Bad sink smell...

[Badvoc]

We put a new (ikea) sink in 6 months ago.
I have noticed that when I wash the dishes and let the water out of the sink it smells...a bit like rotten eggs?
I put some mr muscle drain cleaner down there last week but it hasn't helped.
Should I try some disinfectant?
What could it be?

[FoxtrotFoxtrotSierra]

God telling you not to do the washing up?

I pop a cup of soda crystals followed by a kettle of boiling water down the sink once a week to keep it fresh. The people who bodged installed our kitchen kept the pipes a bit too close to horizontal (I think) so the water doesn't flush through cleanly, it sits and gets a bit icky. The soda crystals deal with the ick and are mega cheap to boot!

[Badvoc]

Ha!
Maybe.....
Perhaps God goes for a more ta da! Approach though...you know...parting the washing up water? :)
Will get some soda crystals, thanks.

[PigletJohn]

remember to do the overflow as well

It will be a good idea to take the Trap off from underneath the sink and wash it out with hot water and washing soda, after spooning out the detritus.

Don't wash it in the sink, use a bucket. Don't tip the bucket down the sink until after you have refitted the trap.

Remember not to let anyone tip cooking fat down the sink.

[Badvoc]

Thanks pj

[Badvoc]

Is tipping cooking fat down the sink bad then?
( oh dear)

[LadyEmmaHamilton]

V bad, Badvoc. We had to have our drains power blasted with high pressure water after the previous sewer rats owners had allowed it to build up for about 20 years.

[Badvoc]

Oh! I don't do it! anymore
Is it a difficult job taking the trap off?

[PigletJohn]

No.

[Badvoc]

Sooo...trap clean, nothing in there.
Very clean actually! (proud)
What else can I do?

[PigletJohn]

Is there a dishwasher or washing machine hose joining the sink waste above the trap?

[PigletJohn]

Did you clean the overflow?

Is there any sign of a leak?

[Badvoc]

Yea thereis a dishwasher next to the sink.
Didn't do the overflow...will get some soda crystals later...

[PigletJohn]

it's the position of the dishwasher waste hose connection that is important.

[Badvoc]

Erm....will have a look...

[Badvoc]

Right...the dw waste hose attaches to the top of the trap and then goes down the back of the under sink cupboard.
hahahahahahaha...the iPad just auto corrected hose to Jose!
Most amusing...:)
(been up all night with ill child so realise that may just be me!)

[PigletJohn]

aha

the d/wr waste hose must loop up so that the top of the loop is up against the underside of the worktop. If it doesn't loop up to be higher than water level in the sink when it is full, then sink water will run down towards the dishwasher, carrying bacon fat, tea leaves, peas and dirty water. Apart from making the d/wr dirty, you will smell the resident filth from the hose from time to time.

[Badvoc]

It loops,up quite high?
Will get my dad to have a look.
Would a dishwasher cleaner help?

[PigletJohn]

if it loops up above the water level in the sink when it is full, that's enough.

IME dishwashers are pretty good at keeping themselves clean, as long as the spinner holes and the filters are free of food particles or grease.

Have a go at the Overflow of the sink.

I can't think what else it will be if the trap is clean and you use washing soda down the plughole.

[Nagoo]

go outside and check the drain? Sometimes mine blocks with leaves and rice and I have to go and unblock it to let the water drain.

[Nagoo]

tipping fat down the sink is terrible. When we moved in I realised Dh was a real man, as he was elbow deep grabbing handfuls of fetid fat out of the drain.

[PigletJohn]

that's a point

the trap should prevent smells from the drain rising up, but could it be that there is a gully outside the kitchen window that you can smell? Modern houses do not empty sink wastes into yard gullies, but might have a leak or open pipe between the sink and the soil pipe.

[Badvoc]

Will check it out.
Thank you.
Doesn't seem so bad since I out the soda crystals down there...l

[gloriafloria]

Does your sink have a draining board with a hole where the water drains away? We had a stinky smell from our sink and tried everything but it was still whiffy. Some one advised putting bleach down the hole and also the plug holes, wait a few minutes and then pour a kettle of boiling water down. It worked! Now I do this every so often and never have any bad smells.

[Badvoc]

Thanks will try that

[FoxtrotFoxtrotSierra]

Just wanted to say thanks to PigletJohn for his tip about the dishwasher hose and water level. I've been moaning about aware of an icky smell after we run the dishwasher for a while now, which has been driving me nuts. Now I've moved the outlet hose so it loops up high we have no smells! Hurrah! Sainsbury's may now go into liquidation as I won't be buying the world's supply of soda crystals, but it's a small price to pay.