To get rid of the odour – and the build-up – you can mix 1 part bleach with 1 part water and pour it down the drain. Alternatively, you can pour 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by one cup of white wine vinegar. Cover the drain as the mixture fizzes, then flush with hot water.
There are several common causes for a sewage odor coming up from the shower drain, including a clog in the drain line, a dry or dirty P-trap, mold or biofilm build-up, and leaking drain lines in the walls, ceiling, or under the floor.
Create a 50:50 solution with one cup baking soda and one cup water. Use an old toothbrush to scrub and apply the solution to the drain. Next, add one cup white vinegar to the drain. Cover the drain and allow the solution to fizz and soak, working to kill mold and other odor-causing bacteria.
When you are using a baking soda and vinegar solution to clean out your drain, you are actually causing the rubber and plastic that are used for the drain's pipes to be eaten away by the mixture. Over time, this rubber and plastic will break down, causing the drain to become even more blocked.
Pour Some Bleach in There: Bleach kills the majority of odor-causing bacteria. If you kill the odor-causing bacteria, you'll destroy their smell as well.
If your drain smells like rotten eggs, it's hydrogen sulfide, one of the many compounds that make up the gas produced by sewage. This gaseous smell coming from your drain can have several potential causes. The most common is a clogged, or partially clogged, drain.
What you can do: Try this: put a couple teaspoons of baking soda in the drain and then pour in some vinegar. Then chase it with a pot of boiling water. The foaming of the baking soda/vinegar eats away at the junk in the drain and the boiling water helps wash it all away and sanitizes the drain.
Disinfect and flush the water heater with a chlorine bleach solution. Chlorination can kill sulfur bacteria. If all bacteria are not destroyed by chlorination, the problem may return within a few weeks. Increase the water heater temperature to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) for several hours.
This can happen if your hot water heater temperature is too low or if it's turned off for long periods of time, like when you go on vacation. Fortunately, the bacteria in the hot water heater should not be harmful to you, but it will need to be eliminated in order to remove the smell from your tap water.
No. Bleach is a very powerful and toxic substance, so you need to take particular caution in what you apply it to – pouring bleach down a drain does not constitute a proper use. Bleach has the potential to react with other substances in plumbing and pipework, and could end up causing further clogging of the system.
A bathroom that smells like sewage means there is an issue with one of the drainage points in your bathroom. This means that the sewage gases contained in the sewage system can freely seep into the air. These drains, including the toilet, are designed not to allow sewage gas into your home.
Baking soda and vinegar
Start by pouring ¼ cup of baking soda down the drain, and then leave it for about 10 minutes. Then, follow it with one cup of vinegar. Let the mixture fizzle and work for a few minutes, and then finish by turning on the water and running the disposal to clear out any leftover food waste.
White Vinegar and Baking Soda
All you got to do is run hot water for a few seconds and pour one or two cups of baking soda down the drain plug hole. And then add a couple of cups of hot vinegar. Let it foam up and wait for an hour or two. Flush it through using hot water.
You can also add a mixture of baking soda and vinegar along with hot water to help get rid of the odor. Pour one cup of baking soda down the drain followed by one cup of white vinegar. Let the mixture sit for about 10 to 15 mins and flush with hot water. After this you should have an odorless clean drain!
Dump one cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by two cups of hot vinegar. Let the concoction fizz. After one hour, flush the drain with hot tap water. The fizzing reaction helps clean out any gunk in the drain and kills bacteria.
Preventative Maintenance
Pouring bleach into the drain when the unit is not operating can leave residual bleach, which will damage the drain pan and line. Using vinegar for preventative maintenance throughout the year will keep your drain clean and clear and will not damage your line.
Pouring boiling water is quite risky as it might lead to a steam burn or scalding. Another thing to keep in mind is what type of material you are pouring in into. If you have a porcelain sink, it is likely to crack due to the heat. All in all, pouring boiling water down your drain will only cause issues down the road.
Sprinkle baking soda down your drain periodically.
Keep it that way by periodically sprinkling baking soda down the drain to absorb odors.
It is safe to leave baking soda (and vinegar) to work overnight to unclog a drain. Always flush this mixture down with boiling water—no matter how long you leave it sitting in the drain.
Mix 1/2 cup table salt and 1/2 cup baking soda together, and pour down drain. Let sit for about 30 minutes (or overnight if it's a tough clog). Follow with a pot of boiling water.
Use a natural drain cleaner.
Mix together 1 cup of vinegar (distilled white vinegar works best) and 1 cup of baking soda. First, pour boiling water down the drain to loosen; then follow with the baking soda-vinegar mixture and wait 15 minutes. Rinse with more boiling water.
Pieces of soap, shower gel, dead skin, hair, and other kinds of debris may cause clogging in your shower drains. If you notice a sewerage smell in your bathroom coupled with minor flooding when taking showers, you could be dealing with a clogged shower drain.
One of the most common causes of sewage smells is a clogged drain. When your home's wastewater has nowhere to go, the odors will come back up the drain they should be going down.