Why does my kitchen sink stink?

[Bapple]

We've been in this house two years and the kitchen sink is sometimes a bit whiffy but more noticeable when it's not been used when we've been away.

I am currently using bicarb and vinegar down it every two days and lots of boiling water but it still stinks.

Any other suggestions please?

Don't really want to take it apart as it's a bit old and we can't afford to replace it if it won't go back together properly

[Fluffycloudland77]

Bicarbonate and vinegar cancel each other out, ones acid and ones alkali.

Try caustic soda, 50g in 500ml of water and leave it down there for half an hour, then flush with a sink full of hot water.

[member]

Yes, and add the caustic soda to the water not water to the caustic soda!

[OurBlanche]

Yes, bicarb and vinegar mixed form sodium acetate, no known special cleansing properties nd water - the universal cleanser I use the 2 on grouting, I like to believe that the bubbles force the water into all the cracks and crevices... but who knows if that is true or not

I used to live in a house where poor plumbing meant the bathroom smelled of shit if the pipes got dry... the pipes were externally mounted n the sunny side of the house!! Turning the taps on sorted it, but it was one of the reasons we moved - where did the clean/dirty water connect?

Chances are you've got a grease trap down there somewhere... a nasty greasy lump that sits, collects smells and chases them back up the plug to irritate you. So caustic soda would be one solution (any of the pour down and leave overnights, if you prefer your chemicals with a brand name and pretty packaging - Mr Muscle, etc)

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Run the hot tap for at least five minutes then follow up with some bleach overnight or a bit of Zoflora.

[OurBlanche]

Bleach won't get rid of the cause, just mask it, maybe even make it more difficult to get rid of.

[Bapple]

Thank you for the replies - been wasting my time with the bicarb/vinegar thing then. I'll get some caustic soda tomorrow and try that.

[DoreenLethal]

I had a stinky sink, tried caustic soda and pretty much everything else. I resolved it the other day by pouring Bokashi Bin juice down there. Smells like roses now. Well chuffed.

[OurBlanche]

Oooh! I don't do commercial stuff, so I have never heard of it... off for a quick Google

[OurBlanche]

www.leangreenhome.co.uk/recycling/composting/bokashi-explained/2719

OMG!!! I no longer have a huge garden with 3 'daleks'. I have a little walled garden... I could do this...

[ABetaDad1]

Your drain outside may well also be full of rotting waste.

Go and clean it out. Usually congealed fat.

[OurBlanche]

To be far, ABeta, OP did say she wasn't in a position to start pulling things apart, hence the caustic soda suggestions! It eats fat and other biological gunk - it is sodium hydroxide... nasty stuff... Fight Club and soap spring to mind... and some serial killers...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_hydroxide#Tissue_digestion

[movingonup2015]

randomly I have this problem so I pulled all the pipes apart under the sink and there was nothing in there! I was expecting to find a completely blocked trap/pipe but nope nothing...

I also went outside and checked the drain where it runs into and that was clear and didn't smell so im completely flummoxed....

[TollgateDebs]

Suggestions - You don't have a leak around the sink? A dead something under the kitchen plinth? Some traps under the sink seem to be structured badly and might be worth looking at this too, as they trap a small amount of material that can smell, but nothing that blocks the sink.

[quencher]

It's your drain outside