Nancy Birtwhistle exposes the true horror of what causes a 'stinky sink' – and how to fix it

'Stinky sinks' can be a persistent problem for many households. Because no matter how much you avoid pouring things down the kitchen sink or how much you clean a sink with baking soda every so often, it can still emit a pungent smell. Now, thanks to Nancy Birtwhistle, we know what's causing it and how to remedy it.

The Sunday Times bestseller and former winner of The Great British Bake Off took to her social media this week to share how she manages the unpleasant smell from her kitchen sink, and many were 'not prepared' for what happened next.

"There's a little bit of a smell coming from my sink this morning," Nancy tells her Instagram followers. "So this is just a warning because some people may find this video offensive," she giggles to herself, knowing what's in store.

"Now my sink here, I think, looks quite clean," she says proudly. "White and bright, looking nice. But then I'm thinking there's still a smell. I wonder what's lurking down there?"

Sharing her cleaning video online with her fans, Nancy is seen unscrewing her sink plug hole – who knew that was a thing? Doing so using a spoon, she loosens and removes the screw that holds the plug cover in place to reveal a significant build-up of gunk below the surface.

Nancy Birtwhistle's sink cleaning tip to eliminate bad smells

"Yuck," is her only word to describe what she finds concealed under the plug hole cover, and I have to agree – it's very unpleasant. Using a thick sheet of kitchen towel, she then proceeds to scrape the plug hole to remove the build-up of brown gunk that has accumulated. "Can you believe?" she gasps, "this is gross."

"I was not at all prepared, but so satisfying!" writes one of her social media fans.

She then places a bucket under the sink, a precautionary measure, and rinses the plug hole with running water, proceeding then to wash all the separate elements of the sink plug hole cover in a bowl, not the sink. (We'd suggest cleaning with baking soda for a gentle, natural method)

Once the cover, rubber seal and screw are all clean, she pours one teaspoon of 'green bleach' down the drain to ensure all the remnants are washed away – before affixing everything back into place. Et voilà, "stinky sink sorted."

Sadly, my sink doesn't allow me to remove the plug hole, so I can't copy Nancy's sink cleaning method – much to my disappointment. However, luckily, for those who also don't have ceramic Butler or Belfast sinks like Nancy, I do know of alternative ways to clean and scent your sink to keep your kitchen smelling nice...

It seems we weren't the only ones who didn't know how to do this, as Nancy's devoted fans were quick to try the method and heap praise.

"Thanks for the guide, did mine today, gotta say not as bad as yours, thankfully, but still some nasty stuff in there. Easy to do, effective and now reassuringly clean," write one satisfied fan.

While another says, "I did mine after watching this, and it was gross! But glad I know how to clean them properly now!"

If you like this, you might also like Nancy's genius tip for making your own free plant pots to grow spring seedlings.

Similar to being aware of keeping your bin smelling fresh in summer, you have to be more mindful once temperatures rise because smells can become more detectable.