DIY Garbage Disposal Cleaning

Have you been noticing an unpleasant smell in your kitchen? Is the stench becoming so intense every day that it is hard for you to go and work in the kitchen?

Have you been in a situation when you have faced severe embarrassment in front of guests asking why is your home stinking so severely? You’ve probably been trying to pinpoint the source of the nasty smell, and we know what your guess is. It’s the garbage disposal.

If yes, we will tell you what you can do about it!

Most people were facing the same problems land on the internet to find out how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar and other natural remedies. Smelly garbage disposal is incredibly annoying because it is the kitchen where it resides; the place where you dream of preparing delicious food to devour later.

Unlike other things which are left on their own to go away, garbage disposal smell will only get worse if ignored and allowed to linger for long. It will become so bad that you will want to avoid cooking altogether and will lead you to spend hours on the internet researching on how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar.

Why Do Garbage Disposals Smell

You might be wondering why the smell permeating in and around your kitchen is so awful. Well quite wondering and get to sorting this mess out! We will tell you how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar. Remember that anything that deals with food or food leftovers will smell sooner or later if the particles stay stuck for long. Likewise, your food waste disposer stinks because there are high odds of little pieces of food shrewdly find ways to the hideout. The key here is to understand what the disposals meant for and that whether or not there is a smell already, you should take out time for thorough cleaning of the unit.

There are numerous factors giving birth to garbage disposal odour. A critical reason amongst those is people believing the myth that the disposals can destroy and dispose of anything or everything. It makes people dump down everything they want into the unit and end up clogging the drain and dealing with a foul odour.

The food stuck in there, which has caused a clog will eventually start to rot and create nasty smells.

Another thing which can cause you to think about how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar is the use of extra spices and the way you cook. For instance, if you tend to include a variety of herbs in your food and use more items with a pungent smell such as garlic, onion etc., the particles of these foods are likely to cause a foul odour in the disposal soon. The worst part is that the smell will keep on spreading and getting stronger.

Additionally, the plumbing network and other pipes and internal frameworks of the disposal located under the sink are prone to getting humid and accumulating moisture. This accumulation of water gives birth to different bacteria, mould, and mildew, which also play their part in worsening the smell. These problems can also be dangerous for human health and cause respiratory issues.

It is because of this adverse effects of this smell on health and hygiene which makes the masses turn to the web to find answers to the question ‘how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar’.

How to Clean Food Waste Disposer with Baking Soda and Vinegar

There are numerous remedies available to wipe out foul odour from your garbage disposal and keep it clean to prevent future odour. One reason people mainly go after learning how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar is that the two compounds are prevalent, easy to use, and useful for cleaning purposes.

The use of baking soda and vinegar is amongst the safest remedies to clean garbage disposals and get rid of the nuisance the smell is. It is better to use mild compounds like these two than harsh chemicals such as bleach, but if the scent and clog are too rigid, may you compelled to use harsh chemicals again.

Experts say you should avoid using store-bought products and cleaners to clean your garbage disposal as much as you can. These chemicals can result in corrosion of the interiors of your unit and may cause it to malfunction. Nonetheless, there are some products which specifically designed to cater to drain and disposal smell and clogs which you can try using.

These cleaners also often have baking soda and vinegar in them which is why when you enter the question how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar on a search engine, you see some factory-manufactured products too.

Here’s your guide to cleaning your food waste disposer using baking soda, vinegar, and other remedies and tips.

Pre-Cleaning Measures

The instant, easy solutions you find against the query ‘how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar’ will tempt you to start cleaning immediately. But before you start your cleaning spree in full swing, make sure there are no tangible items such as cups, bottles, or caps stuck inside the disposal. Also, before you even attempt to check on these items, it is imperative to disconnect the electrical supply of the food waste disposer by taking off the power cord from the wall socket.

It is recommended you use a spotlight/flashlight to see the interiors of the unit and the objects that caught inside the disposal. Use tongs or pliers to pull out any such items and never let your hand directly into the removal.

Natural Remedies to Clean Your Garbage Disposal

If going green and using environment-familiar techniques for everything is your top priority, you must be amongst those who prefer natural remedies over unnatural or human-made products. It means you are more inclined to using eco-friendly goods than chemical-laden household goods.

If you are one of those people who care for the earth and want to keep their garbage disposals safe form the damage harsh chemicals bring. Here we will answer your question about how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar explaining how to use these two compounds.

Take a stroll around storeroom; check the fridge and kitchen of your home to see what is there that could use.

Do you have baking soda and vinegar?

