7 Simple Ways to Rid Your Kitchen Sink of That Nasty Smell

We’ve all come across a smelly kitchen sink at least once in our lives. Even if we regularly use a sink strainer or garbage disposal, our kitchen sinks will eventually bear the scars of time. In other words, grease, food particles and other types of debris will eventually find their way into your sink drain, clog it up, and produce a pretty unpleasant that spreads around your kitchen and other places nearby.

So if you’re dealing with such an issue now, here are some of the best ways you can unclog your sink drain and clear up that stink on your own without hiring a professional plumber, consequently saving up in the process:

1. Boiling Water

Boil a pot of water and then pour it down the sink drain to loosen or remove some of the gunk that’s stuck to the drain walls. This tip is particularly useful if you have a garbage disposal unit while running and is also the easiest trick to use in order to get rid of that foul odor. 

2. Hot Water and Dish Soap

For a more effective cleanup, mix boiling water with dish soap and then pour it down the garbage disposal while in operation. You’ll want to put a stopper in the sink and then fill it with a couple of inches of hot water. Then add a squirt of dish soap, turn on the garbage disposal and unplug the sink to let the water flush through.

3. Lemon Peels, Ice Cubes and Coarse Salt

Using lemons along with some coarse salt and ice cubes is another reliable cleaning method that you can use. First threw a couple of ice cubes and a handful of kosher salt down the garbage disposal drain. The ice knocks off food from the grinder whereas the salt scrubs the sides. The lemon peels are tossed in to bring that much-needed that your kitchen desires. A strange combination indeed, but an effective one nonetheless. 

4. Baking Soda, Boiling Water and Vinegar

This is for those who don’t have a garbage disposal and is also a super effective drain cleaning tactic. All you have to do is put a cup of baking soda in your sink drain, then straight away follow it up with two cups of vinegar to mix and give it a few minutes to react with the muck so it can loosen up a bit. Then pour some water that you boiled from your kettle to wash the muck that’s loosened up by now away. This is one of the most popular kitchen sink cleaning methods for many homeowners and is very effective at ridding you of that putrid odor.

5. Frozen Cubes of Lemon and Vinegar

Yet another strange combination that gets the job done. Cut out a few lemon wedges, stuff them in a muffin cup or tray, pour some old white vinegar into the cups, and let it freeze. Once the concoction is frozen solid, throw it down into your garbage disposal unit, sightly turn on the tap and let the disposal unit run for some time. Simple, effective and one of the best ways to dispose of that bad, irritating smell.

6. Distilled White Vinegar

Distilled white vinegar is highly revered for its commendable and corrosive cleaning power. At times, it can also be paired with baking soda for a more effective solution. The only thing to bear in mind, however, is that the smell from the vinegar isn’t as pleasant as some of the other methods mentioned in this list.

7. Hot Vinegar

Plain vinegar itself is a pretty corrosive and reactive liquid itself as it has quite little trouble in removing the pungent grease, grime and food particles that plague your sink. If you’d like, you can even throw in some baking soda for good measure.