Your home should be a comfortable, pleasant, and headache free zone. When you're continuously dealing with stinky drains or smelly water, finding peace of mind within your own four walls can be difficult.
Thankfully, there are three common reasons as to why a home's drains or water supply may start to stink, and the causes are usually easily detectable and curable.
Here are the top three reasons that a home develops smelly drains or water:
1 - Dried Out P-Traps
P-traps are u-shaped sections commonly found in all drain pipes of your home. These traps contain a small amount of water, which acts as a seal to prevent sewer gases from entering these waste pipes.
Most of the time, the p-traps dry up and start to smell due to one of the following causes:
- Disuse.
- A leak in the p-trap.
- A blockage which causes the water to siphon out of the p-trap.
Sewer gas smells from dry p-traps in drains that have been unused for a long period of time are easy to fix.
Simply run the tap for a few minutes to refill the p-trap with water.
Once completed, the seal should be working and you can rest easy knowing that the foul smell won't be returning, as long as the drain is used every once in awhile.
If the smell comes from a commonly used drain, call a plumbing professional to inspect the p-trap itself.
They can easily detect a leak or blockage, and these issues should only be dealt with by trained professionals to avoid damage.
2 - The Water Heater
The interior of a water heater is the perfect breeding area for smelly bacteria to thrive. These bacteria require moist, dark areas.
When combined with sulfur and the metal components of your water heater, they become even stinkier and give off that unmistakable "rotten egg" smell.
This smell enters all water that is heated, and is sent off around your home when you need it. To rid of these stinky bacteria, try cleaning your water heater with hydrogen peroxide.
H2O2 works to kill off bacteria without damaging your water heater. H2O2 is also safe for the environment, as it degrades to oxygen and water over time.
3 - A Blocked Sewer Gas Vent
Many modern homes have a ventilation system installed that is dedicated to removing sewer gases and releasing them into the outside air.
If this system is blocked, these stinky gases build up, and enter the waste drains in your home.
There are common causes of these blockages, including:
- Debris.
- Leaves.
- Animal nests.
Blockages should only be cleared if it is safe for you to do so on our own.
If the blockage is not safely accessible, contact a plumber immediately.
These experts can safely remove blockages with the right tools.
