Fruit Flies or Sewer Flies
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
Did you know that fruit flies don’t all come from fruit? OK, well some do, but when I talk to my customers, and I ask them…” where do you see most of the fly activity?” And they always say from the sink drains. So that makes what they see is not a Fruit Fly, it’s a Drain Fly and you want to treat that kind of pest differently. And “news flash” Drain Flies are not just always in the kitchen, they can be in the bathroom, sinks in the laundry room or garage. And why? Well, I’m going to tell you.
Fruit Flies or Drain Flies there is not much difference. Fruit Flies usually are associated with decaying fruit. And Drain Flies breed on the organic matter that clings to the walls of your drains. One day you find yourself swatting a few with your hand and the next it seems like they invited their whole family over for the banquet on the walls of your drains. And if you get a real infestation not only will they be in the kitchen...they will go to the bathroom and fly up from the sink and the tub or shower drain. Your plumbing is their highway.
Adios is a Drain Fly Repellent. It’s a thick gel that will cling to the walls of your drains. It is a citronella-based product that is biodegradable and non-caustic. It will repel unsanitary Drain Flies and can be used in any drain and disposal. Adios comes in a quart size which will be enough to treat four drains. And you want to treat all drains, even if you only seeing them in the kitchen. Why? Because if you treat just the kitchen, they will just simply go to another drain. Treat your drains right before you go to bed. When there is not a lot of water flowing through the drain. Pour eight ounces down the drains in the kitchen. Remember to treat the sink drain and the disposal drain. Try and pour and hit the sides of the drain, and once you treat the drain…. cover it with the drain cover to seal in the repellent. Now go to the bath and treat the sink and tub or shower drain remembering to cover the drain or close the pop up on the sink. If you have a second bathroom treat it as well. Now your existing flies have nowhere to go. Now on the label of Adios it says to treat weekly, but all my customers have not had to treat again as long as they treated all the drains the first time.
Now if you don’t have a problem, that’s great. But if the thought of having a buildup of organic matter in the drain makes you worry, you can easily clean your drains. Use Instant Power Disposal and Drain Cleaner. It’s a simple cleaner that is guaranteed to keep disposal odors away, and at the same time keep your kitchen sink clear of drain clogging material. It is an enzyme formulation made to digest and break up drain clogging material and eliminate garbage disposal and drain odors. Just shake well and use it right before you go to bed to let it work over night. As with Adios, when you use Instant Power Drain Cleaner – seal off the drain so it has a chance to work over night.
Now if you’re the type that needs to scrub (you know who you are) there is Danco “Brush It”. It’s a brush made for disposals. It has stiff bristle brush that you can put down into the disposal and scrub. It has a handle at the top and a splash guard. Apply a little liquid soap in the splash guard and this brush will remove all debris and matter in the disposal. This will alleviate odors from buildup and bacteria. Remember the disposal is NOT ON WHEN USING BRUSH IT.
For keeping the bathroom sinks and tub drains clean and deodorized use Green Gobbler Bio-Flow Drain Strips. It’s a little dissoluble stick that you just drop down in the drain and with normal water flow it will remove the drain of odor and break down organic matter. It can be used in sinks, tubs and disposal drains.