A bar sink usually smells because sugary drink residue, fruit pulp and beer have built up in the strainer basket, the drain pipe or the trap, or because a sink or floor drain that is rarely used has lost the water in its trap and lets sewer gas back up. Most cases clear up with a proper drain clean at closing; a smell that returns within a day, or smells like sewage rather than sour drink, points to a plumbing problem for a licensed plumber.
The bar sinks we carry are stainless steel and clean up easily, but the smell rarely comes from the bowl itself. It comes from the parts below and around it. Here is how to track it down.
Find where the smell is coming from
With the water off, sniff each opening behind the bar, one at a time:
- The bowl drains of each underbar sink and the overflow opening, if the sink has one.
- The dump sink at a blender or mixology station.
- The ice bin drain line and the floor sink it empties into.
- The drain from the glass rinser and the underbar drainboards.
- The floor drain or floor sink under the bar, and the floor under the equipment.
The opening that smells strongest is where you start. If every opening smells the same, the problem is more likely in the shared drain line or its venting.
Cause 1: sugar, fruit and beer in the drain
Bar sinks take juice, syrup, soda, beer, dairy and citrus pulp all night. That residue coats the strainer basket and the inside of the drain pipe, and it ferments and sours overnight. This is the most common cause of a sour smell at the bar.
- Pull the strainer basket at closing, empty it into the trash and scrub it.
- Brush the drain opening and as far down the tailpiece as a drain brush reaches.
- Flush each bowl with hot water for a minute after cleaning.
- Clean the overflow opening with a small brush if the sink has one.
- If the bowl drains slowly, clear the clog first. Dirty water left standing in the pipe starts to smell within hours.
On our BAR-S1C-1014-F underbar sink, for example, the page lists a 3.5 in. basket strainer and a 1.5 in. IPS drain connection, and the FUBS-1814 comes with a basket strainer. Those baskets catch the pulp and garnish that would otherwise sit in the pipe, but only if they are emptied every night.
Cause 2: a dry trap
Every drain has a trap that holds a little water to block sewer gas. If a sink or floor drain is not used for days, that water evaporates and the gas comes straight up. Bars see this with a spare sink on a patio or event bar and with floor sinks that only get water when someone mops. As common practice, run water into every drain at least once a week, and pour a bucket of water into floor sinks and floor drains. If a drain dries out quickly even when used, ask your plumber about a trap primer.
Cause 3: ice bin and drainboard lines
Ice bins, glass rack cabinets and underbar drainboards drain through small lines into a floor sink. Slime builds up inside those lines and in the floor sink basket. Our FSIB-1836 ice chest lists 1 in. NPT copper drain tubing, and the UD-1836 drainboard and the GRSC-2224 glass rack cabinet list 1 in. IPS drains. Small lines like these clog and smell sooner than a sink drain.
- Clean and sanitize the ice bin on your regular schedule, and flush its drain line with hot water afterward.
- Pull and clean the floor sink basket.
- Check that each line runs downhill to the floor sink with no sag where water can sit.
Cause 4: what is under the bar
Mats, spilled beer under the coolers, wet cardboard and a mop left in a bucket all smell like a drain. Lift the mats, clean under and behind the equipment, and dry the floor. Fruit flies around the bar usually mean residue somewhere, not only in the sink.
What the code says
The FDA Food Code (section 6-501.12) says the physical facilities must be cleaned as often as necessary to keep them clean, and that routine cleaning should happen when the least food is exposed, such as after closing. Section 5-205.15 says the plumbing system must be repaired according to law and kept in good repair. Virginia’s adoption uses the same wording (12VAC5-421-3180 and 12VAC5-421-2350). Your local health department has the final say on how it applies to your bar.
When to call a plumber
- The smell is sewage, not sour drink, and it comes back after cleaning.
- Drains gurgle, or several fixtures drain slowly at once.
- Water leaks under the sink or around the floor sink.
- A trap stays dry even when the sink is used daily.
Do not mix drain cleaners with each other or with sanitizers, and follow each product’s label.
What to buy
Compare underbar sinks with basket strainers in the bar sink range linked above, stations with dump sinks in cocktail stations and workstations, ice bins in underbar ice bins, and drains, faucets and waste valves in commercial sink faucets. For drainboards, glass rack cabinets and the rest of the underbar run, see bar equipment. Freight to the 48 contiguous states is included in the price.