickly whether you are dealing with a build up of grime and bacteria due to how quickly the water passes through the drains. 

Or, buy a stronger solution!

If home remedies don’t work, then it’s time to invest in some intensive drain cleaner. These can vary depending on what you think the issue may be, and need to be handled with extreme care due to how damaging they can be if dropped or splashed on your skin. 

But, what if it doesn’t work?

If you find that the home remedies nor stronger solutions aren’t working, then it’s probably the sign of a bigger problem. Even if you find that the home remedies have improved the drainage, but the smell still persists, don’t ignore it. We highly recommend calling us, so we can do a full CCTV inspection of your blocked drains. However, if you don’t tackle the issue, then it’ll cause lasting damage to your drains which can cost hundreds, and sometimes thousands to replace. 

We have hundreds of call-outs every month from customers who are concerned about a bad smell in their drains. It doesn’t matter how big or small your drainage problem is, our experts will give you the best advice and ensure that the problem is fixed quickly and efficiently.