How to Clean a Smelly Garbage Disposal

How to Clean a Smelly Garbage Disposal

Many of us rely on our garbage disposals when cleaning dishes. However, repeated use of your garbage disposal can lead to unpleasant odors over time. If you’ve found a less than friendly smell coming out of your garbage disposal, know this isn’t permanent. In the article below, our Maid for Muddy Paws house cleaners share a few tips on how to clean a smelly garbage disposal. 

Clean What You Can

If your garbage disposal is smelly, grab your dish soap and dish wand. You can use this to scrub the inside and outside of your kitchen sink. Be particularly mindful of the joint where the disposal rim meets the drain since small food particles and debris appear to get stuck there. In this area, even the mold can grow.

Soak up the Accommodation

It’s still advisable to run the kitchen faucet while you’re using the garbage disposal. This helps you get rid of all the bits of food trapped in the kitchen.

If you find that your appliance smells bad, it might be time to soak it. Stop the sink drain, fill halfway with water, then add some soap or vinegar. Next, unplug the drain while the garbage disposal is enabled. This rinses away the secret nooks and crannies.

Dilute the Slimy Residue

Kosher salt is an excellent abrasive cleaner that can dislodge slimy residues properly. Next, dump a big cup of ice cubes into the garbage disposal, turn it on while adding half a cup of salt. The mixture of ice and salt can grind away what remains of the odor-causing residue. This is yet another fast remedy to a dirty drain using basic things you already have in your freezer and pantry.

Use Citrus

Citrus fruits will help keep your drain clean as well as act as a deodorizer. Grab a lemon, lime, orange, or grapefruit, consider grinding a few peels—or even a whole fruit—to imbue the kitchen with a new citrus fragrance. Not only will this make your kitchen smell fantastic, but rough peels will help clean the blades and the disposal wall. Citrus oils do a terrific job of keeping your garbage disposal fresh.

Rinse Thoroughly

Don’t wait until your disposal begins to smell bad before you act. Garbage disposal requires active and preventive treatment. Our housekeepers in Magnolia, TX, suggest turning on the garbage disposal and cycle through a thick stream of hot water for at least one minute. This is meant to be long enough to drive the particles into the pipes in your home. This is the perfect way to minimize and eliminate odors.

Try Soda & Vinegar

If you’ve tried the above measures and you can still smell your garbage disposal, it might be time for a tougher cleaning solution. You’ll need soda and vinegar for this process.

Next, remove the rubber flaps and pour half a cup of baking soda into your garbage dump. Fill the entire drain until no more baking soda can be added. Next, pour half a cup of vinegar over the drain. Vinegar is a natural bacterial killer and deodorant. Enable the solution to sit for an hour. Switch the disposal on and run out of cold water for one minute.

Our friends at Headwaters Constructin Inc., a general contractor in Sacramento, adds that it is critical that you only use this method sparingly because vinegar is acidic and can harm the rubber elements within the disposal site.

Deep Cleansing

If the smell continues, a rubber test cap with a stainless steel clamp may be obtained. Lingering odor can mean that poorly rinsed food sludge has hardened your pipes. You will need to thoroughly clean up your garbage disposal to fix this.

In order to clean the disposal thoroughly, you first need to run the hot water through your socket for about a minute. Use a wrench to separate the pipe from the garbage disposal underneath your sink. This is the part of the pipe after the pit. Apply the rubber test cap to the bottom of the pipe that leads from the disposal. This method will stop the water from flowing through the pipe and allow you to soak it with a cleaning solution.

To do this, put a bucket under a pipe and a rubber cap to catch spills and runoff. Run warm water to your garbage disposal until the water level hits the top of the drain – you don’t need to fill the entire sink. Next, apply a half cup of powdered oxygen bleach to the drain and let it sit for one hour. After the bleach has had time to soak, carefully remove the rubber test cap, drain the solution into the bucket, and then reconnect the tubing.

Residential housekeepers in Magnolia, TX, add that it’s a good idea to conduct routine cleaning by filling the sink with soapy water and running it through the system to thoroughly flush the loose food debris through the pipes.

Take Out Large Objects

If you get something stuck in your garbage disposal, you’re going to have to manually take it out. Often it’s a larger object that creates a clog, which can trap foul odors. If you think that a fork or spoon has dropped into your garbage disposal and is trapping food, you can retrieve it but be careful to do so safely.

Be sure to unplug the garbage disposal before you put your hand in there. These grinding blades are very dangerous, so safety is very important. Next, shine the light down to the disposal and use tongs or pins to remove the things that are sitting in the machine. After that, rinse your garbage disposal to see if this has solved the problem. If you can’t seem to dislodge the garbage disposal, our friends at Gilmore Heating, Air, and Plumbing, a company that provides garbage disposal services in Sacramento, suggests hiring a professional. This will save you time and money, especially if you have an old garbage disposal.

Keeping your garbage disposal clean and smelling good should be a weekly occurrence if you need help with keeping your kitchen clean, contact Maid for Muddy Paws. We offer a wide variety of cleaning services in Magnolia, TX, and beyond. Get your free cleaning service estimate today.