Have you ever noticed your plumbing smelling for no obvious reason? Stinky plumbing problems can happen out of the blue for all kinds of reasons, some more serious than others. If you notice your plumbing is stinking, keep reading. Here are 4 reasons why this might be happening.

Problems in the Sewer Line

There are many things that can cause damage to your home’s sewer line. Tree roots growing into the line, clogs putting pressure on pipes, and sinking sewer pipes due to soil changes are examples of typical sewer line damage. No matter what causes sewer line damage, the bottom line is that a broken sewer line causes sewage leaks and sewage water smells.

If you notice, the stinky smell coming from outside your home or from the drains, it’s likely a sewer breach has happened. To fix this problem, you need to call for professional sewer line repair in Escondido, CA, right away.

Clean Your Garbage Disposal

Think about all the stuff you toss into your kitchen garbage disposal. While the disposal’s job is to chop up and dispose of all the food waste, that doesn’t mean it can’t smell from time to time. If you don’t clean the drain regularly, eventually the garbage disposal will smell from all the food waste clinging to the inside.

The best way to clean a garbage disposal is to pour a little soap into the disposal and run cold water through the disposal for a few minutes. You can also use baking soda and vinegar with hot water to get rid of food particles or bits of grease. After cleaning the disposal, put some lemon or orange peels in the disposal and turn it on. The natural oils in the peels releases a pleasant smell and keeps your kitchen smelling good.

P-trap Problems

This is the u-shaped portion of the pipe that is under the kitchen or bathroom sinks. Ordinarily, there’s a small amount of water that stays trapped in the p-trap. The water is there to keep sewer gases from coming up and out of the drain.

Sometimes, when certain drains in the house aren’t used as often, the water in the p-trap evaporates and dries out. The smelly sewer gases are no longer blocked and come up, out of the drain. Although this stinks, the good news is that it’s easily fixed. All you need to do is pour water into the drain which will refill the p-trap.

Biofilm Build-up

Have you noticed your shower drain smelling? It could be a biofilm problem. Years of shampoo, body creams, shaving cream, soap, and bathing products create a film in drains called biofilm. This is natural bacteria that smells bad.

Getting rid of biofilm is actually quite easy. All you need to do is pour hot water, about 5-10 quarts, down the drain followed by a vinegar and backing soda mixture. Let the mixture sit for a couple of hours and then pour more hot water into the drain. This should clear out the biofilm and make the drain smell better.

At Escondido Plumbing Whiz, we know that smelly plumbing issues aren’t pleasant to deal with. Luckily, most of the problems are easily fixed. However, when you run into a problem or have a question, we’re here for you. Call your friendly neighborhood plumbers in Escondido, CA, for all sewer and drain repair, replacement, or maintenance.