The kitchen is one of the places in a home with the most germs. This is often because preparing foods can spread dangerous bacteria, like salmonella and E. coli. When you put food scraps down your garbage disposal, it can lead to a foul odor in your home.
If there is an odd stench in your kitchen sink and you want help keeping your home clean, you may want to start by cleaning your smelly garbage disposal!
Do you want to learn more about keeping your garbage disposal clean? Keep reading these garbage disposal cleaning tips for the top steps to follow to clean a smelly garbage disposal.
Disconnect the Power
Disconnecting the power to your disposal is the first thing you need to do when you clean garbage disposals. This way, you can reach your hand inside for cleaning without worrying about accidentally turning on the system and injuring yourself.
Your garbage disposal is typically plugged in beneath the sink. You can disconnect it here or turn off the electricity at your breaker box.
Start By Cleaning the Outside
Next, you can start by cleaning the outside of the disposal, including the splash guard. You can clean all of the visible areas of your garbage disposal to see if this will resolve your issues with a smelly garbage disposal.
You can take a rag or a scrubber with dish soap and scrub the rubber areas of the disposal. Make sure you focus your efforts on the grooves and edges where food particles can get lodged.
This area of your garbage disposal will often get slimy and brown from the food particles that have begun to break down in your sink, so cleaning this will instantly make your garbage disposal look and smell cleaner!
Remove Large Debris
If there is any large debris in your garbage disposal, you can remove these items manually to improve the smell of your garbage disposal. Whether these materials are causing a clog or are simply trapped in your garbage disposal, it is easy for them to trap foul odors.
While the power is turned off to your garbage disposal, you can shine a light into your disposal to see if anything is causing the foul odor.
You can use a pair of kitchen tongs to remove large items from your disposal!
Flush The System
Next, you need to flush your garbage disposal system. Having water run through your garbage disposal will help rinse out all the small areas of the unit that are difficult to reach. However, unless your sink is clogged, the water will rush through the system too quickly to thoroughly rinse your garbage disposal.
Instead, you should plug the sink, fill it halfway with water, and then pull out the plug while your garbage disposal is running.
This will make it easier for the water to flush the system. You can also do this step preventatively to keep food from building up in your system.
Pour Ice Into the System
If the previous steps have not worked to remove the smelly odors from your garbage disposal, you can pour ice into your garbage disposal. You can run it with salt and water to get a more thorough clean as well.
As the garbage disposal is crushing the ice, it will clean the blades and remove any residue from the inside of your garbage disposal. Salt also acts as an abrasive cleaner and a deodorizer and will keep your system smelling better.
Find Natural Deodorizers & Cleaners
There are many natural cleaners and deodorizers that you can use to keep your garbage disposal smelling clean.
One of the best natural deodorizers is citrus. You can put the rinds of lemons or oranges through your garbage disposal to clean the blades and to get rid of any smells inside your garbage disposal.
Baking soda and vinegar are also great for cleaning your garbage disposal. Simply sprinkle banking soda into the disposal and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes. Then, add a cup of vinegar to the disposal and watch as the materials react.
Finally, you can turn on cold water and your disposal to remove any remaining cleaner.
Prevention Is Key
Professional housekeepers always recommend that you research what is safe to put into your garbage disposal in the first place. Some of the things that you should never put down your disposal include egg shells, coffee grounds, grease, pasta, and even potato peels.
Each of these items can quickly clog up your garbage disposal and will keep it from effectively grinding up other food scraps. This will result in food getting stuck in your garbage disposal for longer. As the food breaks down, it will lead to a foul odor and can even attract bugs into your kitchen.
Learning about what can and cannot go into your garbage disposal can keep your system clean and free of bad garbage disposal smells.
Hire a Professional
Finally, you can hire a professional cleaning company to help you with deep cleaning your kitchen. Maid services and house cleaners have the training and knowledge necessary to deep clean any of your kitchen belongings, including your garbage disposal.
They can deep clean your garbage disposal to ensure that your kitchen smells fresh and is free of harmful bacteria.
Need Help Cleaning a Smelly Garbage Disposal?
When you have a smelly garbage disposal, it can make your entire kitchen smell bad. Learning how to clean a smelly garbage disposal can keep your sink fresh and free of bacteria and bugs!
If you need help getting rid of garbage disposal smells, Buckets & Bows Maid Service can help! We provide everything from top-to-bottom deluxe cleaning to maintenance cleaning for homeowners and can help you keep your kitchen sparkly and clean.
Contact us today to learn more about our services or to schedule an appointment with our house cleaning experts.
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