Household Drains and Water Smell Bad? Here are 3 Reasons Why

Most of the time, we don’t give much thought to our plumbing, especially when water goes down the drain and stays that way. If there isn’t a leak somewhere, it’s easy to lose track of the fact that there’s a system of pipes built into the entire home bringing water into the residence and waste out of it.

But when something is coming up, out of your pipes, like an unpleasant odor, that’s cause for alarm. There can be more than one reason why this happens though, and not all the causes have expensive solutions. Here are three causes you can look if you’re noticing a foul smell from your pipes.

The P-Trap Is Dried Out

Your first line of defence against smells coming into your home is the “p-trap” otherwise known as the distinctive shape of your pipes under faucets and other plumbing.

This is a simple but incredibly effective barrier of water that keeps smells out of your home.

However, sometimes that water can dry out, or empty, allowing vapors that would normally be blocked by water to freely drift through the plumbing and out your drains.

A simple, cheap solution to this is to simply fill up your p-trap with water again. Just get a container and pour some water into the drain where the smell is coming from.

Your Water Heater Has Germs

Bacteria prefer moist, warm, dark places and sometimes your water heater can be the perfect habitat. If the temperature of your water heater is set too low, it may provide a breeding ground for bacteria that you may then notice as a smell in your water when it comes out of the faucets.

If you want to ensure that your water heater doesn’t encourage bacterial growth, set the temperature to about 55-60°C. Bacteria such as Legionella pneumonia, which is responsible for Legionnaire’s Disease, can’t survive in these temperatures.

There Is a Problem in Your Sewer Line

The final culprit may be your sewer line itself, and there could be many issues at work here. Simple venting, such as an imbalance in air pressure may be causing sewer gases through your pipes.

There may be a blockage within the sewer line itself that is causing an issue.

There may even be problems with the air vents leading to the sewer lines, which could be anything from an animal nest to rotting leaves creating debris.

When it comes to a sewer line problem, your best bet is to get an expert to investigate.

The subterranean nature of the sewer line and the way it journeys throughout the home makes all but the most obvious problems difficult to track down and address.