r/CleaningTips • u/EfficientLibrary1207 • 18h ago
Bathroom How to get rid of these
Any idea where do these irritating flies come from & infest the bathroom? How to get rid of them?
74
u/iwantrootbark 17h ago
Drain flies. Sometimes you need to replace the wax ring under the toilet.
Best of results, my friend
14
6
u/Ghastly_Someknew 12h ago
Also studor vents can go bad and leave them an opening as well. Studor vents are used whenever the pipe can't vent properly elsewhere.
39
u/OrneryToo 14h ago
They are phorid (sp) flies aka: drain flies. They live and breed in the sink drain. There is a foam type drain cleaner recommended for eradicating.
12
u/Ghastly_Someknew 13h ago
Phorid flies are different from drain flies
3
u/OrneryToo 13h ago
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/phorid-flies Here's an article I found a while back. We had an issue a while back.
6
u/Ghastly_Someknew 13h ago
Im an exterminator. Phorid flies are very similar to fruit flies, only instead of rotting fruit they go for decomposing vegetable matter and standing stagnant water. They can get in drains, mainly when it's an improperly used flex pipe which can give them a hospitable environment.
5
u/sioux13208 12h ago
So does the drain pipe have to be changed out?
8
u/Ghastly_Someknew 12h ago
If its a flex hose for a drain pipe, I would. If its a regular pipe it should be fine. They start at the water level but work their way up the pipe. If they've been there a bit you will need one of the foaming/expanding treatments, flushing it with hot water and bleach won't get rid of them at that point. They'll go away for a bit but come right back.
2
u/sioux13208 12h ago
Luckily I’ve never gotten any but I clean my drains. I thought maybe others will benefit from your experience if they read this.
14
11
u/PrimalSeptimus 16h ago
I hit 'em with a drain cleaner combo: first gel to loosen up their surprisingly resilient burrows, followed by foamer for maximum pipe coverage. That usually takes care of them.
4
17
u/LoneR33GTs 18h ago
A kettle of boiling water once a day until they are gone. Eventually they will come back but often not for a very long time. Maybe a prophylactic kettle full occasionally might stave them off longer.
8
u/RusselTheWonderCat 14h ago
Isopropyl alcohol, dumped down the drains, a few times a day, works like a charm.
It also kills the fly when you spray them with it.
9
6
u/DDz1818 18h ago
Pour hot water down the drain. Or bleach.
1
u/EfficientLibrary1207 18h ago
Have tried hot water, will do it with bleach
•
u/AwkwardTune7799 2h ago
My parents have these. Bleach is what I used. They do start coming back eventually though, but then I just pour bleach again. There’s only ever 2 or 3 at a time now when they do come back.
6
u/AverageAlleyKat271 14h ago
I’ve read where you use hydrogen peroxide, like 1/2 cup in the drainages to get rid of drain flies. First time I tried, it didn’t work so well. After that, I closed/covered the drain before going to work (or bed) and it fixed it.
23
4
u/charmanderslayer 17h ago
Also just running the taps a few minutes a day helps prevent them once gone
7
u/GrassMobile9178 18h ago
Baking soda + soap to your kitchen water sink hole and close it overnight. Same in bathroom if the problem comes from there.
3
3
u/Bdtvx5788 7h ago
Check to make sure you don't have any uncapped cleanouts as well. This happend to me and I kept treating the drains and spraying, but it turns out my lawnmower clipped one of the cleanouts outside and it was exposed to the elements. I spent months fighting them until I finally capped the cleanout. A week later, they were all gone. Make sure to treat the drains with a drain fly eliminator. I used this product and poured it down all drains including the toilets. Hope this helps.
3
u/Nomore_chances 16h ago
Napthalene balls in the sink drain or over the drain hole. Dissolves slowly and kills the eggs.
3
u/thomasthe10 15h ago
I think these guys made the most of the long hot summer because I've never seen them before now and we had a minor infestation this year. I think it's dying back as temps drop but they've been quite irritating.
3
u/Archie_6911 15h ago
Best thing to do is scrub the inside of the drain as hot water and bleach can sometimes flush past the grim where they breed too fast. Also cover up the drains when not in use to try and stop the breeding cycle. That worked in our kitchen drain.
3
3
u/romulusputtana 8h ago
Gawd I hate those things. I get so many of them in the summer! My 2 cents? After using my kitchen or BR sink, I spray Dawn Power wash down the drain and cover it with a drain cover. The soap/alcohol will kill any it comes in contact with, and the drain cover prevents them from entering/exiting the drain.
2
u/thenewuser88 15h ago
A cup of household vinegar down each of the problem drains, and leave it overnight
3
u/Elegant-Success-2288 13h ago
I used Drano, waited, and used a fly and insect spray; it was a once-and-done deal for all my drains, and they have not returned in a couple of years.
1
1
•
u/ParticularCaptain135 1h ago
Check any drains/pipes that don’t get used. These things tormented me for months until I finally found the source - they were coming from a washing machine I never used. Once I ran a few cycles of machine cleaner tablets, I never saw them again.
•
•
•
1
u/CauliflowerHealthy35 15h ago
I had these once. I went on vacation for a week, but poured bleach down my shower drain when I left. I think the bleach and lack of moisture did the trick.
1
u/SutttonTacoma 13h ago
I spray a CHLORINE (Clorox) cleaner in the drains of my shower and sink and under the rim of my toilet, and anywhere that remains damp for significant times. Don't forget the overflow holes in the sinks. Once a day for a week and then once or twice a week. Seems to work. These flies feed on the bacteria that eat our body's byproducts, so the chlorine discourages the bacteria and probably kills fly larvae.
1
0
102
u/mrskellington79 17h ago
clean your drains