FHB Podcast Segment: Fixing a Stinky Sink

A recent Fine Homebuilding Podcast episode tackled a listener's question about a rotten-egg smell coming from just one bathroom sink. The homeowner has a 1996 house with CPVC plastic water lines, and two sinks sit about two feet apart on the same bathroom counter. Only one gives off the odor, even though both the aerator (the small screen on the faucet spout) and the P-trap (the curved pipe under the sink that holds water to block sewer gas) have been cleaned on each sink, with no buildup or grime found in either.

This isn't a rebate or upgrade story, so there's nothing here that affects financing or incentives for your home. It's a practical troubleshooting question, and it points to something worth knowing if you've ever run into a similar smell: a stinky drain doesn't always mean a dirty trap or aerator. Since both sinks were cleaned and only one still smells, the cause is likely something else, such as a dried-out trap that isn't holding water, a venting issue, or bacteria growth somewhere in that one fixture's line.

If you have a smelly sink at home, this is a reminder that cleaning the visible parts isn't always the fix. The podcast crew weighed in with their take on the listener's specific case, but the broader lesson is that odor problems in one fixture, even when a nearly identical fixture right next to it is fine, usually point to something particular to that sink's plumbing rather than a house-wide issue.