What’s worse than a smelly drain? A smelly drain in your own home!
Preventing odours from your home drains is simple, yet not many people know what correct measures to take. Well, we are here to solve that problem.
Let’s talk about the everyday things that you can do to avoid your drains smelling.
Tip 1: Your drain is not a magic black hole!
The quote “out of sight, out of mind” certainly does not apply here! Your home drains are not magic black holes that rid of everything you put down them. They are pipes, designed for water and sewage, not your leftover dinner or Sunday morning throw-up. Constantly putting the wrong things down your drain will eventually lead to a build-up of smelly, bacteria-infested gunk… gross!
The 10 most common things put down household sinks are:
- Coffee Grounds
- Butter and Margarine
- Cooking Oil
- Grease and Other Fats
- Eggshells
- Medication
- Pasta
- Rice
- Flour
- Fingers
Ok, we are joking about the last one, just wanted to make sure you’re paying attention. If you find any fingers down your drain, please call 000, we repeat, please call 000!
Now back to plumbing, these items are not meant for household pipes and since they aren’t water soluble, they accumulate, form clogs, gather bacteria and cause damaging residue on the inside of your pipes. Essentially, an awful stench ready to scare off any house-hold guests.
Tip 2: Pipes need TLC
Just like you mop your floors, clean your showers, and wipe your counters, your home drains need some TLC too.
Baking Soda
Periodically sprinkling baking soda down your drains is a good way to assist with nasty odours. Baking soda is an “amphoteric” compound, which means that it can react with both acidic and strong alkaline molecules. For all of us who skipped chemistry in school, this basically means it will turn the gunk in your drain into neutral-smelling sodium salts… ahh who needs roses?
Hot Vinegar
Another HOT tip is pouring HOT vinegar down your pipes. Vinegar is 5% acetic acid (oh no more chemistry!), this means that it can kill bacteria and viruses by destroying their cell structures. Heat helps speed up the reaction, basically giving vinegar steroids. It will disinfect your pipes like a pipe hand-sanitiser, perfect way to avoid your pipes getting COVID. Hey, we have even heard that drinking hot vinegar is just as effective as the vaccination, although can’t say we have tested this theory ourselves.
We’re here to help
If you’ve read this far, you probably have some serious drain issues… in fact I think I can smell your drains from here! If you would rather leave it to the experts – or need a cheap chemistry lesson – give us a call now and we will have your home smelling like daisies in no time, ready for that tinder date, or for your wife to finally get off your back!
Always happy to help.
Your experts,
At Your Service Plumbing