The sinks in our homes are constantly working overtime. Let’s be honest: we’re all guilty (on occasion) of leaving used and greasy pots and pans soaking in murky waters in the kitchen sink for a little longer than we'd care to admit. As a result, nasty smells are an unwelcome addition that inevitably dampens the vibe of an otherwise beautiful kitchen.
It’s easy to forget that every now and then, our sinks need an added touch of TLC, but we've come across a recent TikTok hack that promises to give your sink the ultimate refresh. It costs next to nothing a uses an ingredient you probably already have in the kitchen and, believe it or not, it could just be the secret to making your home smell amazing.
@carolina.mccauley ♬ original sound - Carolina Mccauley - Home Hacks
The hack in question? All it involves is pouring lemon juice down your sink. We recently discovered this idea through a video posted by lifestyle influencer @carolina.mccauley, who swears by the trick to remove funky odors and endow the entire room with a fresher scent. In her video, she shows us just how straightforward this trick is, and believe us when we say it truly requires minimal effort.
And it’s not just Carolina who endorses this simple yet effective trick - professional cleaner Alessandro Gazzo from Emily’s Maids agrees that doing so can infuse your kitchen or bathroom sink with a far more pleasant smell. However, while he agrees that it has the potential to remove unpleasant odors from your sink, Alessandro advises injecting more of a method into the process to ensure that it is as effective as it possibly can be.
Rather than going straight in with lemon juice down your bathroom or kitchen sink, Alessandro suggests adding a few more steps. ‘Pour four cups of boiling hot water down the drain first followed by a cup of lemon juice, then wait five minutes and pour four more cups of boiling hot water,' he explains. ‘You want to loosen up whatever is causing odor in your drain first and also, you should clean your drain mechanically with a drain snake. You need to find the source of odor, otherwise it’s going to keep smelling the next day.’
So, while this hack is not a quick-fix way to eliminate odors in the long term, it is a natural way to make your room smell better, especially when combined with boiling water before and after. And, if there’s a truly unpleasant smell coming from your sink, it might require more investigating, and using a drain snake or enlisting professional help may be required to get rid of lingering smells in the long run.
That being said, if you have some spare lemon juice lying around, dousing it down the drain would actually be quite a good way to make use of it, and one that we're definitely on board with. You really have nothing to lose, but the promise of a fresh citrusy scent to gain!
