How Do I Clean the Overflow Hole in My Sink?

[@paulas2218]

This worked like a charm! My bathroom sink had a moldy smell no matter what I cleaned with including bleach. I finally sniffed that little hole and realized where the smell was. Tried your method and no more smell!!

[@DIYLifeTech]

Fantastic! Glad to hear it helped

[@50hellkat2]

Put plug in sink and turn hot water on and let it fill into overflow and when you ensure that things are flowing and not plugged add a cup of bleach to sink water and continue to keep tap on and let the bleach water in sink drain into overflow for a while. Then empty sink. Then in an hour or so do the same thing but just use hot water from sink and let it overflow into the sink for a fee minutes.

[@kinshasakala6818]

Thanks

[@orangecrate5895]

I wonder if a turkey baster would be an option for both the baking soda and vinegar?

[@DystrophicEvolution]

That's what I do with mine, but it takes too long to get a lot of fluid into there. I think I'm going to buy a small oil fill funnel, custom cut it if need be, so hopefully I can get decent water flow through there to give it a good rinse from the faucet.

[@hunterj458]

Thank you so much. Very helpful.

[@tomking1890]

Best thing to do with those things is plug them up. Not needed. Never install a sink with them.

[@stanleyfontaine25]

What did you plug it up with?

[@NGHmusic]

yeah they just get nasty, yuck.

[@TheKomentor]

Yes, it has never been of any use in the many many years that we've used the sink, other than being a home for small frogs. And now it has started smelling.

[@bobbrock4221]

We had gnats in our bathroom and I couldn't figure out where they were coming from. I was doing a deep clean off my bathroom today and a bunch of little black works came out of it. It was the grossest thing I've ever seen. I'm trying to figure out the best way to really deep clean the overfill drain. I'll try to baking soda thing tomorrow, but I have a feeling that I'm going to have to do a much deeper cleaning somehow. Any tips or suggestions?

[@weaver1507]

Lol I'm dealing with the same exact thing, little black worms and have been noticing these little moths creatures flying around my bathroom occasionally 😂.

[@tomking1890]

Fill it in with caulking. I did mine, and it worked fine. You don't need it.

[@bobbrock4221]

@@weaver1507 I was horrified when I first saw them. I never pay attention to my overflow drain (I do now) and I spilled water into it somehow and about 50 of those nasty little worms came out of it. I poured bleach, vinegar, CLR, and boiling water in it for good measure. This significantly cut down their numbers, but I still see one or two here and there. I took apart and cleaned every pipe, poured a cocktail of chemicals down the shower drain, and used a toilet drain cleaner. Those little bastards are resilient, I'll give them that.

[@weaver1507]

@@bobbrock4221 you seem to have it much worse than me. All I had to do was pour near boiling water down the overflow hole and those fkers were never seen again lol. Just an fyi though, I believe mixing bleach and vinegar releases toxic fumes and can be fatal if inhaled in high amounts so be careful brotha.

[@larrybud]

Get a pipe cleaner brush and get the actual gunk out. The method he's showing here isn't going to stop your problem.

[@50hellkat2]

If you do not have a funnel just put the stopper in sink with hot water and add vinegar and let it flow into the overflow. Then...let it sit....then fill sink with plain water and let it overflow into the valve for a few minutes.

[@donnaacklin8363]

Tried that on advice from a plumber and no luck.

[@kellil3845]

I watched another video that said to use zep enzyme cleaner, I guess it "eats" all the mold.

[@Skychann]

Thank you

[@lukerinderknecht2982]

2:30 don't microwave water! It can become superheated and explode when the glass is moved.

[@jorelljefferson5147]

I dropped jewlrey on it 😭😭

[@chillsoothingsounds4019]

Can I do the same for my tub’s emergency drain ? When I removed the drain cover there’s a lot of black looking sludge in that hole . Wasn’t sure if I could pour anything down that hole . Please answer . Thank you .

[@DIYLifeTech]

It should work for that too but I’ll try to test it

[@chillsoothingsounds4019]

@@DIYLifeTech thanks

[@feliperossonero4241]

That hole is full of water. It is normal ???

[@tomking1890]

No. It is plugged up.

[@simardeepkaur2731]

Hi! How do you remove the silicone cover? It has a slit in it. I tried to pull it out with pliers but the cap got stuck in the overflow hole. It's a newer sink, a few years old.

[@lite1979]

When you notice that you own the exact same funnel...

[@dannnybot5347]

how does gunk get there anyway?

[@cycleitup8340]

According to Amanda Morris, associate chair of the chemistry department at Virginia Tech University, baking soda and vinegar basically cancel each other out when they’re mixed

[@countermelody167]

I have rust stains that always come back no matter how many times i clean it off.. Is there anything else i could add to this to make sure that stops?

[@50hellkat2]

try vinegar on its own

[@kuldeepgainda]

clean it then get an enamel paint and blot it on the spots.

[@yvewilliams3735]

Watched 26-8-23

[@vconner09]

Does this kill mold???

[@PotentialofHydrogenClean]

Vinegar alone might (it kills 82% of molds). People think the foam created when baking soda and vinegar is mixed cleans, but it is really just the reaction of the chemicals changing into salt water. Thus, mixing vinegar and baking soda cleans as effectively as cleaning with salt water. Just make sure you flush the vinegar out after putting it in there. It is corrosive (acidic) and should eventually be rinsed out by water after sitting for a bit.

[@kellil3845]

Zep drain care is supposed to kill the mold

[@HongKong.Shenzhen.]

nice

[@aanzini7399]

Thanks!

[@DIYLifeTech]

So happy this was helpful, and thanks for the Super!

[@kraven8864]

😳 I hope you’re not using actual 100% concentrate vinegar… that stuff is very caustic and would probably harm your pipes. Hopefully you’re just using regular store bought vinegar .. it’s highly diluted. You CAN buy higher concentrated vinegar at specialty stores, but you have to be careful with it.

[@alexanderson1193]

who the fuck heats water up in the microwave?