There is a rotton smell coming from the bathroom sink. I tried Drano because the water seemed to be flowing slowly. The water seems to drain OK now. The weird thing is that I tried pouring bleach in the overflow hole, and it poured right back out. Can the overflow hole be clogged? How would that even happen? How can I fix that?

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and it poured right back out

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Do you mean that it came out the side of the drain tube? It is suppose to do that. Do you know how to remove the stopper?

I mean that I poured bleach into the little hole that is near the top of the sink (I think that's the overflow hole, right?), and the bleach would not go in. I put a flashlight to the hole and noticed that there was actually water in it.

Do you know how to remove the stopper?
I guess I should ask, do you have a stopper?

No, but we could probably figure it out.

I assume that means no you do not know how and yes you have a stopper.

Reach down under the sink and feel the drain pipe. You should feel where the lift rod goes into the drain pipe. You should also feel a round nut around the lift rod. Unscrew that nut. You may be able to do that with your fingers or you may need a pair of pliers.

Unscrew the nut, pull the rod back about an inch or so, then lift the stopper out.
After you remove the stopper you will probably find a lot of decaying hair caught on the stopper and the end of the lift rod. If necessary use something like the end of a wire coat hanger to get down in the drain and pull out all the gunk.

Here is what you are working with.

Hello Oceancitymom,

Herold is on the right track, I will add mine too it may help you to figure it out how to remove the stopper and get rid of overflow cavity oder,

Remove the sink's pop-up stopper. Either lift the pop-up out directly or turn it counterclockwise and lift it out. If you have an older sink, you probably will have to remove the pivot rod and it's assembly in order to remove the pop-up.
Once the pop-up is removed, stuff a rag down the sink drain hole see the image below. If you had to remove the pivot rod assembly, you should also place a pan under the sink to catch any runoff from the cleaning process.
Next, open a window to provide ventilation. Then, pour a mixture of 50 percent bleach and 50 percent water into the overflow opening. Use a funnel to do this, and stop when the mixture overflows the opening. Some of the mixture will leak through the rag and into the drain, so periodically pour more of the mixture into the overflow opening. Let the mixture stand for 30 minutes to an hour, then flush the overflow channel with clear water. Be sure to clean the pop-up stopper with the mixture before reinstalling it, good luck.

John

See johns picture. Your overflow should drain directly into the drain of the lavatory. You have a blockage down there, Take a wire or coathanger and see if you can break through the clog. Good luck,m good luck, Tom

Still trying to figure out how to take out the stopper. I have a Grohe 32302 faucet. I don't see any levers below the sink, and I tried turning counterclockwise.

Faucet has nothing to do with the sink, and we can’t tell you what type of sink you got, take pictures of your sink from the top and bottom inside the cabinet and post it that we be able to see what type sink you got, Thanks.

John

OH. I will try to download pics. It is a Kohler sink K2210.

,
If the stopper won't pull up then the installer tied it down. To free the stopper, push down on the knob raising the stopper to the drain position. Now go underneith the lavatory and locate a knured nut with a rod sticking out of it. Take a pair of pliers and free the nut just enough for it to turn by hand. STOP! Now hand loosen the nut enough so the nut and rod just begains to clear. STOP!
Now GENTLY, while you're pulling up on the stopper pull the nut and rod out SLOWLY and STOP when the stopper clears enough to remove. CAREFUL! Don't let it pull all the way out. Now tighten the nut by hand and snug it up with a pair of pliers. You may now just drop the stopper in and it will continue to ride on top of the rod so if you ever have to remove it you can.
Hope this helps . Tom

Sink pictures

You don't have a pop-up waste.
Try running a wire down the overflow to clear it. Let me know how you come out. Good luck, Tom

OK, lets try the easy way. Turn the stopper counter clockwise and see if it unscrews.

I agree with Hrold try to turn the stopper to the left it may come loose see the image below, also I reread your post you said the overflow cavity is blocked, try as Tom suggested in his post #8, also pour some vinegar into the overflow hole leave it for a few hours it may clear the blockage, good luck.

John

I that doesn't work call Grohe, (1 800-444-7643) on Monday. They are close today.

Very good advice Harold, I can't rate you it will not take it, Thanks.

Regards,
John

Hi all...

Looks like a lift and turn stopper assembly. It may or may not have overflow holes in the unit.

Oceancitymom... how does the sink drain? If the sink drains well you may have a drain assembly that has no over flow holes in which case you will need to get a replacement drain assembly with overflow holes in it... see images.

I've never installed one like this, but my guess is the same as the other guys... check for removal by spinning and locating a slot in the stopper or you might also check for a screw under the stopper like in the pictures below.

Otherwise, I'd recommend removing the assembly by loosening the nut from underneath and check the assembly for overflow holes. If the holes are present you'll want to clean them... if no holes then you'll want to replace it with an assembly with overflow holes.

The drain assemblies without overflow holes are made for the newer VESSEL SINKS... no overflow holes in these so no need for overflow holes in the assembly.

Finally, most Grohe faucets come without the drain assembly so doubting that is a Grohe drain assembly. Wait for Milo Dolezal (another "plumbing expert") to pop in though... think he works with Grohe quite a bit... :)

Questions.. Let us know.

Mark