Is there an ice cube tray in the house? Do you have fresh lemon stored in the fridge or kitchen? If you have these, you have enough items to go on a disposal cleaning spree.

While baking soda and vinegar are famous for their science fair-worthy reactions, their uses are not limited to these fairs. The two products, added to be very useful, are inexpensive and do not contain harmful chemicals such as sodium hydroxide (lye) found in store-bought products.

Don’t know how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar? Check out some baking soda and vinegar hacks here!

How to Use Baking Soda and Vinegar

There are two ways you can use the killer combination of baking soda and vinegar to fight drain clogs and the smell in your garbage disposal.

Method 01 – Baking Soda and Vinegar

A natural way to clean your garbage disposal is by application of baking soda and vinegar (either white or apple cider). Include a ½ cup of baking soda and a full cup of vinegar into the drain of your garbage disposal and allow the mixture to fizz and foam for at least 15 minutes.

The addition of the two compounds will result in an acidic reaction and kill bacteria in addition to eliminating the unpleasant odour permeating from the unit.

The same ingredients can use to clean the splash guards. Mix some amount of baking soda with vinegar to form a paste-like material. Next, dip a fresh toothbrush into the paste you have created and scrub the splash guards with the spikes to remove any filth that is stuck inside.

The last step in this method is performing a flush to clean and remove any remainders using baking soda and vinegar. With this, your search for the answers to your question ‘how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar’ will end.

Start by plugging in the electric connection of the drain and filling the sink basin with water to the levels that is approximately 75% or three-quarters full. Now include a little amount of dish soap (a teaspoon is enough) and then pull out the plug to let the water spin down into the drain while the disposal runs.

Method 02 – Baking Soda, Vinegar, Ice Cubes, Salt, and Citrus

It is another way to help you eliminate the foul odour coming from your garbage disposal and set you free of the worry that the question ‘how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar’ has brought.

Start by running hot water for about a minute.

Include a ¼ cup of the soda into the drain and let the disposal run for 15-20 seconds. Stop and let the soda rest for about 10 minutes.

Next, incorporate 1 cup of vinegar and all the combination of the two to fizz for a couple of minutes.

Now wash with hot water and run the food waste disposer for another few seconds.

Add 2 cups of ice and ½ cup of salt into the drain to fill it up. Allow cold water to flow and turn the garbage disposal. Let both the water supply and garbage disposal run until the ice is completely gone. The ice and salt you add here will help loosen the food particles stuck inside.

Lastly, slice up a citrus fruit peel. It could be any citrus fruits, including lemon, lime, oranges, or a grapefruit. With a continuous supply of cold water and the food waste disposal turned on, hurl down the peel slices slowly, one at a time.

This method will not only help you get rid of the caked-on debris but will also keep you from worrying about things such as how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar.

Remedies to Prevent Garbage Disposal Clogs

The root cause of the odour emerging from your garbage disposal is the clogged up food in its drain. Now that you know how to clean food waste disposer with baking soda and vinegar, let’s learn how to prevent the clogs from forming at all.

Remember that foods that are fibrous, starchy, and expandable not meant to go in the disposal unit. These include pasta, rice, greasy/oily stuff etc. Indeed, your garbage disposal intended to dispose of food, but not everything should go down there. Use such foodstuff to be added to the garden compost instead.

Here is a list of everyday food items you should not hurl down the disposal:

Egg Shells

There is a common myth about eggshells that they help sharpen the edges of the blades in your disposal. It, however, is false. In actual, the eggs are sticky, and so are their shells. The membranes on the inside of eggshells can cling to the grinders and obstruct them from properly functioning.

Coffee Grounds

Coffee grounds commonly used to eliminate foul odour from the garbage disposal units in homes. While these grounds are not damaging for the blades or the disposal, they can sometimes gather and form clogs.

Stringy Vegetables

Stringy vegetable such as corn husks, celery, onion skins, and are not supposed to go into the garbage disposal. They have one thing in common, i.e. the stringy/fibrous texture, which causes them to get stuck easily and result in foul smell after a while. They can also jam the disposal motor.

Starchy Foods

Like stringy foods, starchy vegetables such as potatoes can form a thick paste and stick to the walls of the disposal. Pasta and rice also include a slimy coating and stick onto the grinding blades.

Grease or Cooking Oils

Anything oily can never be cleaned or wiped out quickly. Grease and oil solidify at certain temperatures and prove to be disastrous for garbage disposals. They also harm the pipes and wastewater treatment to let in the removal and allowed to stay.