Homeowner is given grim warning about mysterious black grime in his sink (so, do YOU know what it is?)
One man was dismayed when he came home to find his sink full of black grime – and plumbing aficionados online have warned it could be “raw sewage.”
Take to Reddituser u/Swimmerguy211 shared a photo of the porcelain sink covered in a disgusting substance, forming a circle around the drain.
The horrified poster, believed to be from the US, said he lives alone and was shocked when he came back in the mud.
“I came back to my sink today and it looks like this,” he wrote in a plea for answers. “Any idea what could be the cause of this?”
However, it doesn’t seem like good news as thousands have weighed in on the issue.
User u/Swimmerguy211 took to Reddit and shared a photo of the porcelain basin covered in a disgusting substance, with a pattern in a circle around the drain
The horrified poster, believed to be from the US, said he lives alone and was shocked when he came back in the mud
“If you didn’t leave the sink full of dirty water, the sewer would fill up. That’s raw sewage,’ one of them answered.
“Dude, you’re not going to like this, but your sewer is clogged,” said another.
“You probably have this in your shower, too. Happened to me once in an apartment.
“That’s nasty grime from the inside of your pipes and possibly some literally raw sewage mixed in.”
“It’s not even something you can fix… the city needs to fix that. It’s probably happened to your neighbors too.’
However, many suggested that the problem is manageable.
“It could also be gunk deep in the pipes and gas building up from the sewers,” was one reply.
“This sometimes happens to my sink. It’s because the pipes are bad and get clogged with what my plumber calls grease deposits.
The horrified poster – believed to be from the US – said he lives alone and was shocked when he came back in the mud
‘From make-up or hair products or lather from shaving, etc. It’s annoying. It literally burps and smells like farts.
“I pour white vinegar in there every few weeks, but once a year or so it kicks in again and we have to take apart the pipes under the sink and hose it down.”
Another also seconded the use of vinegar as a solution, but warned to watch for signs of a deeper problem.
“Vinegar is known to be helpful, but if you’re still going over the line every year and treating it every few weeks, you’ve got a bigger underlying problem,” they said.
“In general, I would start by seeing if your pipe is substandard, has bad pitch, has been abused, or a combination of several factors, and fix that.
“I would also recommend going for a chemical treatment that works significantly better than vinegar, and won’t harm your pipes in the long run, like drano or liquid plumber, etc.”