Don’t you just love walking into the kitchen and smelling the scent of the food that you’ve just finished cooking? I, for one, can’t get enough of the smell of paella pan full of Spanish flavor or roasted chicken.
I am sure there are times when you can smell an awful scent in your green kitchen. You regularly take out the trash, so the garbage bin isn’t the suspect. So it’s likely that the kitchen sink is where the smell is coming from.
I won’t be surprised if that’s the case. After all, food particles and grease all make their way into the drain even when you use a sink strainer. The inevitable will happen— you would smell odor coming out of the sink.
That’s a downer, right? You might have the most stunning kitchen, but if there’s a stench, then you wouldn’t want to be there. Maybe the only thing worse than that is flooding in the kitchen.
So should you call your friendly neighborhood plumber right away? Nah.
There are several proven tricks to get rid of that awful smell in your kitchen sink.
Related: Why Do Dishwashers Smell?
1. Boiling water
Yes! A pot full of boiling water should be enough to remove that unpleasant smell coming out of the kitchen drain. Boiling water can drain blockage where the smell may be coming from.
You don’t even have to boil a pot of water for this purpose. For example, pour the boiled water that you used for pasta down the drain.
But keep in mind that this trick is ideal for metal pipes only. Hot water may damage the joints of PVC pipes so check your pipes first before pouring boiling water.
2. Baking soda, vinegar, and hot water
This is yet another easy solution to that stench coming from your kitchen drain. It helps that this solution requires two things you likely have in your kitchen now—baking soda and vinegar. Of course, you can always boil water.
Here’s how you can do this trick:
- Dump a cup of baking soda into the drain.
- Let it sit there for 10 to 15 minutes. Don’t run any water
- Pour two cups of vinegar. You will see bubbles and hear the pops. Again, let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Add boiling water.
This is a very effective way of cleaning dirty and slow draining kitchen sinks. The combination of baking soda and hot water can loosen up sludge that has been stuck at the bottom of the drain. And vinegar will provide the final blow to let it all loose.
Aside from being effective, this DIY solution is also practical as you don’t need to buy commercial drain cleaner anymore.
3. Baking soda with essential oils and hot water
This is the same as the preceding solution, but instead of vinegar, we’ll use essential oils like tea tree or mint. The essential oil won’t get rid of junk hanging out at the bottom of the drain, but it can get rid of the stench coming out of it.
You can also do this trick after using the baking soda-vinegar-boiling water cleanse. Here’s how to do it:
- Dump half a cup of baking soda into the drain.
- After a few minutes, drop a few drops of essential oils. It’s up to you what kind you would use. Aside from tea tree oil, you can use eucalyptus or mint.
- Let it sit for an hour before rinsing down with hot water.
Try this solution, and you should notice a great improvement in your kitchen’s smell after a few hours.
4. Baking soda and lemon juice
Lemon is a natural deodorizer thanks to its citrusy and fresh scent. In fact, I regularly use a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice to deodorize my dishwasher. I also know some people who use it to freshen up their kitchen.
As such, lemon juice and baking soda can make a good combination. Here’s how:
- Dump a cup of baking soda into the drain
- Add a cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Open the faucet and let water to run.
This solution won’t likely unclog a slow-draining sink, but it is potent enough to remove the stench coming from the drain.
You can periodically sprinkle baking soda and squeeze lemon juice into the drain to absorb odors and prevent the awful smell from coming back.
Conclusion
That awful smell in your kitchen isn’t always coming from the trash bin. There are times when the stench comes from the sink. Honestly, it’s not surprising because we work our kitchen sinks too hard.
But as you have learned, getting rid of that awful smell in the kitchen sink is not that difficult. You would need good ole baking soda, vinegar and hot water to do unclog junk that may have been stuck in the drain and causing the bad smell. Then use lemon juice and essential oils with baking soda to prevent the odors from coming back.