Mold in Garbage Disposal???

I agree with the bleach. I watched a home care show on tv one time and people could call in asking questions and this was one of them. The expert said that at least 4 times a week, we should put a half cup of bleach in the garbage disposal and let it sit for a minute then rinse/run it with hot water. I do this religiously and never have that funky smell in there any more.

I don't use bleach b/c it gives me a headache.

A few tricks. Every time you have boiling water, dump it in the drain with the disposal. You caand dump baking soda down there too on occasion.

I also throw ice down there and run the disposal...it is supposed to clean the blades of food.

I also cut up lemons that I have left over and run them through the disposal.

I use Clorox routinely to keep the germs, mold, and gunk away.

I will "clorox" mine about once a month and if I have citrus that is starting to go bad I will put it down to keep it smelling decent.

You need to clean the area around the black cover that is over the hole in the sink. Reach your hand under the black cover in the sink. You will find gunk under the rim. Clean it out. I clean mine once a week.

I read that you can freeze vinegar in ice cube trays and then put then grind them in your disposal. It will clean and freshen your disposal. It is also cheaper than buying products that will do the same thing. I also will put my left over citrus peels or lemons down the disposal. Good luck.

No one has mentioned this and I didn't know to do it until my DH taught me. After you are finished hand washing dishes and your sink is full of soapy water, when you start to drain it, turn on the disposal along with cold water running. All that soapy water will churn up and wash the gunk out that is stuck at the underside of the disposer area. I also have a little brush that looks just like a toilet brush, (I think I got it at Bed, Bath and Beyond) that you can use to brush the underside too, (without the disposer on of course!) It's all that gunk that gets splashed up there and no matter what you dump inside, it won't get that stuff off.

I can suggest something NOT to do. Don't buy the "disposal cleaners" at the grocery store. They don't work, and are a little expensive. I am thankful for all of these other responses, can't wait to try thim!

I have had great luck with baking soda and vinegar. Also a must to do when you are doing this cleaning treatment...You have to reach in to clean under the black flap as you will not believe that gunk that builds up under that piece of rubber. That is probably where a lot of the smell might be coming from! Once you clean that piece of rubber, then do the liquid treatment, you should be good to go! Good luck!

Go to walmart and down the isle where you get your dish washer soap they have disposal cleaner. They come in a package and you drop a little package in the disposal and turn it on with a little trickle of hotwater and it foams for a little while and then when all the foam is gone the disposal is clean. They work great! Good luck.

I use bleach. My brother (who is a plumber) constantly reminds me that the only stuff safe to out into a disposal is stuff you can actually eat. (i.e. no watermelon rinds, pineapple spikes, etc). And always run LOTS and LOTS of hot water while your disposal is on.

All good suggestions.. Pour about 1/4 box of baking soda into the disposal, then pour 1 cup of hot vinegar down there.. then rinse with hot water..

Hi!
Each time I've experienced this the only thing that is a sure fire fix is going to the store & buying the garbage disposal cleaner packets. You can usually find them by the dish soap & dishwasher detergent. They're inexpensive &, in my experience, very effective! Thank goodness... because those garbage disposals can randomly smell absolutely rotten!

A very close friend of ours is a Master Plumber and he harps on us all the time about putting food down the disposal. He says disposals were not created for total food disposal and that it is specifically for the remnants that make is down there and clog up your sink. That being said, here are a couple of things I have discovered that keep the sink smelling good. Try orange peels, for some reason, I have had better luck with oranges over lemons. There are also little disposal balls you can get at the grocery store that you put down your disposal every few days to keep it smelling fresh (wish I could remember the name of them, but they are pretty easy to find).
I have used Drano before too, that will help push whatever is stuck down there through (don't tell my plumber friend, he doesn't like that stuff either). Also, if you stop putting food down your drain, whatever is down there will eventually decompose and go away.

Hope that helps. Good luck

I saturate and old sponge with bleach. With the scratchy side I reach down in there and scrub it off. Then I fill the sink with water. As soon as I'm ready to drain the water out I turn on the disposal. Its a dirty job but it works for me Do this regularly and it won't build up.😀

KG,

We had this amazingly gross smelling disposal in a new move in once.... I tried and tried everything to no avail. Then I finally stuck my hand down in it (when it was off of course) and found the last renters' dirty dish rag down there getting beaten up and being VERY smelly. I'd look for one of those. :) I hope your fix is that easy!

V.

dish soap works for me

Hi KG - You've got all the answers you need to get the gunk out. I dont use my SonicScrubber for very much but it does great getting into the disposal. My only tip would be to not forget to scrub under the rim and under the rubber seal.

dump your coffee grinds in with a splash of water and leave it for a while (hours). then grind it down. we do this every few days. the acid breaks down the food particles-works really well!

sometime you just have to stick your hand in their and scrub. I use green pads.