So every time I turn on my garbage disposal it smells like mold or like something has been rotting in there. Have any of you experienced this? Do you have a fix? I've tried putting ice and lemons in the garbage disposal and turning it on and neither seem to help. I'd appreciate any help or advice you can give me.
Thanks!
Put full bleach down the drain and let it sit for a minute. Then rince. It should kill all the mold. I have to do this myself sometimes.
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 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.
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..
sometime you just have to stick your hand in their and scrub. I use green pads.
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!
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!
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!
Vicki
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Try baking soda. Dump some down there and let it sit for an hour before rinsing.
Bleach can kill the mold, but if you don't want to use bleach, use white vinegar instead; it is stronger than lemons and is a common "natural" household cleaner.
Of course, for more fun, you can let the baking soda sit, then pour vinegar in and get a volcano! I actually did this so that the expanding product would get all sides of the disposal. Just make sure your counters are clear, in case it really shoots up - depends on how much you use. Oh, and DON"T do that with bleach
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.