6 Steps on How To Deep Clean a Garbage Disposal

6 Steps on How to Deep Clean a Garbage Disposal

If your sink smells like the dumpster behind a restaurant, take ten minutes to clean a garbage disposal with these freshening tips.

Consider the environment within the average in-sink garbage disposal: It’s cool, dark, and moist, and there’s a near constant influx of food that gets shredded and scattered about. No wonder it gets smelly from time to time! To clean a garbage disposal and eliminate the odor-causing bacteria, follow these instructions.

Your garbage disposal has a seemingly magical way of making your leftovers disappear down the drain. But with each use, food debris builds up and eventually makes your sink stink. The good news? There’s an easy remedy using simple ingredients you probably already have in the kitchen.

Here’s how to clean a garbage disposal when odors develop, plus general best practices for everyday use that will help keep the smells at bay.

Most odors that come out of the garbage disposal are coming from food buildup on the splash guard. That’s the removable black rubber panel that sits atop your sink’s drain hole. You can scrub it with warm water and baking soda or simply toss it in the top rack of a dishwasher.

Food residue can also gum up the walls of the garbage disposal. A few common household ingredients can take care of that. Ice cubes help break up any food stuck to the disposal, while baking soda and bleach kill germs, and lemon provides a bit of freshness. So lets learn how to clean a garbage disposal:

What You Need

• Supplies
• Kitchen sponge with an abrasive side
• Dish soap
• Baking soda and vinegar
• Ice
• Rock salt (optional)
• Bleach solution (optional)
• Citrus peels (optional but a wonderful option after you clean a garbage disposal)

Step 1: Disconnect the power

Turn off the power to prevent the disposal from being turned accidentally on while you are cleaning, even though your hand shouldn’t be near the grinding “teeth” at the bottom of the chamber.

There are two cardinal rules when it comes to cleaning a garbage disposal. The first is always to disconnect the power to the appliance before working on it. The easiest way to cut its power is simply by unplugging it. Normally, it’s plugged in to the wall under the sink. If you can’t locate the outlet, go to the electrical panel in your house and cut electricity to the circuit on which the garbage disposal is powered. To confirm that the power is off, try turning on the garbage disposal.

Step 2: Clean the splash guard

The rubber splash guard (also known as a gasket or baffle), with its many grooves and crevices, likely has a lot of small food particles and grease trapped underneath it. Pull it out of the drain and thoroughly clean it with an old toothbrush or scrubbing brush and lots of dish detergent. Scrub vigorously, paying particular attention to the underside, to remove any debris or slime. Apply dish soap to an abrasive sponge and scrub under the baffle—thoroughly—to get all into all of the folds and creases. Rinse the sponge frequently to remove all gunk.

Step 3: Remove any visible food debris

While the splash guard is removed, shine a flashlight into the disposal to check for any food particles that may be eluding the grinder. Use tongs or pliers to reach into the disposal and remove the food pieces. Never use your fingers to do this; even when the blades aren’t in motion, they are still very sharp.

Step 4: Clean the Grinding Chamber

Swipe around the top of the grinding chamber. Again, rinse the sponge frequently. Repeat until the sponge pulls up no more gunk and the disposal surfaces feel clean.

If you do nothing other than clean these two key areas while cleaning a garbage disposal, you’ll probably be in great shape. But if you want to take one more step and freshen the disposal and drain pipe a bit while you’re at it, then try one of the following cleaning tricks.

Drop about a dozen ice cubes into the garbage disposal, followed by a half-cup of rock salt. Restore power to the disposal, so that you can turn on the mechanism while running water down the drain. Keep it on for about a minute, until all the built-up grime and gunk has fallen away from the disposal blades. Check the drain with a flashlight again. If the blades are clean, go and shut the power back off.

Step 5: Pour in baking soda and vinegar

Pour a cup of vinegar and a half-cup of baking soda into the disposal. Let the combination fizz for about 15 minutes. In the process, the acidity of the solution kills bacteria, including salmonella and E. coli. Stick with the natural cleaners here; no toxic chemical should be used. Just as bacteria can come flying out of the disposal, compromising the sanitation of your kitchen sink, so too could a chemical.

While the vinegar and baking soda are busy fizzing inside the disposal, combine the two again—this time outside the appliance, on the counter—to create a thick paste. Put some of that paste on an old toothbrush, and use it to scrub down the top and bottom surfaces of the rubber flaps along the neck of the disposal. Those flaps are likely to be as bacteria-ridden as any other component. So while you’re at it, think about giving a good scrubbing to the rubber parts on your sink stopper, too, if there are any.

Step 6: Flush the Disposal

Wait a few minutes, then remove the stopper and flush the disposal with hot water while running the garbage disposal. If the sink has two basins, the cleaner will work best if both sides are cleaned at the same time. Use the same amounts of baking soda and vinegar in the other sink drain.

Tips for Deodorizing a Garbage Disposal

If the disposal is really smelly, or you have tried other cleaners and still get a foul odor, you can use a diluted bleach solution of two parts warm water and one part bleach. Don’t use more than 1/3 cup of bleach, and wear gloves when pouring into the drain. After pouring the bleach solution into the drain, run warm (not hot) water down the drain for several seconds.

Using citrus peels is another popular way to freshen up a smelly garbage disposal. The citrus oils in the peels certainly add some fragrance to the air, but the fact is, the peels do little to clean the disposal, and they do nothing to get rid of those slimy areas (which you’ve hopefully already cleaned with a sponge).

To give your disposal a little spritz, grind a small handful of citrus peels (cut into small pieces) in the disposal with cool water. If desired, you can also add a few ice cubes. The citrus oil can give the disposal a pleasant smell that lasts a little while. Keep in mind that this freshening method works best on a relatively clean disposal.

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