5 Easy Fixes for a Smelly Kitchen Sink Pro Cleaners Swear By

No matter how sparkling clean your kitchen sink may appear, smells emanating from it would suggest otherwise. Fortunately, you don’t need to contact a plumber to tackle sink stink most of the time.

Instead, try these five tips and tricks that house-cleaning pros use themselves. The best part? You probably already have the ingredients, cleaners, and tools needed for these methods.

Flush Drain With Boiling Water

Food debris stuck in the drain or grease buildup trapping other particles starts to smell over time, Ashley Kidder, a cleaning expert and the COO of Dashing Maids, advises. She recommends the simple fix of flushing boiling water down the sink drain as it helps break up grease and rinse away debris.

One way to tell that this is even the problem is a slow drain: It typically signals that there’s gunk building up somewhere down the line, according to Jade Piper, operations manager at BetterCleans.

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Add Dish Soap, Baking Soda, and Vinegar to the Mix

If smells continue to come up from the drain, you may need a deeper flush, Maria Mock, president of Molly Maid, says. She recommends using a combination of dish soap, the boiling-water flush, and the popular baking soda-and-vinegar trick.

1. Squirt some dish soap in the drain, followed by pouring boiling water down the drain to cut through the grease.
2. Then, add a cup of baking soda into the drain, followed by a cup of distilled white vinegar, which will cause a fizzing reaction.
3. Let sit for five to 10 minutes and then flush again with boiling water.

Use an Enzyme Drain Cleaner

An alternative to all of the above is to try using an enzyme drain cleaner. These help break down organic buildup but are safer than chemical cleaners. If these cleaning methods fail, it’s time to get a bit handier.

Check the P-Trap

The p-trap is the U-shaped pipe you’ll find under the kitchen sink (as well as other plumbing fixtures in the home). It normally holds water to block sewer gases, but if it’s dry, the smell can come through, explains Kidder.

Usually, just running water into the sink for 10 to 15 seconds will refill the trap—but not if there are any obstructions or leaks. Here’s how to inspect for and address these.

1. Run the water and monitor for any leaks. If there are any, try tightening the slip nuts that connect the trap to the other pipes, replacing the gaskets, or replacing the entire trap. If there are no leaks, move on to the next step.
2. Place a bucket under the p-trap to catch water or debris that might spill out upon removal.
3. Locate the slip-joint nuts at each end of the p-trap (where the curve connects to the other pipes). Then loosen them by hand, wrench, or pliers.
4. Slide the p-trap down off the pipes and check inside for any debris or clogs.
5. If there are any, flush the trap with water at another location (since you can’t currently run water at this sink) or use a tool to remove obstructions and discard them into the bucket or trash. You might also want to clean the entire trap with a solvent, but this is optional.
6. Reinstall the p-trap, tightening the slip-joint nuts.
7. Run the water to see if the sink is draining at normal speed. If you find that it’s still slow, the problem might be elsewhere further down, and you’ll need to call in a pro.

Clean the Garbage Disposal and Splash Guard

Food debris can stick to the underside of the rubber splash guard between the sink and garbage disposal, Mock says. So, check here first. Make sure the garbage disposal is powered off to avoid injury. Then clean the underside of the rubber ring by wiping with a non-abrasive sponge or microfiber cloth sprayed with an all-purpose cleaner.

Once that’s taken care of, Kidder suggests powering back on the disposal and grinding up ice cubes and lemon peels in it (or a specialty garbage disposal cleaning product).

“We specifically do this at our clients’ homes during quality-assurance checks,” Kidder explains.

Mock agrees and explains how citrus fruits are natural deodorizers and help cut through grease, so grinding up a few lemon or orange slices or peels in the disposal is an easy step that checks two boxes at once.

Prevention Tips

The best prevention is to regularly clean the sink and not wait until the drain slows or gets clogged. She recommends rinsing away any leftover food particles with warm water after doing the dishes, then wiping down the entire sink with a non-abrasive sponge (always a separate sponge for sink cleaning) and dish soap. Once a month, aim to use a drain cleaner, but if you still notice a smell after cleaning regularly, it might be time to call in a pro, she says.