You walk into the kitchen and notice something smells off. Or maybe it’s the bathroom, laundry room, or basement. You take out the trash. You check the refrigerator. You clean the sink. But the smell keeps coming back. Sometimes, the culprit isn’t what’s sitting around the room. It’s what’s hiding inside the drain.
Drain odors can happen any time of year, but they can become especially noticeable during the warm, humid days of a New England summer. Food, soap, hair, bacteria, standing water, and other buildup can all contribute to unpleasant smells. Some drain odors have a simple explanation. Others may be your plumbing system’s way of telling you there’s a problem that needs attention. Here’s how to tell the difference.
Why Do Drains Start to Smell?
Your drains carry a lot more than water. Kitchen drains handle food particles, grease, cooking oils, and soap. Bathroom drains collect hair, toothpaste, shaving products, soap residue, and other organic material. Laundry drains deal with detergent, lint, dirt, and everything else that comes off your clothes. Over time, some of that material can stick to the inside of the drainpipe. Add warm summer temperatures and moisture, and you’ve created a pretty good environment for bacteria to grow. That can lead to a musty, sour, or rotten smell coming from the drain. Cleaning the visible part of the sink may make things look better, but it won’t necessarily remove buildup farther down the drain.
Kitchen Sink Smell? Food and Grease May Be the Problem
The kitchen is one of the most common places for drain odors. Small pieces of food can make their way down the drain while you’re washing dishes or cleaning up after meals. Grease and cooking oils can also coat the inside of pipes, where other debris begins sticking to them. Eventually, that buildup can start to smell. Summer can add even more to the mix. Cookouts, family gatherings, kids being home, and more meals prepared in the kitchen can mean your sink sees plenty of extra use. If your kitchen drain smells bad and is also beginning to drain more slowly, buildup may be restricting the pipe.
Don’t Forget About Bathroom Drains
Bathroom sinks, tubs, and showers have their own sources of buildup. Hair is an obvious one, but soap residue, body oils, toothpaste, shaving cream, and personal care products can gradually collect inside the drain as well. You may first notice an odor after the shower hasn’t been used for several hours or when you walk into the bathroom in the morning. If water has also started taking longer to disappear from the sink, tub, or shower, don’t ignore it. The combination of an odor and a slow drain can be an early sign that a clog is forming.
That Basement Smell Could Be a Dry Drain
What about a drain you rarely use? Floor drains in basements, utility rooms, and other areas of the home can sometimes smell because the water inside the drain’s trap has evaporated. Plumbing traps are designed to hold a small amount of water. That water creates a barrier between your home and gases inside the drainage system. When a drain goes unused for an extended period, especially during warm weather, that water can evaporate. Once the barrier is gone, odors may be able to make their way into the room. If you suspect an unused drain is the source, carefully adding water may be enough to refill the trap. If the smell quickly returns, however, it’s worth having the drain checked.
Laundry Areas Can Develop Drain Odors, Too
If the smell seems strongest near your washing machine, don’t immediately assume the appliance itself is responsible. The laundry drain and standpipe can collect detergent residue, lint, dirt, and other material over time. A drainage or venting issue can also cause odors to become noticeable around the washing machine. Start by cleaning the washing machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If the smell remains and appears to be coming from the drain or standpipe, the plumbing may need a closer look.
What Can You Check Yourself?
Before calling a plumber, there are a few simple things you can check. Look for visible hair or debris around bathroom drains. Clean sink strainers and removable drain components. Run water into drains that haven’t been used recently to make sure their traps haven’t dried out. Pay attention to how the drain is behaving, too.
Is it draining normally? Has it become noticeably slower? Does the smell return soon after cleaning? Are you noticing an odor from more than one drain?
Those details can help determine whether you’re dealing with ordinary surface buildup or something farther inside the plumbing system. And be careful about reaching for harsh chemical drain cleaners. They may not address the actual source of the odor or blockage and can create additional concerns for your plumbing.
When Does a Smelly Drain Need a Plumber?
An occasional odor that disappears after cleaning or refilling an unused trap isn’t necessarily cause for concern. A smell that keeps coming back is different.
It’s especially worth calling a plumber if the odor is accompanied by:
- A drain that is getting progressively slower
- Frequent or recurring clogs
- Gurgling or bubbling sounds
- Water backing up into a sink, tub, or shower
- Odors coming from several drains
- A strong sewage-like smell that doesn’t go away
These symptoms can point to a clog, venting problem, damaged plumbing, or another issue that cleaning the top of the drain won’t solve.
Don’t Spend the Rest of Summer Wondering What That Smell Is
A strange drain odor isn’t exactly the kind of thing you want greeting guests when they walk into your kitchen or bathroom. More importantly, a recurring smell can be an early clue that something is happening inside your plumbing.
If you’ve cleaned the drain and the odor keeps returning, Maffei Services can help get to the source of the problem. Our plumbers serve homeowners throughout the North Shore, Merrimack Valley, Southern New Hampshire, and surrounding communities. Addressing a drain problem while it’s still a minor inconvenience can be a lot easier than waiting until you’re dealing with a stubborn clog or backup.
