Stinky kitchen sink/pipes

[Deleted User]

Our kitchen sink has been smelling for a while as soon as the taps are turned and water flows down the drain.

A fortnight ago DH (who is quite DIY minded) took the pipework apart under the sink and cleaned it all out, it was quite gunky and revolting but he got them clean as best as he could.

The problem hasn't gone away, in fact the smell is quite vile. We've put bleach down but that doesn't make a difference, the smell is backing up from somewhere and we suspect its close because its as soon as the water hits the down flow pipe the smell wafts up.

The sink and tubes aren't blocked, so we thought trying a Mr Muscle product was useless.

Please can any plumbers advise, or someone who has had this experience. I'm nearly 29 weeks pregnant and its really not good for my delicate nose right now.

THank you.

WestonDave

Is it the overflow? In theory if you have a full U bend then no smells from the drains should be able to get through (that's the whole point of the water in the U Bend). I'm just wondering if at some stage the "gunk" has got into the bottom of the pipe from the overflow, and the pressure of water going down the sink is forcing the smell out of the top?

Beyond that I'd suggest a dose of caustic soda, which does wonders for our bath plug when it starts to get a bit slow due to hairs etc.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for replying, i'll forward this to DH and see what he thinks, I don't do DIY, I do the baby care!!!

Silly question but where do you get caustic soda from, its not something i've ever bought.

Thanks

WestonDave

If you look for it you can often find it in the cleaning section in supermarkets but it comes in a small plainish bottle rather than the fancy garish bottles that contain stuff that doesn't work! Wilkinsons have it if the supermarket doesn't.

Be careful with it - you need to use gloves as it will burn if it gets on skin - the point being it disolves fat etc which is often what causes blockages and smells.

pboae

Take it apart again check you actually have got a full u-bend. A small leak can go unnoticed, but if the U-bend isn't full the gases from your sewer can come straight back up.

[Deleted User]

DH is back in the kitchen inspecting as I type!! Thank you. Hopefully we'll get this problem sorted soon. DH is currently making umming and arrhing noises and mentioned something about "no overflow, that's strange!"

maypole

We have this problem when we empty the bath, it stinks! we don't use the bath very often as we like showers.

CAUSTIC SODA

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follow the instructions to the letter.

Horace

I use something that I got from Wilkinsons - it comes in a smallish green bottle and is specially made for kitchen sinks but you can also get one for bathrooms too. I think it is called Sink Buster but am not sure, it consists of green crystals and you pour a capful into your plug hole after first running the hot water through, leave it for 30 minutes and then come back and wash it out with hot water - dunno what's in it but it works on my sinks and my plugholes smell lovely.

vansboy

We have similar pongs if I don't use the caustic soda often enough!

It's in a white plastic bottle, £1.49 in Wilkos - next to the Mr Muscle overpriced products.

As mentioned DO READ THE LABEL!!

VB

HugoSP

We had the same in a house we just got hold of.

We think something must have died in the outside gully. Despite the gulley being open the smell used to work its way up the pipework!

We used Soda crystals and boiling water straight down the source of the problem. It seems to have cured the problem, or we have got used to the smell.