Steps You Should Follow To Get Rid of Nasty Garbage Disposal Odors 

One of the most useful equipment types that help eliminate waste left behind during or after cooking is a garbage disposer, also known as a waste disposer. It helps to keep your kitchen neat and clean without any hassle. But one issue that many households might have faced at one time or another is that even their garbage disposer gets clogged. It mostly happens when the bowels, which means the unit’s inner pipes, have a build-up formed inside them as the time passes by. This food stuck in different areas of the line tends to rot with time, which results in a very unpleasant odor.

Although this would result in your kitchen stinking for some time, you don’t need to worry about it. This smell is a normal part, and you need to learn how to eliminate garbage disposal odors formed because of the trapped food inside the blades or under the edges that have started to rot.

Sometimes the smell is exceptionally pungent because of the excessive use of onions, garlic in the kitchen that has been ground through a disposer. To tackle this issue, it is essential you know how to kill the odor as quickly as possible before it spreads throughout your kitchen. Then you need to deodorize the whole room instead of the sink and garbage disposal unit only.

Here in this article, we have discussed some of the most straightforward steps that you need to follow to help you eliminate garbage disposal odors and make sure that your kitchen and the home smells fresh and looks clean.

Part I

Step # 1: Remove the source of the smell

One common thing that you should understand is that something will go wrong or rot in the background if anything starts to smell. When a disposal unit starts to sense, there is a high chance that something is clogged in the pipes, bowels, or under the blades that have lead to the formation of this foul odor.

To get rid of this smell, the first step that you need to follow is to identify the clog and remove it. To remove these, make sure that you never make the mistake of putting your hand into the garbage disposer even when it is turned off.

First, unplug the unit, then take a flashlight and shine it down the drain to get a clear view of what is happening or has happened inside. Locate any blocks or pieces of food that are stuck inside and are visible. With the help of tongs, pliers, or some long tweezers, remove the stuck bits of food. Now plug the appliance back again and turn on the water to pass through the cleaned pipes. Then turn on the disposal unit and allow it to run for a few minutes. It would help the lines get a wash on the inside. Finally, turn off the disposal and water.

Step # 2: Give the disposal a soapy water soak

We are sure that apart from food, there might be other things that go down your drain. But since it is always operating, it is necessary that you give some time off to your disposal and clean and soak it thoroughly. It is essential to wash off the food particles stuck in between small spaces in the pipes and avoid any nasty smell.

To soak your garbage disposal, you need first to plug the drain of the disposal unit and then fill the sink with at least 4 to 5 inches of water. Take a teaspoon, add two full teaspoons of any liquid dishwashing soap in this water, and swish it around so that bubbles and a foamy mixture are formed. Now in a swift movement, unplug the drain and turn on the garbage disposal so that as the water passes through it, the unit’s interior is cleaned. Once all the water has drained out, turn off the disposal.

Step # 3: Scrub the exterior of the garbage disposal unit

. The garbage disposal has been soaked and cleaned with the help of washing liquid, and food particles present inside have been loosened. It is time for you to scrub the removal from outside that is visible on the sink so that you can remove crumbs or particles that are stuck under its blade.

To scrub the visible appliance portion, you first need to have a dish wand or a scrub brush. Rinse the scrub brush or a dish wand, whatever you have, with water, and then pour a moderate amount of liquid dish soap on it. With the help of this brush, now scrub and clean the visible parts of the appliance. Also, rub and cleanse the unit’s rim attached to the sink basin and clean the inside of the drain and where the brush can reach.

Step # 4: Scrub the interior of the garbage disposal unit

Clean your garbage disposal unit thoroughly; it is always recommended that you clean both its interior and exterior. After cleaning the surface, it is time to clean the interior so that you know how to eliminate garbage disposal odors.

Take at least 10 to 12 ice cubes and put them in the basin where the garbage disposer is attached. On top of these ice cubes, sprinkle some coarse salt, around a half cup of it. Now turn on the tap very slowly and let the water flow through the cubes and salt into the drain. As the ice cubes start to melt, start pushing them into the gutter.

