Say Goodbye to Smelly Drains with Expert Help
Smelly drains are an inconvenience no-one needs. The good news is that the issue can be resolved with the support of an expert drain team. In fact, if you work with a drainage engineer on a regular basis, you should be able to avoid the problem happening in the first place!
What Causes a Smelly Plug Hole?
Smelly plug holes and drains can be caused by a build-up of various substances, including:
- Soap scum
- Fats, oils and grease
- Hair
- Mould and bacteria
However, bad smells can also be caused by blockages, leaks and cracks in your pipes allowing materials to enter the drainage system so if you’re experiencing smells in your property, get in touch with a drainage engineer to try and solve the problem.
Why Does My Plug Hole Smell?
You can sometimes diagnose the reason behind a smelly plug hole based on the smell it’s emitting.
- General bad odour – if your plug hole or drain is giving off a general bad odour, it’s most often caused by an accumulation of bacteria found in either fats, oils and grease, or hair.
- Musty smell – if the smell coming from your plug hole is musty, it’s most likely to be caused by mould growing in the drain. Mould grows in pipes when seals break on drain holes, or when water is left to stagnate, as these conditions provide the perfect environment for mould to grow.
- The smell of eggs – sometimes the sulphur found in soil can enter pipes through small holes and cracks and then mix with your water. It can then cause a reaction and produce a rotten egg smelling gas which can enter your property. While this isn’t a risk to your health, it can be a nuisance to deal with.
- Sewer-like smell – if a drain is left unused for too long, ‘sewer gas’ can start producing bad smells which rise back up out of the drains and linger in your property. To prevent this happening, ensure your taps aren’t ever left empty for too long.
How to Fix a Smelly Plug Hole
There are a couple of ways you can try and tackle a smelly plug hole yourself. These include:
- Bleach and hot water: pouring bleach down your drain, followed by hot water, will provide a quick solution to the smell caused by growing bacteria or mould.
- Baking soda and vinegar: pour half a cup of baking soda down the plughole, then add one cup of vinegar. Let it foam and sit for a few hours, then pour boiling water down the drain to flush. The foaming action eats away at fats, oils and grease in the drain, while the boiling water washes it away and sanitizes the environment.
- Plunger: you can use a plunger to dislodge a build-up of debris and hair in your drain. Once you bring the substance to the surface, be sure to put it in your bin rather than in your toilet or any other drain.
If any of the above solutions don’t work, you should call a drainage expert to investigate whether the problem is caused by something more serious and needs a professional repair.
Drainage Team for Smelly Drains
Here at Metro Rod, our skilled drainage engineers are on hand 24/7/365 to help diagnose, locate and resolve the cause of any bad smell your property is experiencing, using specialist drainage equipment to bring it back to clean, safe and hygienic conditions.
- Using CCTV, we’ll inspect your drainage system’s pipework to ensure problems are correctly identified and diagnosed.
- We’ll clean pipework of varying diameters with electro-mechanical equipment – whether that’s a small sink plug hole, urinal pipes or vertical soil sacks.
- High pressure water jetting technology enables us to powerfully flush through underground drainage, leaving your drains clean and free-flowing.
- We’ll use specialist technology to make structural repairs to your pipework, ensuring it remains sealed, watertight and odour free.
Pre-planned Maintenance
As with any drainage issue, prevention is better than cure. A programme of pre-planned maintenance – where a member of our team visits you on a regular basis to inspect your drainage network – will ensure any potential issues with your pipes are spotted before they escalate. Any problems are diagnosed and resolved on the spot. That way, you’ll always avoid smelly plug holes.
Call Metro Rod today to discuss how we can support you and your property to remain free of smelly drains.
Talk to your local Metro Rod specialist
We are always happy to arrange a free site assessment and no obligation quotations for any work you might need. Alternatively, you can call our emergency hotline number on 0800 66 88 00
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