By natural inclination and choice, I keep a tidy and very clean house. For sanitary reasons I pay particular attention to the germy areas, being the kitchen and bathroom. I was unpleasantly surprised several weeks ago to see for myself that my bathroom drain hole was gross, there being no other word for it.
The sink had a pop up stopper for opening and closing the drain hole and it's been there for several years.
In an un-Einstein moment I forgot to close the sink one day as I was putting in my hard contact lenses and needed to remove the stopper and p-trap to get access to my lens. Heck, my lenses cost $150 each and there was no way I was going to lose it if I could help it.
I got the stopper out, the p-trap opened and with a pail under the open pipe, I flushed water through. My lens came out unscathed and I was super pleased. I wasn't so pleased though about the gunk that also came through.
Looking at the stopper that lay on the vanity counter and down the sink drain hole, I saw that they were black, slimy, and thoroughly unhygienic. I cleaned them both with an old toothbrush and it was gross. I couldn't believe it because I always run clean water through the sink when I use it and presumed that the inside was clean. Wrong presumption, obviously.
I decided not to put the pop up sink insert back in. I bought an old fashioned rubber stopper at Home Depot and it works fine. Now, once a week when I give the sink a good cleaning, I use an old toothbrush to clean the drain hole too.
I'm thinking that the pop up stoppers may look good, be convenient, etc. but it and the drain hole itself don't ever completely dry out. They're not exposed to much air, hence the accumulated unhygienic black slime. No more pop up stoppers for me.
I'm thinking that for those of you who do prefer them, it might be a good idea to periodically remove the stopper and give it and the drain hole a toothbrush cleaning. All it would take is 15 minutes to make your sink sparkle in places you don't see.
Something to think about.
Source: Learning new things every day
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That's a great tip. I take the P-trap loose every 2-3 months and clean it and the pipes using a baby bottle brush. We don't have our stopper attached and it's much easier to keep clean.
Have you ever taken out the body part of the stopper? That's where the gunk on mine was.
I don't know what you mean. My stopper does not come apart. I clean the gasket and the other part of it with an old toothbrush.
I have a hot pot that boils water quickly. A potful down the drain once a week works for me.
You can also sprinkle some Rid-X down the drain periodically. The bacteria in the Rid-X will eat all that gunk.
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