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Musty smell
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Posted by maime (My Page) on Mon, Nov 16, 09 at 14:06
| I have a musty smell in my kitchen area and the roof leak I had has been repaired, the insulation is dry and clean, no mold or mildew visible. The smell is strong when I am working near my sink. I cleaned my drain with vinegar, soda and salt and the smell goes away for awhile. Could a partially clogged drain cause this. Any suggestions? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Musty smell
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| Musty smells are almost always generated from mildew or mold, where drain, or sewer smells tend towards the sulfur, rotten egg or toilet smell. Because you mention a previous roof leak and water can travel into some of the most inobvious places my guess is you still have some mold or mildew generating from the old leak or you have mildew growing around the sink area or maybe under the sink. A little off the subject but folks who have bought the new front loading washers are finding mildew growing around the door seals and not visible without getting your head into the washer and looking around. I say this because mildew and mold can easily grow where there is moisture, darkness and still air so you may need to search further for damage from the roof leak. hope this helps. |
RE: Musty smell
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| Thanks, they found the leak, a vent pipe and inspected the insulation in the near by areas, any more than that I will never know. My next step is to clean out from under my sink and look for leaks there. I now know to look up, I may never get out and up when I finish. LOL |
RE: Musty smell
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| I would recommend checking the tube between your garbage disposal and the Sink vent. I had a similar problem a couple of years ago and it took months to figure out. There is a hard tube coming out the side of my disposal to the drain. There is a rubber tube attached above that line. The rubber tube goes to a vent at the top of the sink (this is also where the dishwasher overflow connects). When running the disposal, waste gets overflowed into this tube and can get stuck there to rot. The smell would go away for awhile when I used lemon or vinegar. Once I replaced the builders rubber tube with a higher end tube it fixed the problem. Hope this helps. |
RE: Musty smell
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| twichy I think you are right. I cleaned the drain, put the stoppers in and I didn't spell it the next morning. It's a great relief to know it is coming from there instead of the insulation being moldy. I am printing your post in case the smell doesn't go away, I can show it to a plumber. Thanks |
RE: Musty smell
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| Wanted to update you on my question about a musty smell in my kitchen. I did the drain cleaner recommended in the Money Saving forum, a drain cleaner of salt, soda and vinegar. I noticed the smell was less and less every time I cleaned it. I did that a couple of times a week and the smell is completely gone now. What a relief. If it doesn't stay away I will call a plumber and show him twichy's reply. thanks again. |
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