How to Keep the Garbage Disposal Clean and Fresh

While you might already know what you can and can’t rinse down your disposal, it’s still the perfect place for mold to grow, or smells to hide. Keep things clean and smelling fresh with these easy tips.

For starters, pour some dish soap down the garbage disposal, run the disposal, and rinse with plenty of cool water. If that isn’t enough to clean up the mysterious waste below the drain, try a more aggressive approach, such as one of the methods listed below.

Once a week, pour baking soda and vinegar down the drain. Start by pouring ½ a cup of baking soda down the drain/garbage disposal. Next, add one cup of white vinegar and close off the drain using the stopper. In a double sink, close both sides. While the mixture is fizzing, boil some water (enough to fill a teakettle). Once the water reaches a boil, pour it down the drain.

You can also try using water and bleach. In a container, mix one gallon of water with one tablespoon of liquid chlorine bleach. Slowly pour the mixture down the garbage disposal, wait a few minutes, then flush the drain with hot water for several minutes.

Another trick to try is using ice and citrus peels. By tossing a few ice cubes in the disposal and running it, the cutting blades will stay clean and sharp. Toss a few lemon, orange, or lime peels into a running disposal to get a nice scent in the kitchen.

There are also commercial garbage disposal cleaners you can purchase if there seems to be some serious bacterial growth in the drain. However, trying one of the methods listed above once a week should keep the garbage disposal clean and smelling fresh.

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The Unclog Blog is written and published by Thompson Plumbing Heating & Cooling

Comments

[Will looking for garbage disposal advice or repair]

nice blog and advice, my disposal was getting stinky.

thanks, Will

[Kamble]

I just grabbed the botlte and the ingredients are: Kaolin, Solum Diatomeae, Bentonite, Carica Papaya Extract, Ananas Sativus Extract, CI 77891. No talc! The smell doesn't bother me at all, but if you didn't like the smell I can see that it would be a big problem because it's to be used on the face. Getting that consistency right is the biggest problem for me, but now that I know the method it's something I don't have to think about too much