Under sink mustiness

[T.K.]

Under my kitchen sink has a wet musty smell I’ve replaced both hot and cold shut offs with new quarter turn valves no leaks are apparent at all I wiped bleach under the sink to rid the smel but it still lingers I’m stumped included are photos to give an idea see anything wrong ?

 

[Reach4]

You had wetness in there for a while, and now that is fixed?

Opening the doors and running a fan could help. I would run an ozone generator in the closed cabinet for a while, because I have one. That's like a gaseous form of bleach but less dangerous than chlorine gas. Dangerous enough when concentrated, however.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[T.K.]

Yes I have had the doors open for weeks now and the smell still does not go away i had a fan under there for two days also I have done a few wipe downs with bleach and Murphy’s oil it’s not as strong as it once was but it still lingers I might try the ozone option you suggested and no leaks from the drain or pipes or fittings.

And by the way this site is a great resource I have been a lurker for a while and this site has helped me tackle quite s few of my household projects thanks guys .

 

[Jadnashua]

Get rid of that abomination accordion piece in your drain line, but that would tend to grow smelly in the sink, not below it in the cabinet. It's almost impossible to flush clean. The disposer grinds up food into small particles. Some of them will get lodged in the folds. It is above the trap so there's not much to prevent that smell from rising up.

My original disposer ended up corroding at the mounting bracket to the sink. It wasn't obvious until one day, it literally fell off of the sink. I replaced it with a better quality unit with SS guts. Take a very close look at where the disposer attaches to the sink. What I think caused it was that my DW wasn't getting hot enough water and the powdered detergent didn't always dissolve completely, and particles of it are caustic to the aluminum body of the disposer...causing it to eventually rot away. After seeing that, I switched primarily to a liquid detergent until I added a hot water re-circulation system that provided hotter water more reliably and made sure that the DW heating option was turned on.

Another thing to look at is around the sink. Is the sink a drop-in or undermount? Depending on how installed, there could be a small leak around the rim and keeping the edge underneath damp.

Last I can think of for now...depending on how your faucet is mounted, sometimes, they can develop a leak underneath them. Or, depending on how installed, the gasket or plumber's putty may not be keeping moisture out from underneath.

 

[T.K.]

Thanks for the reply, as far as the accordion piece I did not like the look of a non solid piece of drain pipe either, but when I got my disposer installed with this farmhouse sink which only has one drain. one on the left hand side of the sink,plumber could not get the drain from the disposer to line up right with the p trap. with out the accordion piece in place as the sink before was a regular stainless two tub sink, as far as the diposer I’m buying a new one soon as the blades inside are rusting.but as far as the mounting to the bottom of the sink no rust whatsoever and I will start running my dishwasher with the heating option on,I already use liquid detergent in the dishwasher and it is a drop in sink I will reseal it to make sure the counter is not getting soggy underneath.thank you for the tips I’m hoping to correct this mystery smell

 

[Jadnashua]

FWIW, it also appears that you have a functional S-trap there which won't pass code. It's also probably a good idea to anchor the DW hose so that it doesn't end up with that dip in in which won't clear at the end of the cycle.

 

[T.K.]

I was reading Multiple forum stating that about the dishwasher hose it has since been corrected I tucked the extra hose high above behind the sink making the so called high loop that it did not have before but the s trap you mentioned? how should it go ? I would like To make a run to lowes to correct it properly what parts should I need to get ?

 

[Reach4]

I was reading Multiple forum stating that about the dishwasher hose it has since been corrected I tucked the extra hose high above behind the sink making the so called high loop that it did not have before but the s trap you mentioned? how should it go ? I would like To make a run to lowes to correct it properly what parts should I need to get ?

I would get nylon ties and a screw or nail to hold the hose up.

That combo vent and drain system thing was discussed a couple days ago. I would not worry about the "s trap" comment, although the combo drain and vent system your sink uses is not sanctioned by most codes. It works. It seems to be a regional thing.

 

[Plumber69]

That wood will soak up the smells. Paint it

 

[T.K.]

Ok yes I wil zip tye the hose up to make sure the high loop cannot fall and as far as the s trap that was mentioned the sink drains really well and have never noticed Odor accept when my family forgets to turn on the disposal to grind the stuff up they just put in the diposer lol but if some could give guidance on how to change it to a p trap I will get it properly changed out . And additional info the house was built in 1984 back when the house was out of city limits but in 1995 it was brought into city limits so there may be other plumbing not up to code as well.

 

[T.K.]

Would staining it work as well as painting ?

 

[Jadnashua]

Would staining it work as well as painting ?

Probably not. The thing with an S-trap isn't slow draining, it's that it can go too fast and siphon itself dry. If there's another thing draining into that line, it can also suck it dry without a vent to break the siphon. The disposer slows the flow down unless it's running, then, it acts like a pump.

If you wanted to correct this, maybe the easiest (if allowed where you live) would be to add an AAV. FWIW, a dry trap may not actually smell that bad. It certainly can.

 

[T.K.]

Yes I was thinking if I spin the disposal where the drain from it directly faces the the drain thru the floor it would make a perfect p trap but space is an issue to get it in that position

 

[Reach4]

Yes I was thinking if I spin the disposal where the drain from it directly faces the the drain thru the floor it would make a perfect p trap but space is an issue to get it in that position

If the disposal exit is offset from being in line about 2 inches , I would think there would more easy adjustment available by changing the length of the trap arm and swinging the trap.

If it is in line, your only adjustment is by changing the length of the trap arm. Thinking it over, there is no problem with that either.

You have your disposal right now with the disposal output's center 3 inches or more off of the center line of the trap adapter. Reducing that will let you use the non-flex drain stuff.

 

[T.K.]

Thank you for the help I will see if I can modify the drain to complete this and get a true p trap to make it all proper it will be my weekend project lol