My kitchen sink drain clog was actually a broken pipe under the slab
I spent a whole weekend snaking and plunging before I finally called a plumber with a camera. They found a cracked ABS line under the foundation, which meant a full day of concrete cutting and repair. Anyone else had a simple clog turn into a major slab leak repair here in Albuquerque?
Did you ever get a weird smell before it clogged? I mean, I had a slow drain for months that smelled kinda earthy, and it turned out the crack was letting dirt in.
That maple syrup smell was probably your house trying to gaslight you into thinking there was a breakfast emergency. I once got excited about a sweet smell near my sink and it turned out to be rotting honey in a forgotten jar, not a sewer problem.