Tips and Tricks: Garbage Disposal

If you are like my family then your garbage disposal is not up to par most of the time. Sometimes it smells, sometimes it make funny noises, and sometimes it takes a long time to crush what we put down there. We thought it would be a useful tips and tricks blog to talk about how to clean, eliminate odors, and maintain your garbage disposal.

CLEANING:

1. Physically remove lodged objects. Please be careful that the disposal is off and DO NOT use your hands. Instead you should use tongs; just be sure that you do not damage the blades with the tongs.

2. Flush with water. Put a stop in the disposal, add a squirt of dish soap, run the hot water (letting the sink fill 2 to 4 inches), unstop the disposal, and run it. This will clear out all of the little pieces that haven’t been disposed of in a while.

3. Use ice cubes and salt. Everyone has heard of this useful trick, but not many use it. Pour 2 cups of ices cubes followed by 1 cup of rock salt. Run some cold water while it is all grinding. This will clean out the disposal and sharpen the blades.

ELIMINATING ODORS:

1. Use citrus peels. Usually we use lemon, grapefruit, or lime. They smell the best, but you can use other peels as well. Grind about a handful in the disposal with some running water. The citric acid will make the disposal smell nice and it will clean the blades as well.

2.Use baking soda and vinegar. 1/2 cup baking soda and 1 cup of white vinegar on top of it. It will fizzle and bubble, which is normal. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Rinse with boiling water while the disposal running. You can use hot water from the sink, but it will not have the same effect. The vinegar smell might stay around for an hour or 2.

3. Rinse with bleach. This is not our favorite method because using too much bleach will harden any grease that is in the disposal, but a small amount will kill any of the odors that are lingering.

4. Use Borax. Put 3 to 4 tablespoons in the disposal and allow it to sit for an hour. Rinse with hot or boiling water.

MAINTAINING:

1. Only put biodegradable food items in your garbage disposal.

2. Run your garbage disposal a few seconds longer once the grinding stops. This will help eliminate the small leftover items.

3. Avoid getting grease in your drain. It can harden and damage the blades.

4. Cut large food items into smaller pieces. This will help grind the food down during the disposal process.

I hope this helped you clean, eliminate odors, and maintain your disposal. Check back with us next week for tips and tricks on homemade cleaners.

www.completecaresystems.com

727.364.5158