A: Drains may smell like rotten eggs due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide gas, which is formed when bacteria grows in sewage, drains, or the ground. Q: Is hydrogen sulfide gas hazardous to human health? A: Yes, hydrogen sulfide gas can be hazardous to human health, similar to carbon monoxide.
Vinegar is also a great drain odour eliminator. This substance works much in the same way as baking soda but has the added benefit of being a particularly powerful cleaning agent. Boil or microwave a few cups of vinegar and simply pour down the smelly drain. Wait about an hour and then flush the drain with hot water.
Rotten Eggs smell? This smell is probably septic gas, unless you have a carton of eggs hiding in your living room. Septic gas has a strong, naturally occurring odor that smells like rotten eggs. The smell is hydrogen sulfide, which comes from sewage and indicates a potential issue with your plumbing.
Pour 1⁄2 cup of baking soda into the smelly drain. Follow with 1⁄2 cup of white vinegar and let it fizz for 10-15 minutes. Flush the drain with boiling water to clear residue and odors. A dried-out P-trap can allow sewer gases to escape.
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.
The Cheapest Solution: Degassing the Water
Simply pour the water into a glass and let it sit for 24 hours. The air will oxidize the sulphur out of the water and then the smell will be gone. Now, obviously, if you want more than a glass or two of water a day, you're going to want a whole-house solution.
Chlorine bleach can effectively remove medium to high levels (over 6 mg/l) of hydrogen sulfide. The chlorine in the bleach chemically reacts with (oxi- dizes) the hydrogen sulfide eliminating the "rotten egg" odor. Chlorine bleach also reacts with iron or manganese, and disinfects water supplies.
Baking soda is abrasive, which, when used in large quantities, will cause the drain more damage. Additionally, the acidic nature of vinegar can eat away rubber and metal, damaging the plumbing. As these products break down the pipe and connectors in the plumbing in your home, it will cause more clogs over time.
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.
Try using vinegar and baking soda. Pour one cup of baking soda then one cup of vinegar down an outside drain then wait 20 – 30 minutes before pouring a large amount of boiling water down the drain. External drains can get blocked with mud which can be removed manually.
Hydrogen sulfide occurs when there's decaying vegetation in the ground that naturally produces sulfur bacteria.
Smelling sewage outside your home? It's most likely the sewer vent pipe (aka plumbing vent) on your roof or a damaged sewer line. Professional help is highly advised when dealing with venting and the actual sewer line. Roof Vent Pipe: These pipes carry sewer odors and release them outside.
Wherever you're smelling the rotten egg scent the strongest is the place to start. Simply run the water in the sink or the tub for ten minutes to let that p trap get some water in it. That'll block the sewer gas from getting inside again. If the problem persists, call your plumber.
Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless, flammable gas that smells like rotten eggs at low concentration levels in the air. It is commonly known as sewer gas, stink damp, and manure gas. At high concentration levels, it has a sickening sweet odor.
Vinegar contains acid which neutralizes odor, cuts through grease, and helps disinfect. By heating up (but not boiling) four cups of vinegar, pouring half down the drain, running the water for a minute, and then pouring the remaining vinegar down the drain, you can help eliminate smells and smaller clogs.
To fix a smelling drain, you can use a combination of hot water, baking soda, vinegar and lemon to run through the drain to get rid of the smell. If home remedies do not work, DASA can help. Drainage systems can be quite complex and you do not want to damage your drains further by trying too many things.
To use bleach to kill odor-causing bacteria, first, fill your sink with hot water. Then, add about one cup of regular household bleach to the sink. After you've added the bleach, allow the sink to drain. Repeat the process until the drain smells more like bleach than anything else.
If your drain smells like rotten eggs, you must disinfect the pipes to get rid of the odor. You can eliminate the bacteria by pouring a ½ cup of bleach down your drains. However, if you would like an alternative, pour down ½ a cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar.
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.
Pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, and follow it up with two cups of hot vinegar (near boiling point). Allow the mixture to fizz and leave for an hour. Pour hot tap water down the drain and see if the clog clears.
Continuous Chlorination and Filtration
Oxidation is the most common form of treatment used to eliminate hydrogen sulfide. In this process, a chemical is used to convert the dissolved hydrogen sulfide gas into forms of sulfur that can be easily filtered from the water.
Rotten Egg/Sulfur Odors
The smell of rotten eggs or sulfur is usually linked to a natural gas leak. If your home uses natural gas for heating, hot water, or appliances like stoves or dryers, you may have a major gas plumbing issue. Vacate your house immediately and call your utility company to shut off your gas supply.