Disinfecting and Flushing Your Pipes

From time to time, you might notice an odor coming up from your sink drain. This can happen if bacteria from food product builds up inside your plumbing pipes or garbage disposal. Here are ways you can get rid of the stink! 

Disinfect Drains

These steps will eliminate bacteria and disinfect drains and garbage disposals:

1. Run cold water about 15 seconds into the drain. Then turn the water off.                  

2. Slowly pour one to two cups of chlorine bleach down the drain. To help prevent splashing, pour the bleach slowly around the edges of the drain so that it runs down the sides of the drain. Caution: Bleach may cause eye damage, skin irritation and damage to clothing.

3. If the odor is coming from a sink with a garbage disposal, turn the disposal on for a few seconds while the bleach is being poured. This will disperse the bleach around the inside of the disposal. Caution: Avoid splashing when the disposal is turned on.

4. Leave bleach in the drain for about ten minutes. Caution: Prolonged contact with metals may cause pitting or discoloration.

5. Flush with hot water for about 2 minutes. If you have a garbage disposal, turn it on while flushing to ensure it is completely flushed.

Flush Pipes

If your water has been turned off for any reason, you may want to flush your plumbing lines to help clear out any sediment or mineral scaling that has built up over the years. This scaling is commonly caused by minerals in the natural raw water or from treatment residuals and do not impact the quality or safety of the water. Flushing can help take care of this issue. Here is how to do it:

1. Remove the screens (aerators) from the end of the faucets and run all of them wide-open simultaneously for three to five minutes. Removing aerators before flushing the plumbing prevents dislodged organic matter from accumulating on the aerators.

2. Flush each toilet two or three times while the faucets are running. Running all water faucets and toilets simultaneously generates a large flow of water through the pipes. This should help remove any water that may have been sitting in the pipes for a long time.

3. Let the water run for three to five minutes then turn off the water faucet. Clean the aerators and reinstall them on the faucets.