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Picture this: you enter your home, and you immediately smell a noxious odour that you just can’t place. The garbage cans are empty; your dog did not have an “accident,” and, to your knowledge, you don’t have a rodent infestation. You approach your sink, and for some reason, the smell gets stronger and even more unbearable. You finally isolate the source to be coming from your drain!

If you have no plumbing experience, it’s best to leave it to an experienced plumber near you. However, it can’t hurt to investigate a little more and pinpoint the cause of the noxious odours. Here are three possible causes of a foul-smelling drain, followed by simple fixes that you can do to get rid of the foul odours temporarily:

– Empty P-Traps

Your plumbing systems don’t just bring clean water in and keep dirty water out; they also keep the noxious fumes in your sewers or septic tank from backing up and circulating in your home. Plumbers avoid this issue by installing a p-trap under your sink.

The p-trap, a j-shaped fixture outfitted between the pipe coming from the drain and the one leading to the main sewer line, always retains some water to prevent noxious sewer gases from rising. If your sink or bathtub is rarely used, then the p-trap can dry up—which means nothing stops the sewer gases from entering your home anymore.

Fixing this issue can be as simple as running water and into the sink or tub for at least two minutes and letting it fill the p-trap. To avoid this from becoming an issue, make it a point to use that sink or tub a few times each week to prevent the p-trap from drying up. It’s also a good idea to check for any leaks in the p-trap for good measure.

– Accumulated Gunk and Bacteria

Over time, food, grease, hair, and other gunk can accumulate in your pipes. In the worst-case scenario, these particles will attract bacteria, which will lead to the gradual breakdown of these particles, thus resulting in foul odours.

The gunk and bacteria can be neutralized by running home-made cleaning solutions, like a vinegar and baking soda mixture. If you have a disposal outfitted, run it with water for at least 20 seconds after you dispose of food down the sink. This will help in preventing gunk accumulation and should also help prevent foul odours.

– Clogged Pipes

Ideally, your pipes should always be free-flowing. When a clog occurs, water can start to pool in the sink. In particularly extreme cases, blackwater might even rise, which results in noxious fumes entering your home as well.

Clogged pipes can be remedied through homemade solutions, such as plungers or a drain snake. Some people also find success in using chemicals like liquid lye. When all else fails, contact your emergency plumber and let them handle the clogs professionally!

Conclusion

Nobody expects having a stinky drain. However, they do occasionally happen, making it crucial for homeowners to know how to check for them. More importantly, it’s best to adopt habits that prevent them from happening in the first place! When all else fails, contact your emergency plumber to lend you a hand.

Are you looking for a plumbing service to help handle your drainage issues? 24 Hour Plumbing and Heating responds to plumbing emergencies in Red Deer and other areas in Alberta. Contact us today to book an appointment!

As it is often said, the kitchen is the heart of a home because it is where you prepare meals, and everyone gathers for meaningful conversation.

Imagine you’re in the kitchen and are about to prepare a meal for the family. At that moment, you begin to notice a funky smell that begins to disturb your attention. You check your garbage disposal, and it’s not coming from there; you check your trash bin, and it’s still not there. Where is it coming from?

After a bit more search, you realize that the nasty smell is coming from your drains! Sinks are where smelly drains often stem from because of the food that is washed down them. However, you can also have smelly drains from the tub or shower.

What Causes Foul Drain Smells?

There are many causes behind smelly drains. For one, debris like food scraps, grease, hair, or soap residue that line your pipes may cause the drain to smell because of the bacteria they attract that releases these nasty odours. Clogged drain pipes or vents can also leave you with stale odours because they promote sluggish water movement. 

Other than that, even mould and mildew may cause nasty-smelling drains. Yet, it could also be due to sewer gases that rise up from the drains. 

In the case that you smell a rotten egg smell, it could be due to a bacteria that is in your hot water tank that reacts with the sulphates in your water. Last but not least, plumbing mistakes may cause a bad smell to come from your drains. A missing P-trap or drain vent can cause strong odours, as well as leaks or rotting drain tubes. 

How Do You Get Rid Of The Smell?

When you have determined the cause of the nasty odour, it’s time to eliminate it by using the following tips:

• For debris build-up: Boil water, add vinegar, and slowly pour the mixture down the drain and wait for a few minutes before you run some cold water. After that, pour the remainder of the solution down the drain to wash away everything. You can also use a baking soda and vinegar mixture by letting the solution fizz and settle for an hour, then rinsing it with hot water. 
• For clogged P-traps: Remove the curved portion of the plumbing and empty it out. Then, rinse the P-trap with a garden hose. 
• For sewer gases: Have water regularly running through all the drains to prevent sewer gases from rising to your drains. For drains that aren’t used very often, pour some mineral oil into the drain to slow down water evaporation from the pipes. 
• For water sulphates: Turn up your hot water temperature for a short period. Once it had time to heat up, turn off the main water supply line, attach a garden house to the lower drain port, and empty the tank into the floor drains. 
• For mould and mildew: This task is best left for expert plumbers because they have the expertise and tools to effectively determine the cause of mould and mildew and remove them from the pipes.

