After Hurricane Irene I've noticed a smell coming from my kitchen sink. We didn't have electricity/water for a couple days and then after that is when I started noticing a smell. It's been getting worse. I finally took a flashlight to the drain and notice some brown gunk. I am not able to reach down the drain (because of the way it's made) to clean the pipes. What can I use to get rid of this brown stuff and the smell?
I googled it last night and this morning I tried one of the suggestions: pouring 1/2 cup of baking soda, followed by 1 cup of vinegar, and then boiling water, but it didn't do anything.
By the way, we don't have a garbage disposal.
Please help!! What are your best tips to cleaning a nasty/smelly sink drain?
Rent a pipe snake and pull all that gunk out of there. Then pour boiling hot water and dawn dish soap down the drain.
Should take care of it.
Pour crystallized lemonade down the drain (i.e. cheap Koolaid) and let it sit overnight. Flush down the drain with vinegar the next morning.
Here's what I do and I cannot believe how great it makes my sink shine and smell.
Put the stopper in, fill the sink (to the almost top) with extremely HOT water. Add i cup of bleach and let it stand for about an hour. Use a glove, reach in and loosen the stopper so the water SLOWLY drains out at almost a trickle.
My brother is a plumber--if you're going to use a "snake" use only a small hand snake....not O. of the bigger ones--you could do some damage if you don't know what you're doing.
I would first pour some Drain-O down there to get rid of the gunk. Then pour some baking soda and squeeze a few lemons in it. The acidity of the lemons mixed with the baking soda should do the trick. Good luck!
Lemon juice and baking soda - let it sit and fizzle out - eating through the gunk.
Then the hot water...keep in mind that the water cools off when you flush the drain with hot water and will move the gunk down the drain so you will need to snake it eventually...
getting the snake in there will help a lot.
Also using grapefruit, orange or lemon rinds will be good for the drain as well...the citric acid really does help!!!
GOOD LUCK!!
