There are many things that can add value to a home. It can be outdoor elements such as decking, patio, timber cladding and weatherboards, and more. It can also be the most basic yet functional room inside a home such as a bathroom and a kitchen.
A clean kitchen is essential for a variety of reasons. For one, it’s the place that stores food, and it’s where food is prepared. It’s no surprise that many home buyers rank the kitchen at the top of their list. Understandably, one of the most desired facilities in a home is a good kitchen. It’s simply a bare minimum in a home. However, because it’s a heavily used room in the house, a mess can accumulate and be overlooked, especially in the most unsuspecting places like the kitchen drain.
The dishwasher needs regular cleaning and the stovetop needs a wipe down every after cooking. But what about the kitchen drain? It’s easy to disregard it until something’s going on with it, such as becoming a source of foul smell in your kitchen.
Why Does the Kitchen Drain Smell?
There are two main causes of a smelly kitchen drain. First is food build-up in the drainpipe. This is an obvious one surely but also a natural one. The kitchen is after all the place where you wash your ingredients, wash the dishes, and more. Pieces of food and other debris may be trapped or have stuck to the walls of the pipe, causing a smell.
Drainpipes typically have this U-shaped curve that retains the water that acts as a barrier from sewer gas. This curve is commonly known as the p-trap. This leads to the other cause of funny smells. When there is no water in the p-trap due to a leak, sewer gas may rise and come back in and out of the kitchen drain.
Getting Rid of the Smell
Diagnosing the problem is one task, dealing with it is another. The final step however involves getting rid of the residue smell that may still be present in the room. Here are some ways you can do that and more!
Making a Potpourri Simmer
There are multiple ways to prepare and make a potpourri simmer, you can even make your own concoction! What it does is basically overpower any unpleasant smells in your kitchen. A classic favorite ingredient of many homeowners is lemons or other similarly acidic fruits because of their refreshing scent. The ingredients for a potpourri simmer can easily be found in your kitchen too. Some of these include leftover oranges, some cloves, and a couple of cinnamon sticks.
Regular Cleanups
This is pretty self-explanatory. This part may be the least liked part for many people. But it’s important to give your drain a thorough, deep clean regularly to keep it functioning effectively. Even your dishwasher needs it too. If you don’t do these as often as you should, it’s time you do.
Keeping Dry
Speaking of keeping things clean, you should also keep things dry, especially since water can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Avoid leaving sponges soaking wet when not in use. That also goes for cutting boards, dishcloths, and countertops.
Smell Neutralizers
There are a couple of ways to make your own smell neutralizers with things you already have at home! A quick way to eliminate high or acidic smells would be to just sprinkle some baking soda on problem areas. This increases the pH and neutralizes acids that may be causing the smell. You can even try leaving a bowl or an open box of baking soda inside your fridge or inside cupboards to let it absorb some odors.
Another baking soda trick is to make a scrub. Mix baking soda, a bit of lemon, and some water and you can use this to scrub down surfaces like a stovetop or counters.
For coffee lovers, your coffee grounds have another purpose. Leaving dry, unused coffee grounds around masks some smells. They are best used dry since wet coffee grounds can grow mold and cause a funky smell themselves. Lastly, you just had a crazy night and have some vodka left lying around, try mixing that with some water and a scent of your choice to make a homemade air freshener.
The fact of the matter is that proper upkeep is essential for maintaining a clean and unclogged kitchen drain. Although fragrances can help a homeowner improve the condition of their kitchen, they should not be used to hide the stench of a stinky kitchen drain. The greatest option is to address the issue directly and permanently.
