If you walk by your sink or stop to use the sink and notice that there is a musty, mildew-like smell coming from the drain, you may be understandably unhappy and upset by the situation. Nobody wants to deal with a musty sink. However, there are steps that you can take to deal with the situation and hopefully get rid of the musty smell once and for all. Get to know some of these steps to take when your sink smells musty. Then, you can give them a try right away to get the problem resolved as soon as possible. 

Thoroughly Clean the Sink and the Drain

Sometimes, the smelly drain can be a surface-level problem that can be resolved with a thorough cleaning. Use your usual kitchen surfaces cleaner or even some dish soap and scrub the sink and drain. 

Let it rest for a while and dry out. Go back to the sink and check for a musty smell. If the smell is gone, you have likely solved the problem, at least for now. At times, buildup occurs just inside the sink drain causing that unpleasant odor. 

Use Baking Soda and Vinegar in the Drain

One of the ways that you can resolve musty smells in your drain that are not resolved with a basic scrub is to use baking soda and white distilled vinegar in the drain. Pour in baking soda first. Let the baking soda sit for a few minutes. 

Then, slowly pour in vinegar. When you see the solution start to bubble up, you can stop adding vinegar. Allow the solution to bubble and react for at least 15 to 30 minutes. Then, run hot water down the drain. This can remove the gunk and grime in your drain and in the pipes that may be causing the musty smell in your sink. 

Contact a Plumber to Snake Your Drain

If your musty smell continues even after baking soda and vinegar are used, the issue may be physical debris that cannot be broken up by that solution. Generally, this means the debris and buildup is significant enough that a plumbing services provider should come out and take a look. 

The plumbing contractor can easily snake the drain and dislodge or remove what is causing the smell in your sink. They can even use a camera guided drain snake to see inside the pipes and determine what exactly is going on and what (if any) additional work may need to be done. 

With these steps in mind, you can get started right away dealing with your musty sink problem.