Getting rid of the nasty drain smells may seem easy at first. Yet, if you have tried various tricks and nothing seems to work, that’s the time you need professional help!

Conclusion

At this point, you now know the various causes of nasty drain odour and the various steps to overcome it. For times when that nasty smell just won’t go away after doing home solutions, there could be something else going on behind your plumbing system that may require professional intervention. If that’s the case, take the time to find a reliable plumber in your area to ensure the best service that could completely eliminate that nasty drain smell. 

Are you looking for reliable 24-hour plumbing service? At Emergency Plumbing & Heating, we have over 20 years of experience providing top-quality plumbing services, and our experts are dedicated to top-quality customer services. Get in touch with us today to schedule your appointment!

Maintaining home plumbing is increasingly becoming tedious for many homeowners because of the general misinformation, which translates into costly, big-time repairs. Fortunately for you, you can avoid these plumbing mishaps if you just keep reading. 

This article will provide you with four common plumbing myths. Take this as an opportunity to save your family from inconvenient plumbing problems and positively influence your friends and family by sharing this timely information.

Plumbing is often seen as a menial task, but it holds a lot more importance than you may be giving it. Here are four common household plumbing myths you need to stop believing in:

General Home Plumbing Is Easy to Fix. All You Need Is Someone in Your Household to Come Up with a Quick Solution

This myth, by far, is the most damaging home plumbing issues that need to stop. There are many houses with pipes that may have access to water, but they are highly vulnerable to leakage and bursting. There are also scenarios that can leave houses susceptible to a plumbing emergency, disastrous complications with the water supply that threaten to ruin your property and endanger your family. 

Let’s say you see a minor leakage in your kitchen. You have your partner “fix” it by applying some Teflon tape to the threads and covering the pipe with some super glue. Even if it temporarily fixes the leak, this can affect your whole plumbing system. 

You see, your pipelines are like a heart. If even one of the minor pathways is damaged, the whole system falls apart. You need to assess the entire system to ensure that there won’t be issues in the long run, meaning you need to have technical knowledge of plumbing, water flow, and other related experience. 

For your household’s safety and convenience, learn more about emergency plumber services through us at 24 Hour Plumbing & Heating. 

Faucets Gradually Leak Over Time Due to Repeated Use, So You Shouldn’t Worry

Yes, common home faucets do leak because frequent uses can loosen up the hardware, such as the main valve and the screws. However, you shouldn’t ignore it. Letting your faucets leak can raise your water bill costs and also cause your sink and pipes to get rusty. Leaking faucets also indicate that the water pressure may not be running smoothly. If you see faucet leaks, call your local plumber immediately. 

Flushable Items Don’t Clog Up the Sewage

The problem with flushable items is they may dissolve once exposed to water, but they don’t get through drainage easily. Remember—your house’s drainage has to get rid of a lot of daily waste, like fecal matter, grime from the sink, and oil. 

All these non-flushables and so-called flushable can clump together and form a dam-like blockage in your drainage, endangering your pipe systems. Call our emergency plumbers to check your drainage to inspect for sewer backups.  

Clogged Pipelines? Use Lemon Juice and Other Store-Bought Drain Cleaning Solutions. That Will Do the Trick

You may have heard this advice from your neighbour or a well-meaning family member, but pouring acidic liquids down your pipeline can ruin the quality of your drainage system. This harmful mixture of chemicals can also destroy your garbage disposal, affecting its efficiency in breaking down wastes. 

If you have a clogged kitchen sink, our expert plumbers recommend that you turn off your garbage disposal first, pour warm water into the sink with liquid dishwashing soap, and then scrub the grime gently with a long pipe cleaning brush. You can also call our drain cleaning experts for your convenience. 

Conclusion

You may think that your DIY fixes and common household plumbing issues are normal, but there may be pressing concerns that you are ignoring. You could unknowingly be exposing your family to great inconveniences and costly damages. Have your plumbing checked and repaired today!

24 Hour Plumbing & Heating is your professional team of emergency plumbers in Calgary equipped for any house plumbing emergency. We can provide you with the best plumbing solutions to keep your water flow and drainage highly efficient. Visit our website today!