How To Easily Clean A Smelly Garbage Disposal

Have you ever walked into the kitchen and asked yourself, “What’s that smell?” Your first instinct probably tells you to take the garbage out, but what if you do that and your kitchen still stinks. The culprit may be the garbage disposal. There are several different ways to clean a stinky sink. Keeping your garbage disposal clean will also keep it from rusting and freezing up thus avoiding costly service calls from your local plumber. The following method is eco-friendly, cost effective and efficient.

1. Fill the bottom half of an ice cube tray with vinegar.
2. Slice a couple fresh lemons into small pieces.
3. Add one piece of lemon to each ice cube compartment.
4. Top off each ice cube compartment with water as needed.
5. Freeze the mixture.
6. Turn the water on and then the disposal.
7. Drop several ice cubes down the sink while the disposal is running.
8. Repeat as needed.

Garbage disposals bring a high level of convenience to a homeowner, by simplifying the cooking and cleaning process, but there are several obvious and not so obvious things that you should not throw down the garbage disposal.

1. Grease or oil
2. Egg shells
3. Stringy vegetables
4. Bones
5. Pits and Seeds
6. Rice and pasta

If you happen to live in an area that uses septic systems instead of city sewer, you may not have a garbage disposal as the local building codes probably don’t allow it. If you do have one, or have had one installed, and are on a septic system, it is very important to minimize its usage. Only use it to grind up small amounts of food left on a plate or pan after cleaning them off into the trash can. Do not to use your garbage disposal as a trash can or your septic system could get overloaded with solid waste and cause smelly problems in more areas of the home than just the kitchen.

Proper usage, and this simple cleaning technique, will keep your garbage disposal running well and odor-free for years to come.

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