6 tricks to get rid of your smelly sink
You walk into the kitchen and smell a foul odour. It’s not coming from the bin, which you’ve just emptied. There’s nothing seriously past its best-before date in the fridge. It’s probably your sink that smells so bad. How can you get rid of the stink as quickly as possible?
Okay, your sink will probably never smell like roses. But a neutral smell should be achievable. Maybe you’re putting things down the sink that really don’t belong there? If they get stuck, they’ll start to rot. And they clog your pipes, which I’m guessing you’re not too keen on either. Prevention is therefore better than cure. Have you already passed that stage? Then get to work!
1. Hot water
Sometimes the solution is very simple. It may be enough to flush hot water down your sink. This solution works especially well if the unpleasant smells from your sink aren’t too strong, for example because your pipes are only mildly affected. Who knows, you may not need to do more than switch on your kettle!
2. Baking soda, vinegar and hot water
Baking soda is a golden solution for so many kitchen problems. From dirty chopping boards to a grimy extractor hood: baking soda does the magic. And that applies to a smelly sink too. The combination with vinegar and hot water works particularly well. How do you do it? First, pour a cup of baking soda down the drain and leave it for fifteen minutes. Don’t run any water in the meantime! Then pour in half a cup of vinegar. If all goes well, the mixture will start fizzing. Don’t be alarmed—that’s a good sign. Let it fizz for fifteen minutes, then pour hot water down the drain. The smell will disappear in no time.
3. Baking soda, salt, vinegar and hot water
Some cleaning geniuses claim that the trick above works even better if you add salt. The process is slightly different. First sprinkle half a cup of (coarse) salt down the drain, then half a cup of baking soda and finally a cup of vinegar. Cover the drain for about 30 seconds. This gives the fizzing mixture a chance to do its job properly. Finally, pour plenty of hot water down the drain. A second round of hot water often works even better, loosening any remaining salt residue.
4. Baking soda, lemon juice and hot water
When mixed with baking soda, lemon juice creates just as exciting a chemical reaction as vinegar. But lemon juice has one extra advantage: it smells delicious. Great! Follow the same method as in tip 2, but replace the vinegar with half a cup of lemon juice. That does mean squeezing some lemons, though. Tip: this is how you can squeeze lemons without cutting them.
5. Baking soda, essential oils and hot water
Do you want not only to get rid of the smell, but also make your sink smell nice? Head to the chemist for a small bottle of essential oils. After flushing half a cup of baking soda down the sink, add a few drops of essential oil. Leave it for at least an hour—or preferably overnight. You really can end up with a sink that smells like roses.
6. Baking soda and hot vinegar
Do you (hopefully) clean your coffee maker from time to time? There’s a good chance you use the vinegar from your kitchen cupboard for that. The hot vinegar from your coffee maker is perfect for reusing in your sink. First pour baking soda down the drain, leave it to work for a while, then rinse with the hot coffee-maker vinegar.
Also read:
- Do this right away: clean the ventilation grilles in your kitchen (and here’s the best way to do it)
- 5 kitchen ingredients that are also great for cleaning
- 11 of the best cleaning tricks we’ve ever seen (thanks, Grandma!)
Source: TheKitchn
