The drain and pipe system allows us to stay clean and flush wastewater away from the house, but drain cleaning is not just a one-way system. At times, wastewater could flow back to the home, or foul odors could come out of the drain. The stench may be not only unpleasant but also harmful to the health of the people in the house.
(Pixabay / Riverazo)
Here are some tips for stopping foul sewer odor from coming out of the drains:
- Add water to the traps – The most common causes of foul odor from the drain are also the easiest to solve. Smells usually comes from water traps that have gone dry. A water trap is a u-shaped bend in the pipe underneath your sink or floor drain. The purpose of the trap is to catch any valuable objects that you might have accidentally washed down the drain. The water trap will catch the object, giving you the opportunity to retrieve it. It is also the water barrier between your home and icky things found along the pipes and in the septic tank. The water barrier prevents sewer odor from wafting back to the home. When the water trip is dry, there will be no barrier, and the foul smell in the septic tank or sewer lines will be free to waft inside your home. You can solve this problem simply by filling the traps with water.
- Sanitize the pipes – If the traps are not dry, a stinky biofilm might have formed inside the drainpipes. This is very common in kitchen sinks where there is a lot of biodegradable residue. You can eliminate the foul odor by scrubbing the slime away. Remove the cover of your sink drain so you can scour the inside of the pipe using a long, flexible brush that is designed to clean pipes. Flush down a mixture of bleach and water to help deodorize the lining of the pipes.
If the problem persists, it is time to call in a company like Utah Rooter that specializes in drain cleaning and rootering in Utah. A professional Utah drain cleaning company can help you solve your problem without risking further complications to your drainage system.