Fresh Solutions to Plumbing Odors

There’s nothing more frustrating than working hard to clean your home and having smelly plumbing ruin it, especially if you have guests coming over. Unfortunately there’s only so much you can do to cover up the smells before it just overpowers everything. The only thing to do is to get right to the cause and deal with it head on. Here are five tips for doing so.

Watch what you put down the drain

One common cause for smelly plumbing is drains filled with rotting food. If you consistently allow bits of food, especially grease and meat, to go down your drain, it can remain there long enough to cause smelly problems. Be vigilant about keeping your drains free from accumulated food to avoid this issue.

Replace s-traps with p-traps

For a drain that’s a repeat offender, take a look at the configuration. If it’s “s” shaped rather than “p” shaped, you may be dealing with sewer gases entering your home through the pipe. A p-trap is designed to keep water in the bend of the “p” as a barrier to gases. If the pipe is “s” shaped, this seal may not be there, causing issues.

Look for (and fix) sanitary leaks

You may not see a sanitary leak, especially if it’s under your toilet, so if you have a smell in a certain area, it’s time to investigate. A toilet that shifts and doesn’t sit tight to the ground is likely to have a poor seal. This results in slow leakage that you may not see, but you’ll definitely smell. Similarly, hidden or buried piping may be leaking so look for other evidence like moisture and sinking of concrete.

Keep p-traps “sealed”

Drains that are seldom used can dry out, allowing sewer gases into your home. Floor drains, utility drains or even sinks that no one uses are at risk of this. Make it part of your cleaning routine to pour water down these drains to establish the seal and protect your home from this culprit of smelly plumbing. If you want a more hands off approach, you can have a plumber install a trap seal primer that provides just enough to maintain the seal.

Replace corroded clean outs

Clean outs are small covers for openings in your sanitary piping. These allow access for different parts of your piping that would otherwise be inaccessible, ensuring that it can be cleaned or unclogged as needed. Sometimes these corrode, allowing sewer gases into your home. Replacing them will reinstate the seal that keeps those smelly gases out.