The Green Revolution in Plumbing: Environmentally Friendly Plumbing

What to Do if You're Suffering With Smelly Drains

Are you someone who relies on all the different systems within your home to help you with your everyday life, but start to panic when something goes wrong? If you are, don't worry, as many Australians share your pain. You may like to rely on professional contractors to deal with all things electrical and never think about trying to complete a repair yourself. However, when it comes to the plumbing, there are some actions you can take if an issue should suddenly arise. For example, what should you do if some foul smells start to emit from your drains?

Looking for the Issue

There is nothing quite as unpleasant as a bad odour associated with your plumbing. These can materialise anywhere in the system, but especially from sinks or basins or somewhere within outside storm drains. The good news is that you can fix many of these issues yourself.

In the Kitchen

If the problem appears to be coming from the kitchen sink, it's likely that a food blockage has arisen in the pipework and the content is starting to putrefy. For this situation, you're best to pour some commercially available "unblocking" solution through the plughole, replace the plug and leave this overnight. In the morning, rinse it all through with warm water. If you'd rather not use chemicals, try a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar instead.

In the Bathroom

If you're upstairs and the smell seems to be emanating from the basin in the bathroom, then it's likely that the blockage in this case is caused by an accumulation of hair and soap scum. Look underneath the sink at the S-bend trap and dismantle this pipework. This should be fairly easy to do without any tools—just unscrew the connection between the pipes. You'll then be able to remove the blockage from this area and put all the parts back together. Don't forget to refill the trap after you've finished by pouring water down the plughole.

Outside

If you notice an issue when you're outside in the garden, the problem could be much more difficult to identify. The drainage system out here is of course more extensive and you may have to have a closed-circuit TV inspection to see "what's down there."

Letting the Experts Have a Look

If you really can't get to the bottom of that smell inside or have an issue in your back yard, then you should always get in touch with a plumber. They will swing into action, so that you can remove that clothes peg from the end of your nose!


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