Even the best of garbage disposals start smelling downright nasty from time to time. Food sticks to the blades and doesn’t get washed down the drain properly and before you know it, you have a nose curling stench on your hands.
Fortunately, it is very easy and very inexpensive to clean your garbage disposal. There is a simple, three step-process that will work to get most food broken up and get rid of most nasty smells.
You’ll Need:
- Ice
- 1 box baking soda
- 2 cups of vinegar
- 2 sliced lemons
Step 1
Ice cubes are excellent for breaking up some of the grime on the blades. They are very hard, which makes a horrible sound when they hit the blades, but that roughness starts to break up stuck on food. For the best results, start the blades whirring with a small, steady stream of cool water. Add ice cubes a cup at a time.
Allow the blades to completely breakup the cup of ice cubes until the blades are again running smoothly without making that horrid ice crunching sound. Repeat two or three times.
Step 2
Now, you want to disinfect the disposal. Turn the blades off and the faucet off.
Pour a container of baking soda into the disposal. Pour 2 cups of white vinegar in the disposal.
Allow this mixture to bubble and froth for a while. You can even walk away and do some other stuff.
When you return, stream hot water into the disposal and give it a whir for a minute.
Step 3
Your final step adds some lovely scent to the disposal while also killing any leftover smells. Slice up two lemons and feed them into the running disposal with cool water running. Keep the blades going until the lemons are fully cut up and rinsed down the drain.
A Few Notes
As with any time you use the disposal, keep clear of the opening so you don’t come to harm. If you want to keep your disposal from getting smelly, you can repeat this process once a week to prevent grimy buildup.
This isn’t a pretty job, but somebody has to do it. As far as cleaning tasks go, it is fairly quick and painless, too.
