What To Do When Your Drain Smells Like Sewage

Water is essential for the survival of almost any species all over the world. It is even more important for humans, who have at least 60% of it in our bodies. As this link says, we are lucky to be living in an era wherein we can easily get safe drinking water. It is even right in our homes, flowing freely from our faucets.

However, there are still a lot of places in the world that you cannot get this. There are several factors involving this, although being in a poorer area would be a major factor. Here in the USA, we all know that some places still suffer from this, even in larger cities.

One of the major complaints that have been encountered by many people is the quality of water. Ideally, it is supposed to be odorless, almost tasteless, and clear. There is no such thing as pure water according to science, but there is such a thing as a safe one.

This is why it is important that our sources are clean enough that we can just drink straight from our faucets. Unfortunately, this is never the case for most of us. For example, many people might complain that their drain smells like sewage and it just alarms them. If this happened in your home, I’m sure you would be too.

As we all know, these drains are the ones that would receive any kind of wastewater from our home. If you think that this is supposed to smell like sewage, then that should not be the case. It should be clean enough because any sign of it being polluted would be a serious issue.

There must be something trapped within that is causing all the smells. If you end up ignoring it, then it is going to get worse and it can permeate your home in no time. Fortunately, this is an easy fix even for the simplest of homeowners.

Clear Up or Clean Up?

Running water is going to solve most of your problems, but especially this one. You can try turning on the faucet and letting it for a few minutes. This can clear up many issues, even a simple clogged drain. However, for the smells, you might need to look a little further. It can be because the water trap in your home has gone dry.

Basically, the trap is supposed to be your defense against the deeper and more dangerous “things” lurking beneath the pipelines. It is supposed to wet to guard you against the horrible odors, but it can also run dry. Read more about this here: https://www.thespruce.com/the-purpose-of-a-drain-trap-2718770.

Leaving the faucet running will resolve this properly. Once it is wet enough, you will do this as soon as the odors are already gone. You can also try opening the trap, as this is usually situated under your sink, with a few maneuvers with the right tools and a little strength, you can open this and inspect the contents. Just make sure that the faucet has been turned off or else you would have created a bigger problem. Instead of just the odors, you will need to face a flooded home.

Don’t Hesitate To Call An Expert When Necessary

If the problem still persists, cleanup might be necessary. Cleaning pipelines can be a pain though, as you need more tools and possibly even more people.

For starters, you would need to access the drainpipe, like opening the trap. You would need to scrub it clean with a solution of a 50-50 ratio of water and bleach. Scrubbing it clean with a pipe brush would be the easiest thing to do. Doing it with your hands and brush is not going to cut it.

Meanwhile, it would just be safer to find a professional plumber to do it for you. They have all the right tools and manpower to solve this concern. It is going to cost you some money, but this is better in so many ways. For one, the job is going to be faster compared to your following DIY.

Also, they have all the protection that they need as well as the experience to back it up. You do not need to worry about the strong smells anymore. To avoid this from happening again, you can install a filter that can clean up the water going through your sink as well.