A different smell can come through your drain. Sometimes the smell can be quite unfamiliar and bad. You may know that wet places contain more bacteria, molds, and fungus than any other place. So, the smell may be caused because of the parasite that is living down your drain.
Let’s dive down and see.
Drain smell like sewage
When you don’t push anything that can rot through your drain. Or maybe the water doesn’t go through the way it used to go through the drain and the drain is dried. At that time, this sewage smell can come. If the drain is linked to the sewage, then it is highly likely to emit some odor.
Bear with us and find out regarding the sewage smell in a few common drain systems
Shower drain
Blocked Drains:
If the shower drain is blocked due to soap and other greasy material, it will eventually help bacteria to make a colony. The bacteria emit some gasses that may not be pleasant for you.
If the water doesn’t pass easily through the drain, then you should check the drain.
A large colony of Bacteria:
When there is a large colony of bacteria, or any biofilm stuck on the drain floor. You will have a sewage smell from your drain. And bacteria take time to colonize the place. This will only happen if you keep the drain unclean for a long time.
Unclean Bathroom:
When anything is unclean, it will emit some bad odor. So, an unclean bathroom is one of the many reasons for shower drain sewer smell. If you left your bathroom unclean for years, you would have a hard time cleaning it.
Eventually, the drain will clog and emit a sewer-like smell.
Washer drain
Pipeline is blocked:
One of the most usual phenomena is that the pipeline of your washer drain is blocked. This can happen for many reasons. The most vital reason is that the pipeline is not cleaned properly. Also, cotton from cloth can create a problem as well.
Eventually, if anything clogs in the pipeline, it will rot, and create a bad smell like a sewer.
P-trap is not Installed Poorly:
If the P-trap is not installed properly, there will be some problems passing the water down the pipe. A P-trap is the curved part of the pipe in the washer. So, you need to be cautious before you install it. Read the instructions and place the P-trap properly.
Or call a plumber.
Clogged Vent Pipe:
The vent pipe helps the water to pass through the pipe easily. The vent pipe helps pressurize the water to go out. It helps the water not to clog inside of the pipe but rather go away. When the vent pipe is clogged, then the water is also clogged in the pipe.
And the water contains biofilm which releases a smell like a sewer.
Floor drain
Deceased animal:
Mice or any sort of rodent may get inside of the floor drain and step out of life there due to getting less oxygen in there. At that time, the animal started to decompose and that will create a mass and bad smell as well.
Bacterial Infestation:
Bacteria is the reason for all the smell that you get. They can make a colony anywhere. If they get a little bit of warmth and food, they will make a colony. These bacteria can spread sewer smell.
Outside drain
The wild animal may Litter there:
There are wild animals everywhere. If there are no wild animals, you will have stray dogs and cats. They don’t have any potty training.
They simply go and litter anywhere they like. Sometimes they choose to drain the litter, and then you get all the unpleasant odors.
Water cannot Pass Properly:
If the water is clogged on the drain, it will eventually stink. You should always keep the drain clean. If somehow the water cannot pass properly, bacteria and other parasites may gather around.
Kitchen drain
Dry P-Trap:
P-trap is the curve in the pipeline. It seems like a “P” or a “U”. Basically, this P or U-shaped part stops the drain water from coming in. If the P-trap is blocked, then the water inside this trap will be a source of the smell.
Pipe is blocked with Food:
Don’t throw food in the sink. If the food got stuck inside of the pipe, it would release a sewage smell.
Can you pour bleach down a smelly drain?
Yes, you can pour bleach down a smelly drain. It will reduce the bad smell. And it will clean the drain and get rid of all the molds and bacteria or any other parasites that create the bad smell coming out of the drain. Bleach is one of the most powerful cleaning agents.
There is active chlorine that helps eliminate any sort of bad odor, or parasites. But you need to clean the drain continuously with bleach. Even without pouring bleach, you can use warm or hot water to get rid of any sort of bad smell coming through your drain.
Moreover, you can purchase the powdered form of bleach, so you can spatter them throughout the drain. The smell will wear away after some period. Don’t spatter more than you need.
How do you get rid of sewer smell in the drain?
Sewer smell in the drain can become a severe headache if you don’t take proper measures as soon as possible. Let’s find out how do you get rid of sewer smell in the drain –
Pour Hot Water:
Hot boiling water is enough to keep the drain and the pipeline clean. At the boiling temperature, all sorts of parasites are flushed away. Pouring hot water may clean the pipe along with cleaning, it will take away anything stuck with the pipe.
Also, it is the easiest way to clean and get rid of the sewer smell in the drain.
Keep the Pipe clean:
The pipeline is not always straightforward. Pipelines have different roundabouts, and it is not always linear. It is not easy or difficult at the same time to keep the pipe clean. There is some dedicated cleaner to keep the pipe clean.
Also, you can pour bleach through the pipe, and it will destroy anything that creates the odor. Moreover, like boiling water, a bleaching agent can dissolve organic elements from the pipe.
Pour a Mixture of Baking Soda, Vinegar, & Hot Water:
Pouring a mixture of baking soda, vinegar, & hot water is more effective than pouring just the hot water. Just boiling water can clean and dissolve the greasy elements and clogged pipelines.
But when you use soda, or vinegar with hot water, the effectiveness increases as molds instantly dissolve with the vinegar. And the soda refreshes the channel. If you regularly use that method, you will get your drain odorless.
Pour Bleach:
Bleach as active chlorine. And the reaction is so prompt that you need to wear gloves while you use bleaching powder or liquid bleach. You can add bleach with normal water and pour it through the pipe or on the drain.
It will get rid of all the organic elements, sometimes bleach reacts with the inorganic surface as well.
Repair the Pipeline:
A defective pipeline can hold water in it and eventually bacteria and all the bad smell creators may gather and make a huge population of them. Eventually, It will emit a bad smell from the drain. By repairing the defect, you can stop the odor from coming.
How do I prevent my drain to smell like sewage?
As we all know that prevention is better than a cure, so here we will discuss how can you prevent your drain to smell like sewage –
Check the drain:
You should check the drain every weekend. Because, if you don’t provide a routine check on your drain, you will never know anything about the drain, and the spot where the smell is coming from.
Keep the place clean:
If you do not clean the drain properly, then bacteria and other parasites will build their hut. As these parasites will get easy food from the drain. And the smell that is emitted by these microscopic parasites is like a sewer.
So, you can easily keep the place out of all the bad odors, by just cleaning the place.
Never throw any food into the sink:
Accidentally, you may throw food into your sink. This food will eventually end up on the drain, and they will rot on it and emit sewer-like smells. Make sure that no one flushes food through the sink.
Clean the drain and the pipe Weekly:
Cleaning the drain and the pipe every week will help you from the sewage smell. You can pour boiling water, or you can just spread some bleaching powder on the drain. That’s how you can keep the place odorless.
Final Thoughts
Cleaning properly and routinely is the best remedy for sewage smell. Just clean the drain or pipe once every week or two. And check the pipeline, p-trap routinely will be beneficial to you. Don’t dump any food in the drain. Always pour hot water while cleaning.