Smelly drains
There are two different drain smells. One is rotting organic matter in the pipe. The other is sewer gas arriving through a trap that has dried out. Each has its own fix.
The sour, musty smell from a shower or kitchen sink is biofilm: hair, food and soap breaking down on the pipe wall. The sharper rotten-egg smell from a floor waste or a rarely used bathroom is hydrogen sulphide from the sewer, which can only reach the room if the water seal in the trap has evaporated.
Masking either one with fragrance changes nothing. Digest the build-up with an enzyme or probiotic product, and put a Green Drain in any floor waste that dries out so the sewer stays on its side of the pipe.
Three steps
Identify the source
Smell at the sink or shower: organic build-up. Smell from a floor waste or an unused bathroom: a dry trap and sewer gas.
Digest the build-up
DrainGuard foam, Bio Flow strips or Drain Clog Digestor remove the organic layer that produces the odour.
Seal dry traps
Green Drain closes the drain to gas and pests while still letting water through, so the smell cannot return when the trap dries again.
Products for smelly drains
Frequently asked
Why does my bathroom smell like sewage when it has not been used?
The water in the floor waste trap has evaporated. Without that seal, sewer gas flows freely into the room. A Green Drain keeps the barrier in place without water.
Can I just pour bleach down the drain?
Bleach kills some bacteria on contact but does not remove the biofilm they live in, and it damages septic systems. Enzyme and probiotic products remove the material itself.
Not sure which product you need?
Tell us what is happening with your drains, septic or indoor air and we will point you to the right product, or say if you do not need one.