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My Sink Stinks

At some point, everyone has walked into the kitchen for a glass of water only to have their sense of smell attacked by a nasty stench. You probably thought that it was the trash that needed to be taken out. However, upon further inspection, you find that it was the kitchen sink. Tossing leftovers and cleaning the trash can are easy fixes, but what are you supposed to do with a smelly sink drain?

Learn how to get rid of the smell coming from your sink and how to keep it from coming back.

De-Stink Your Sink with Household Ingredients

You can easily clean and deodorize a stinky sink with ingredients you probably already have at home.

You’ll need:
  • Two lemons
  • Salt
  • ¼ cup of baking soda
  • ¼ cup of distilled white vinegar
  • A pot of boiling water
  1. Cut the lemons in half as if you were going to juice them. Sprinkle each half with salt.
  2. Use your salted lemon to scrub the bottom and sides of the sink basin.
  3. Rinse the basin with warm water.
  4. Pour the baking soda into your stinky sink drain.
  5. Add the vinegar. When the baking soda and vinegar are combined, the resulting chemical reaction will cause the solution to fizz, so be prepared for that.
  6. Bring your water to a boil while you wait for the fizzing solution to settle down.
  7. Slowly pour the boiling water down your drain. The temperature can help kill any remaining microorganisms that may be causing the smell coming from your sink.
Note: Be careful when you’re pouring the water down your drain; the steam coming from the pot can burn you.

Deodorize Your Garbage Disposal with Citrus

Garbage disposals also need some TLC in order to stay stink free. Fortunately, you can deodorize them safely with a little citrus.

You’ll need:
  • Orange or lemon rinds, or a combination of the two
  1. Drop the citrus rinds down your disposal.
  2. Turn on the disposal and grind up the citrus.
  3. Run the sink tap as the disposal works to flush the rinds through.
  4. Repeat this method every week or two to keep your disposal deodorized.

Keep Smells at Bay with Basic Maintenance

Once you’ve gotten rid of the smell coming from your sink, you can keep it from coming back by cleaning out your sink stopper regularly. Additionally, you can treat your sink monthly.

You’ll need:
  • ¼ cup of baking soda
  • ¼ cup of vinegar
  1. Pour the baking soda down your sink drain.
  2. Add the vinegar. Be prepared, as the mixture will foam up.
  3. Let this sit for a few minutes.
  4. Flush the drain clean with hot water.
Now your sink is smelling sweeter, but what about the rest of your house? Check out these tips on deodorizing your entire home.

Additionally, one of the best means of keeping your home smelling good is to adhere to a weekly cleaning routine. Finding that balancing work and family already have you so busy that you can’t keep up with household maintenance? Bring in some backup: Contact your local Merry Maids today.