Pull the plug on dirty sinks

Clean water is an essential part of our lives, yet so easy to take for granted.

Our streams, wetlands, waterways, beaches and estuaries are a precious part of this country, so it is important that we do all we can to protect them from pollution and degradation.

As is often the way, the solution can start at home – specifically with what you put down the drain. We may see kitchens that clean themselves in the future, but for now they require a little effort from time to time to keep the drain clear and free from odours.

Some simple environmentally-friendly steps you can take to get your drain clean and clear include:

− Always remove any food or debris caught in the sink

− Regularly pour boiling water down the sink – smells in the drain are caused by bacteria, so running boiling water down briefly will do wonders by killing any bacteria that may have set up camp there

− Drop around a teaspoon of baking soda into the drain and follow with some more boiling water to wash it down – baking soda is great for killing odours and is environmentally friendly. If this doesn’t do the trick, try pouring lemon juice or vinegar into the sink, letting it sit for half an hour, then washing it down

− If your sink still isn’t clean and smelling fresh, check your supermarket for an environmentally-friendly cleaner such as Actizyme

Prevention is often better than a solution, so try to scrape all food scraps into the compost bin or garbage rather than washing them down the sink. Also, regularly washing the sink down with baking soda and boiling water can help keep the sink clean and clear.