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On a related note, here's info on getting rid of unpleasant mildewy odor coming from a sink's overflow vent.
My bathroom sink was having this problem for quite a while, and I tried several things over several months to get rid of the odor:
- Run hot water for a while. Then dump 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1 cup of vinegar.
- Same as above, but spoon as much baking soda into the overflow vent as possible, followed by vinegar
- Applied an enzyme drain cleaner
- Poured bleach down the overflow vent
- Applied foaming drain cleaner (contains bleach) down the overflow vent
- Pushed a small snake with a brush attachment down the overflow vent to clean it out
None of the above attempts got rid of the smell for long. Often it came back after only a few days. I started taping the overflow vent shut as nothing else worked. After a while, I could smell the bad odor even with the vent taped shut.
I also tried these methods in vain:
- Boil water, carefully carry the pot of hot water to the bathroom, and use a small measuring cup to scoop up and pour the very hot water down the overflow vent.
- Hang a balloon down in the drain, partially inflate it, and tie it off. Then apply drain cleaner down the overflow vent. The balloon blocks the bottom end of the vent, so that the drain cleaner doesn't drain out as fast.
The odor problem started in February. None of the above fixed the problem. I started considering getting a whole new sink.
Finally in October, I used the snake again. But I also used some small wire-centered bottle brushes to clean out the bottom of the overflow vents, from the drain holes in the pipe where it connects to the bottom of the sink. (The sink stopper must be removed in order to do this.) The brushes weren't very flexible, and I couldn't push them far into those bottom holes. But I cleaned out the holes as best I could. And this did the trick, even though I didn't see much gunk come out. It's now 2 months later, and since that day, the bad smell has been gone.
My bathroom sink was having this problem for quite a while, and I tried several things over several months to get rid of the odor:
- Run hot water for a while. Then dump 1/2 cup baking soda down the drain, followed by 1 cup of vinegar.
- Same as above, but spoon as much baking soda into the overflow vent as possible, followed by vinegar
- Applied an enzyme drain cleaner
- Poured bleach down the overflow vent
- Applied foaming drain cleaner (contains bleach) down the overflow vent
- Pushed a small snake with a brush attachment down the overflow vent to clean it out
None of the above attempts got rid of the smell for long. Often it came back after only a few days. I started taping the overflow vent shut as nothing else worked. After a while, I could smell the bad odor even with the vent taped shut.
I also tried these methods in vain:
- Boil water, carefully carry the pot of hot water to the bathroom, and use a small measuring cup to scoop up and pour the very hot water down the overflow vent.
- Hang a balloon down in the drain, partially inflate it, and tie it off. Then apply drain cleaner down the overflow vent. The balloon blocks the bottom end of the vent, so that the drain cleaner doesn't drain out as fast.
The odor problem started in February. None of the above fixed the problem. I started considering getting a whole new sink.
Finally in October, I used the snake again. But I also used some small wire-centered bottle brushes to clean out the bottom of the overflow vents, from the drain holes in the pipe where it connects to the bottom of the sink. (The sink stopper must be removed in order to do this.) The brushes weren't very flexible, and I couldn't push them far into those bottom holes. But I cleaned out the holes as best I could. And this did the trick, even though I didn't see much gunk come out. It's now 2 months later, and since that day, the bad smell has been gone.