What’s Causing an Unpleasant Smell in My Drain? | Insight from Your Trusted Katy, TX Drain Cleaning Professional

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There are some awe-inspiring things that people have invented and created over the years: Complex architecture, mind-boggling technology, beautiful clothing, a business to suit every need — and indoor plumbing. It's something we take for granted, but most of us have only enjoyed the luxury of enjoying hot water on demand and flushing away waste for less than 150 years. However, it's not just a one-way street. Sometimes the people of Katy, TX's lovely clean plumbing systems can malfunction or get backed up, causing a smell that's not only unpleasant; but potentially dangerous.

In some cases, deep drain cleaning is the solution. Otherwise, it could be a more complex issue with your plumbing or something deeper in the sewerage works. Plumbing can be complicated, so don't be disheartened if you need to call in professionals to give you a hand with harder to reach areas of pipe or drain cleaning. If the smell persists, it's crucial to get a plumber to find the source, identify any health risks and fix them immediately.

Check if There's Water in the Trap

Thankfully, the most common solution for an unpleasant smell in the drain is a simple one. You might begin smelling your drain if the water trap in a drainpipe has gone dry and fixing this can be as simple as running some fresh water!

Underneath most sinks, there is a u-shaped bend in the pipe known as the water trap. If you've ever dropped something you shouldn't have down the sink, it's likely to have ended up there. Not many people are aware that the actual reason the trap exists isn't just to catch things we've lost. It's there to provide a water barrier between our plug and what lurks deeper within the pipe.

If you've got a sink in the loft or a room you don't use much, you may not have run any water down it for some time. All of the water sitting in the u-bend may have evaporated, which can lead to a faint smell of sewerage as gases rise up through the pipe. To fix, just run some water down the sink and wait for a while to see if the stink vanishes. If you have a floor drain that hasn't been used for some time, slowly pour a bucket of warm water down there.

Pipe and Drain Cleaning Could Be the Solution

If you've run water down each sink the home and the smell hasn't gone away, you may need to get your rubber gloves out for some pipe or drain cleaning. A smelly biofilm has likely built up in the pipe of your kitchen sink, waste disposal unit or anywhere else where you wash food or biodegradable materials down the drain. We all know what happens when a fruit or vegetable is left out to rot, so imagine what happens when a lot of residue collects in your plumbing system.

Depending on the type of pipe, drain cleaning can be quick and easy or more of a challenge. You'll need to scrub away the scum from the entire pipe to prevent the build-up from quickly forming again. To do this yourself, take off the drain cover and use a flexible pipe brush to scour the inside of the pipe.

If you've given it an almighty scrub, but the smell isn't going away — it could be deeper in the system. A professional drain cleaning service will be able to get to the bottom of the problem. Mixing a half bleach, half water solution and pouring it down the drain could temporarily minimize the smell while you wait for a plumber.

Could It Be a Fatberg?

If your efforts at drain cleaning have been unsuccessful, you may have a fatberg on your hands. The best measures to protect against fatbergs developing are preventative. So, if you've got one in your plumbing system, you'll need to get stricter about what goes down the drain and what goes in the trash. In many cases, wet wipes or sanitary products may claim to be flushable — but this is a sales pitch. Never put anything but human waste and toilet paper down the toilet, and ensure the following never goes down the drain:

• Coffee grounds
• Nail clippings
• Eggshells
• Oil/grease/fat
• Hair
• Food trimmings or leftovers
• Salad dressing
• Mayonnaise
• Candle wax

Fatbergs are usually made up of baby wipes, dental floss, hair and congealed fat. These items aren't water-soluble, so they take a very long time to break down and clog up sewerage systems. What starts as a small clump of fat and hair gradually gathers more items and becomes a bigger and bigger problem. The smell from a fatberg can be highly undesirable, so if you can't identify the source of a smell or a blockage, this could be the issue.

What Causes an Unpleasant Drain Smell?

• Dry water trap
• Trapped food
• Bacteria
• Fatbergs
• Partial blockages
• Old pipe accessories

Contact Your Utility Provider if the Bad Smell Persists

If you've noticed that sewerage smells are coming from every drain in the house, it's likely a bigger problem than pipe or drain cleaning can resolve. If you've moved into a home that has been empty for a while, we'd recommend that you try filling every trap in the house and wait to see if that fixes it. However, if the traps are full and the odor still seems to be everywhere, the issue is probably in the sewerage system. Call your utility provider so they can investigate. If it turns out you're responsible for the repairs, call a plumber to help you track down the source. They may be able to do it using cameras, but in extreme cases, there may be digging involved.

Get Help with Drain Cleaning in Katy, TX

If you've encountered a drain cleaning emergency or need help identifying a plumbing problem in Katy, TX, call bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of Northwest Houston today at 346-222-5848.