In this article, we’ll be giving you tips on how to remove black mold in the sink drain, so keep reading!
Mold can pop up in different areas of your home, these include the shower, bathtub, and sink drain.
Thanks to the amount of water that flows in, the sink drain is a common destination for mold spores to settle and grow. Mold can be found in the drain tailpiece (which is a vertical pipe extending down to the p-trap, as well as beneath the strainer and stopper.
Black mold has a musty smell and is a health hazard, which is why you should keep it away at all costs.
Why Is Black Mold Growing In My Sink Drain?
Black mold, just like all other mold species, can thrive in areas that are constantly damp, warm, and dark. Your sink drain possesses all these qualities, which is why it makes a perfect home for mold to grow.
How To Know When Black Mold Is In Your Sink Drain
You should always assume that black mold is lodged within the sink drain. This is because the environment there is just perfect for it to grow.
However, there are other ways you can tell if you have black mold growing in there. One of which is the smell.
Black mold is known to produce a very obvious smell, which is far from pleasant. The musty odor can be perceived even when the mold is out of sight.
Another sign you have mold growth in your sink drain is the stain marks along the rim of the drain. Most times they appear brownish in color and can be seen if you take a close look into the drain.
You will need a flashlight to carry out this inspection since the inner part of the drain is dark.
Now that you’ve understood how mold got into your sink drain, we can move on to the next phase and show you how to clean black mold in your sink drain.
How To Clean Black Mold In Sink Drain
Cleaning sink drain mold is very easy and you can do it all by yourself. Calling a professional to help you would be more thorough, but why waste the valuable Dollars?
If you were to remove the mold from the sink drain yourself, the best approach would be to scrub it with a detergent and water mixture. You can remove the drain’s strainer and stopper so you can reach the tailpiece where most of the mold is lodged.
Dip a hard brush or metal sponge into the detergent mix and scrub the strainer and stopper as hard as you can.
The tailpiece itself shouldn’t be left behind, you should also give it a thorough scrub to remove all the mold from it. If you find it difficult to remove the strainer, don’t fret. You can get to the tailpiece simply by disconnecting the P-trap.
Consider cleaning the P-trap now that you have it off. Its true mold cannot grow in the water that’s lodged in the trap, but it wouldn’t hurt to keep it clean would it?
When you’re done cleaning, you can couple back the p-trap, as well as the strainer and stopper.
You’re done, your sink drain is now free of mold!
Other Sink Drain Mold Cleaning Alternatives
In a case where you cannot remove the strainer or P-trap, you will have to find another alternative to kill the black mold. This alternative is simply killing the mold with the use of other substances or chemicals.
Two substances you can combine to form a potent mold killer are baking soda and vinegar. These two can disinfect your sink drain and get rid of the annoying musty smell all at the same time.
Before you try this we have to mention that a combination of these two substances leads to a burst of foam. We thought it worth mentioning so it doesn’t take you by surprise!
To clean with baking soda and vinegar, pour half a cup of baking soda into the drain, then follow up by pouring half a cup of vinegar down with it.
When both of them come in contact, you would see the foam forming. You wouldn’t want it to flow out so you should seal the drain for about 10 minutes. Doing this will trap the foam inside the pipe.
While you wait for the 10 minute period to elapse, make a salt solution using a gallon of warm water and half a cup of salt. If you have metal pipes, then you can use water that’s boiling.
If your pipes are made of plastic, then warm water will do. Just so you avoid damaging your pipes in the process.
After the 10 minute waiting period has elapsed, you can rinse by pouring the salt and warm/hot water solution into the sink drain.
Once the flush is complete, you can rest assured that all the mold in your sink drain has been washed away.
To confirm, you can visit your sink drain the following day and check to see if you’d perceive the musty mold smell that was there before. If you cannot, then it means the mold is gone.
For visual confirmation, you can grab your flashlight and look into the drain. If there are no traces of mold, then it’s mission accomplished.
In a case where you still find traces of mold, or you can still perceive the musty odor, then simply repeat the process.
A second flush will surely do the trick!
As simple as ABC!
Making Sure Your Sink Drain Stays Clean
One of the best, if not the only way to ensure mold doesn’t have a chance of building up in your sink drain is to constantly keep it clean.
Make it a habit to treat the sink drain with white vinegar and baking soda. The foam or “volcano” effect that these two substances produce won’t just kill the mold, it will get rid of its awful smell too.
For maintenance sake and not mold removal, you can cut the portions of the baking soda and the vinegar by half. Practice this regularly to keep mold from ever building up in your sink drain.
There are other substances you can use to make an effective sink drain mold-killing cleaner. These include borax, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide.
A combination of these 3 substances will foam once water is added. You can call it the “volcanic effect”. The good thing about this combination is that it also absorbs the bad odor from the mold, and will leave your sink drain smelling as fresh as new.
Baking soda alone has the power to kill mold and consume its bad odor, imagine how lethal a combination of the 3 would be. The mold in your sink drain wouldn’t stand a chance!
If all you have is baking soda, then sprinkle some of it into the drain and leave it to sit for about an hour. When that time has elapsed, boil some water and flush it down the drain.
Remember to use warm water if your pipes are made of plastic to avoid damage.
What About Commercial Drain Cleaners?
Commercial enzyme-based drain cleaners are ready-made, which means you don’t have much work to do. That’s the upside, the downside is that it disappears down the drain almost as fast as it is being poured.
This means it will not have time to work on the mold before it slips away. For those who are looking for a cost-saving approach to removing mold from sink drains, using a commercial cleaner is not the best choice.
Using baking soda, vinegar, borax, hydrogen peroxide, and warm water is not only the most effective method (thanks to the long-lasting foam), it is also the cheapest approach!
Removing Mold Under The Sink
The sink drain isn’t the only area that can attract mold growth, under the sink itself can be a suitable breeding environment under the right conditions.
Luckily, you can easily remove mold from under the sink. Make sure you have a pair of protective goggles on since you’ll be working from beneath. This will stop drops of cleaning fluid or solution from entering your eyes.
Bleach is recommended in this case because it can kill mold and remove the stain it leaves under your sink.
To make a bleach mixture, pour a cup of bleach into a gallon of water and stir thoroughly. The next step would be to pour the mixture into a spray bottle and apply the content to the affected areas.
Allow it to sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then scrub the mold off with a hard brush. You can follow up with a rinse, then dry by wiping the residue off with a clean cloth.
You’re done!
Conclusion
Removing black mold from your sink drain isn’t difficult, just follow the tips provided here to get it done.
We hope the information in this article has been helpful.
Thanks for reading!