My sink stinks!!

[FusionChefGeoff]

A really horrible musty / damp smell that gathers overnight or if we've been away. Tried bleach down it and overnight but still yuk.

A horrible bit of me is worried there's a slow leak somewhere and a big damp / mouldy patch behind the units but I can't see anything obvious under the sink.

Any ideas I could try?

Boiling water and soda crystals

Boiling water, a whole kettle. Then a big squirt of bleach, then a half scoop of biological washing powder. Then more boiling water. This always works for me when a sink starts smelling grim. Do the overflow drain at the same time.

Last time it all backed up with grey water then did a huge wooosh and sucked it all down and was fine afterwards!

Don't have soda crystals but have got the other stuff so will give that a go tomorrow thanks

I use the orange bottle of drain unblocked (Mr Muscle?) whenever this happens. I usually leave it overnight. I have to do it once every few years.

Run cold tap for about 15 mins down the sink each day

If it's blocked take a strong plastic cup and plunge the sinkhole several times while the water is in it and soon enough you'll get a whoosh and it'll clear

This is what I unearthed yesterday. I've been in the house a year and only just got round to doing it.

Worth a go?

Mine gets like this too ... I find only 1 good option is like the pics unscrew the sink hole completely and clean it out ... it's a grim job 🤮

Mr Muscle unblocker. The orange one as mentioned above.

I saw something about salt recently .. I don't have a stinky drain at the moment but I wonder if anyone has tried this ?

@MirandaMarple oh interesting- might give that a try thanks!

@MirandaMarple how did you get it out?!?!

Do I need to find something like a massive screwdriver head to go in that indent across the central 'screw' head?? I've tried a few things but it's quite shallow so nothing can get enough purchase to turn it

It's definitely that though!! I can see the gunk and when I got the underneath waste pipe out to try to get at it from underneath it was solid with grim black stuff so I know that's what's lurking I just can't get to it!!

@pigletjohn you're often very useful on threads like this...

This is underneath

can you take more pics of the pipes and traps under the sink please, from various angles, and explain what each is. Show us where the waste pipes goes, and pipes of any other things that connect to the waste, such as boiler condensate, dishwasher and washing machine.

make it clear which pipes flow downhill, and any that attempt to flow uphill.

buy a couple of bags of soda crystals tomorrow
and some household rubber gloves

don't use caustic soda or magic drain unblockers.

buy or order a sink pump, which is better than a plunger.

Does anybody allow fat or cooking oil into the sink?

As well as packing the waste with soda crystals, you have to pack the overflow.

@MirandaMarple I did this yesterday! 🤢🤢

@FusionChefGeoff use your metal plug sideways. It acts as a screwdriver. There's lots of tutorials (TikTok especially) I'll try and link

@FusionChefGeoff

vm.tiktok.com/ZMd5LEW1R/

A spoon works too x

p.s.

you can take the waste and the U-bend off by undoing the big white plastic nuts by hand, using the rubber gloves for grip. you can scrape the sludge out with a teaspoon. put a bucket under the sink because you somebody will absent-mindedly tip water and sludge into it.

Yeah, don't forget the overflow.

Mine was stinking one time and I was nearly dismantling the kitchen looking for the source of the smell !

Finally figured it out, cleaned the overflow and sanity was restored

Tried a spoon, tried the plug thing, it's just absolutely solid. Everything just clicks out of the grooves without shifting it a mm. and now my hands and fingers are sore!!!!

Any tips on how to loosen / free it before trying again with the spoon?? Try to get some WD40 on the thread that's underneath the draining holes somehow????

buy a big carpenter's screwdriver

in some cases the head of the sleeve nut is hex and a small socket will fit it, but yours looks round.

Ok update in my exciting sink saga.

I got the plug out of the drainer sink!!!! It was truly disgusting but very satisfying.

I have managed to get the screw on the main sink to turn but the thread has gone at the bottom I think so it's just spinning and not coming out.

So I'm resorting to soda crystals.

I have 2 big (1.5kg) bags.

Do I just pour them down both sinks and the overflow as they are until they start spilling over the plugs (ie so all waste pipes and plug cavities are full of solid crystals) then add water?

Or dilute the crystals and pour a solution down??

Woops @PigletJohn sorry to bother you again but don't want to waste the crystals / explode my sink

Pack the crystals in to fill, add enough boiling water to moisten them but not to flush them down the pipe. The next morning dribble boiling water in enough to dissolve, but not to flush away yet. leave a hour or so then add enough boiling water to wash it out of the waste but not to rinse it away. This is to leave a concentrated solution pooling in the waste where the grease may be.

When you can't wait any longer, flush away the remnants with plenty of hot water.

In a kitchen sink you can use boiling water, but not in a porcelain WC or basin, or a clay gulley, which is liable to crack, or an acrylic bath, which will soften and warp.

Look at the price of a new basket waste in Screwfix. May be worthwhile. mcalpine is a good make. If you have a dishwasher you can put the old one in to clean (may need several cycles)