4 Natural Ways to Clean Odor from a Garbage Disposal

By Pro.com

Is there a phantom smell in your kitchen? More likely than not, it’s coming from your garbage disposal. Usually they’re self cleaning, but sometimes food particles can get caught or a stinky sludge can build up.

Luckily they are extremely easy to clean with any of the following four ways to eliminate that stench.

Method One: Flushing and Salt

1. Start by cleaning the lid and flaps of your disposal with a brush, soap and water.

2. Place the stopper in the sink.

3. Fill sink with a few inches of warm, soapy water.

4. Turn on the disposal and let the sink drain. This way of flushing the disposal with water is better than just running the tap.

5. Grind a handful ice cubes with kosher salt. The ice cubes knock off any stuck food while the salt scrubs the sides.

6. Repeat steps 1–3.

7. Grind some lemons peels for additional freshness.

Method Two: Vinegar Ice Cubes

1. Freeze ice cubes with vinegar and lemon peel.

2. Grind with cold water in the disposal.

3. Keep ice cubes ready in freezer to use periodically.

Method Three: Baking Soda

1. Regularly pour baking soda down the disposal.

2. Flush with warm water.

Method Four: Baking Soda and Vinegar

1. For deep cleaning, pour baking soda down the disposal.

2. Add equal parts vinegar into disposal.

3. Let mixture sit for 5–15 minutes.

4. Rinse with hot water.

Pro.com is a website founded in 2013 by service industry entrepreneurs and former Amazon executives to simplify home services -- especially research on contractor fees and qualifications.

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