Smelly kitchen sink

papeman

Hi folks, am getting a bit of a whiff coming up from my kitchen sink when I run water down it and can't figure it out. I do have a washing machine and dishwasher using the same waste pipe, but they are both set up with a high loop, and the waste pipe bend is clear. Any ideas on how I can stop the whiff?

vansboy

Sink and washing machine could probably do with a deep clean.

Have a look at http://www.dri-pak.co.uk/

You'll only spend a couple of £££ and will also be using pretty much as 'natural' products, rather than resorting to some higher priced chemicals.

VB

Aylesbury_Duck

Have you checked the drain outside? Last year I had the same symptoms and when I lifted the drain cover, the chamber was half full of sewerage. Despite the water in the u-bend, smells were making their way up to the sink. I bought some drain rods and had it all shifted and washed through in half an hour.

chrisw

Make sure you squirt draincleaner or bleach down the sink overflow as they can trap debris and start to smell.

Crag30

I had the same problem, which turned out to be the drain pipe from the dishwasher where it met the drain pipe from the sink

martinsurrey

another potential area to look.

Modern sinks come with modular waste pipe kits, with joins and dead ends BEFORE the u bend (one kit for all the companies sinks, so not all legs used on any one sink) .

after a while these dead ends get filled with grime and start to smell.

papeman

Thanks folks for all your suggestions. Washing machine is only 5 months new, so hoping it isn't that. Will do some investigating and report back at the weekend. Gut feel is that it might be the outside drain, which could be a pain as I think it goes through the decking....

Annie1960

A further option is modern liquid detergents can build up in the pipes and smell.

I have changed back to powder, smell all gone.

Booooo

My daughter had the same problem, it was her outside drain, it had blocked and broken

When ours block it's 9/10 times down to the washing machine. They use so little water and what water is used to fill the machine is cold, soap just doesn't dissolve. I now dissolve soap powder in a jug and then throw a jug of hot water down on top

Last time we had to call out help, it was £200+. Nowadays I do as above, all fat is tipped into an old jam jar and I use a sink plug hole drainer thingy

papeman

Ok, so have come to the conclusion that it's the outside drain. When I look at it after switching the tap on, I can see the water dripping into a 'pool', presumably where water is backing up because of a blockage. I've got the £12 first year homeserve plumbing and drainage cover, so I think I'll just call them out