Funky smells wafting from the sink are no fun. You don’t want your trip to the fridge to be interrupted by appetite-curbing smells. Here are five easy steps for how to make your garbage disposal smell better.
And while you’re at it, why not give your dishwasher a good clean as well? Let’s get the whole kitchen clean and smelling great!
How to Make Your Garbage Disposal Smell Better
1. Soap, Lemon, And Hot Water
When it comes to how to make your garbage disposal smell better, the first thing you’ll want to try is a simple soap, citrus, and water cleaning. You can take pieces of lemon and run them through the disposal, combining with hot water and soap to get things even cleaner.
The lemon should overpower any smells that have started to creep out of the disposal and into the house. The soap helps to coat the disposal with anti-bacterial solution.
Of course, just using soap, lemon, and hot water may not clean away food or debris that is stuck. For that, you should combine this method with either ice or vinegar and baking soda.
Can I Put a Whole Lemon into the Disposal?
While you shouldn’t drop a whole lemon into the disposal, full stop, it won’t hurt to cut the lemon into pieces and put them into the disposal. Remove the seeds first! The lemon peel is definitely something that can be chopped up by the disposal.
2. Vinegar and Baking Soda
Vinegar and baking soda isn’t just a cool science experiment. In addition to blasting out of paper mache volcanos, it can be a powerful cleaning agent for your home. Combine vinegar and baking soda in your garbage disposal to get a chemical reaction that can wash away food and debris that is clogging the system.
Vinegar and baking soda can leave a clean smell, but the vinegar can also be strong. When learning how to make your garbage disposal smell better, it is often best to combine methods. You may want to follow up the vinegar and baking soda with some soap and lemon pieces.
3. Ice
Some people think that ice sharpens garbage disposal blades, but ice doesn’t actually sharpen the blades. Garbage disposals don’t have blades like blenders do. They use swiveling shredders and impeller rings that churns food down. But those rings and shredders can, at times, get food stuck on them which can cause a smell.
Putting ice down the garbage disposal won’t sharpen the blades, but it can clean anything off of them that gets stuck. Ice provides some good abbrasion and temperature which can clear food off.
4. Diluted Bleach
If your garbage disposal continues to smell bad despite using traditional cleaning methods, consider diluted bleach as a last resort. Mix one part bleach with ten parts water and slowly pour this solution into the disposal. Let it sit for about 5-10 minutes, then thoroughly rinse with cold water for at least a minute.
Remember, bleach is powerful and can damage your disposal if used too often, so treat it as a rare, heavy-duty solution for persistent odors. Regular maintenance should keep your disposal smelling fresh under normal circumstances.
5. Get it Repaired
How To Make Garbage Disposal Smell Better. At times, there is only so much you can do to get your garbage disposal to smell better. If you have a garbage disposal which is burned out and no longer functioning properly, you’ll need to get it repaired. Food is probably just blending around and sitting in the pipes, which allows the smells to hang around.
How To Make Garbage Disposal Smell Better: Professionally
We’ve got excellent garbage disposal repair services which can get you back to a clean smelling kitchen in no time at all. It’s the easiest way to get things fixed when figuring out how to make your garbage disposal smell better.
If you need to get your disposal grinding again, just schedule a simple repair.