Plug and switch on the disposal and allow the ice to be crushed through the blades. Let the unit run until everything is dissolved and gone. These ice cubes help remove any particles that are stuck inside, and the coarse salt works as a detergent that gets rid of any sort of smell and scrubs the blades.

Step # 5: Flush the garbage disposal unit

To ensure that every food particle stuck inside has been removed, you must flush the garbage disposal cleaner after cleaning it from the inside and outside. To wash the appliance, you need to turn on the cold water faucet and let the water run through the drain, so anything that is still stuck inside is flown away. Now turn on the unit and let it run with water flowing through it for a couple of minutes.

Part II

Step # 1: To get rid of the smell, use vinegar and baking soda together

The two ingredients that work together in the cleaning process for garbage disposal are vinegar and baking soda. Baking soda works as an absorber while vinegar cleans the drain.

To clean and deodorize the appliance, you first need to pour 2 cups of baking soda into the drain. Try using a flashlight so that you can see inside and sprinkle as much as possible until no space is left. Now take half a cup of vinegar and pour it slowly into the drain. You might see that as vinegar reacts with baking soda, some bubbles might form. Let this mixture sit for an hour, turn on the water, and let it all flow away, washing away all the particles.

Step # 2: To cleanse the appliance, use vinegar cubes

To cleanse the interior of your garbage disposal, one recommendation that is made by many experts in this field is to use vinegar cubes. These vinegar cubes can be prepared by mixing water and vinegar and freezing in cubes’ shape.

In the morning, you can pull out the tray and remove the vinegar cubes from it and pour them into the disposal drain. On top of them, turn on a low stream of water and allow the cubes to melt through it.

Step # 3: To freshen it up, use some lemon peels

Be it any citrusy fruit; it has this refreshing aroma and contains substances that are strong cleaners. Make your garbage disposer and kitchen smell fresh and clean.

Take a lemon or any other citrus fruit and take its juice out. Keep the liquid for any other purpose and cut down the peels into smaller 1-inch pieces.

Now turn on the cold water faucet, plug in the disposer, and switch it on. These things are running, start putting a few of these chunks of peels at a time into the disposer, let them crushed with the help of blades of the unit.

Part III

Tip # 1: Never put fibrous food in the disposal

A key to prevent your garbage disposal from stinking is that you should never make the mistake of feeding the wrong kinds of foods or materials into the disposer. Fibrous food is one example of such wrong food that can clog the drain, jam the appliance’s motor, and get stuck inside the gutter walls, which would result in nasty odors as the food starts to rot.

You need to avoid some examples of fibrous food: artichoke, banana peels, onion skin, celery, and corn husks.

Tip # 2: Never put starchy food in the garbage disposal unit

Many foods contain a lot of starch or expand when they are put underwater. Such food items must be refrained from being put into this appliance as there is a high chance that they might get stuck in them and then later cause some severe clogging problems.

Food that comes under this category includes rice, potatoes, bread, and pasta.

Tip # 3: Cut larger items into smaller pieces

If it has very common for your garbage disposal unit to get clogged regularly and if you are sure that you haven’t been feeding starchy or fibrous food to it, then this means that there is some other issue. This issue might be that of larger pieces of food being provided to the appliance.

It is always suggested to cut larger pieces of food into smaller ones before putting them down the garbage disposal cleaner’s drain. Large chunks are sure to get stuck and then lead to bad food smells, after which you would find ways to eliminate garbage disposal odors.

Another point that you need to avoid with larger chunks is that never put too much food into the disposal at once, as it will cause further problems leading to severe damage to the unit.

Tip # 4: Run water while you use the unit

The garbage disposal needs a steady stream of water to process food properly, and you should never run the disposal unless you’re running the water too. When you’re processing food, run a strong stream of cold water with it.Turn the water on before you turn on the disposal and let the water run when you are done disposing of things and after you have even turned off the disposal unit. It allows any small pieces that have been stuck in any corner to flow away with water.