A great way to change an unpleasant smell coming from your garbage disposal is by grinding some lemon, lime or orange peels through it. This is a page about citrus peels for garbage disposal odors.
Running ice cubes through your garbage disposal will help clean off the blades. This is a page about putting ice cubes in garbage disposal.
My garbage disposal got clogged after I drained cooked rice into it. I tried to use a plunger to clear the clog but it did not work. I came across the advice to use vinegar, baking soda with hot water. It worked like a miracle.
This is a page about keeping garbage disposal smelling fresh. All of that food waste going down your garbage disposal can result in a smelly unit.
I saw a solution for cleaning the sink disposal with ice and vinegar. I did try it at the time and it really worked well. I cannot find this information now. Think it was on Thrifty Fun.
By Edie C
I use baking soda. Make sure the power is off. Pour into the garbage disposal, then take a scratchy sponge and put your hand in there. Clean the walls and under the rubber flaps.
To clean my garbage disposal, I slice one lemon in half and toss them into the disposal along with 4 or 5 ice cubes. I turn on the disposal and the cold water. Voila, the disposal is cleaned and freshened all at the same time.
One of the best ways that I know of is to turn the water on at a trickle and turn your disposal on while empty. Then push about two quarts of ice cubes down into the disposal. That's ice, not fingers!
Fill the disposal with ice cubes and let stand for a good ten minutes. Then flush with cold water, while running the disposal for ten seconds or so.
How do I clean my garbage disposal? There's a musty smell coming from the drain.
By Pat Lafferty from Phoenix, AZ
They do sell a garbage disposal cleaner packet. It foams up in the drain. some hardware stores sell it. you can buy it online, too. www.alice.com/
This is an easy one. 1/2 cup baking soda followed by 1/2 cup of white vinegar let sit for 20 or 30 minuets then add 2 cups of very hot water. If your hot water is set for a dishwasher your hot water may be hot enough if not boiling water will work fine.
I swear by lemons. Grab a lemon slice off a few slices and drop in disposal side of the drain. Turn on disposal and reap the smell of fresh lemons. Save remaining lemon in fridge for the next week. This always works for me. Good luck
Cut up a lemon or orange (any citrus fruits work well) put down the disposal and run as usual. It really helps with any odor and it is supposed to help clean it. If you want to clean it well, you can purchase garbage disposal pads at the larger chain stores and put one down into the disposal and turn on it actually foams up and really cleans it well but they're kind of expensive.
I agree with the lemon.
When you use your disposal, always leave the water running for @ 30 seconds after you shut if off. Your disposal won't smell at all.
The 'citrus' trick is what I use, but I just toss any citrus piece, never have to cut a piece specifically for the disposal, just use a lemon wedge from my iced tea, right into the drain. The disposal always stays nice and fresh, because it takes a few days to get rid of the rind.
What is the most efficient way to keep a garbage disposal clean? I would like to know if there is a product I can buy, but after looking in some stores I have not found any for this specific use.
Some people don't know, but there is a garbage disposal cleaner that should be used at least monthly to rid odors. It is a small paper package, that when inserted into the disposal with a trickle of water, it produces a blue foam with cleans the pipes.
