Steps to Deodorizing My Garbage Disposal

Kitchen aromas inspire the mind and prepare the taste buds. Nothing seems as fanciful as sitting down to enjoy a delicious meal with family and friends. Whoever thought that your garbage disposal could ruin the moment?

You depend on your disposal, and you once thought of it as you would a close friend. Now it produces embarrassment because it stinks.

Of all the people with garbage disposals in their kitchen, many suffer from the same problem that plagues you.

Garbage disposals that smell bad emit odors then radiate throughout the kitchen. In small kitchens, the scent can diffuse into the living room and beyond.

Regardless of whether you have tried everything to solve your garbage disposal problem or have just begun to research the problem, the following five ways of deodorizing your garbage disposal can save the day.

1. Using Natural Remedies

Your garbage disposal seems rugged, but if putting the wrong thing into it could cripple it for life and send it to an early grave. Using natural remedies for your unit make sense, because you can have confidence that you won’t destroy it. The following natural solutions can address even the smelliest disposal problems.

Baking Soda – The person who figured out that putting baking soda into refrigerators solved odor problems made a fortune for baking soda companies. The household staple formerly used only for cooking became widely recognized as the perfect solution for smelly refrigerators. Have you ever thought that baking soda could do the same thing for your garbage disposal?

It can. The sodium bicarbonate naturally absorbs odor and neutralize it on contact. Pour into your garbage disposal, wait for a few minutes and then use hot water to rinse out the odor.

Baking Soda and Vinegar – Stubborn cases of disposal odor might require you to ramp up your tactics. Escalate your attack by pouring some vinegar into your disposal after the baking soda. The acidic vinegar reacts with the powder to aggressively eliminate lingering aromas. First, pour in half a cup of baking soda and then a half cup of vinegar and wait for about 15 minutes for the concoction to work its magic. Don’t forget to rinse afterward.

Ice and salt – You put ice in your blender, so putting it into your disposal shouldn’t cause any problems. When you add some table salt and then turn on the disposal, the gentle abrasion will clean stuck substances from your disposal blades.

2. Mouthwash

After eating the smelliest food or sleeping a night or two without brushing your teeth, mouthwash can make your breath smell like a fresh summer day in the country. Unleash the power hidden inside your medicine cabinet by grabbing her mouthwash and pouring a cup of it or two into your garbage disposal. Let it sit and simmer for several minutes and then flush it thoroughly with warm water.

3. Citrus Power

The power of citrus supports human health, but also boost the effectiveness of dishwasher detergent and liquid soap. Use grapefruits or oranges to salvage your garbage disposal. You can try using only the peels so you can eat the fruit or drop in the whole thing and then flip the switch.

Let your disposal run for about half a minute. Afterward, your unit should smell like refreshing hanging fresh citrus. The juices from the citrus also dislodge food and residue from the blades of your unit. If you like the results, you can also try lemons and limes.

4. Better Habits

Stopping the use of your garbage disposal for objects and substances known to cause odor problems will help you avoid the need to deodorize your unit. Make a note of what was going on in the days before your garbage disposal started to stink.

Use the data you collect to decide what garbage would do better if you put it in the trash. You might empty your trash can more quickly than you can solve your disposal odor problem.

5. Combine Tactics

Resolving stubborn odor problems might require the simultaneous use of multiple tactics. For example, you could fill your unit with ice and top it off with citrus rinds before activating it.

6. Smoke

If your garbage disposal smells like the smoke of a fire or has the sense of burning electrical wires, you could have something jammed in your disposal that could burn it out. If you don’t turn the power off quickly, you could risk blowing a fuse or circuit breaker and damaging your unit.

If you cannot fish out the offending material easily, disconnect the power before taking further action. You don’t want to lose fingers or start a fire accidentally while trying to solve your garbage disposal problem. Don’t take chances. Call a professional plumber for help.

Garbage disposal problems can rank your nerves and embarrass you in front of friends. Use the tips above to get control over odors safely and efficiently, so you can enjoy the convenience and pleasure your disposal can provide.

Residents with garbage disposal problems in Reading, PA should contact The Plumbing Works with any questions by calling (610) 929-8860.