How to Prevent a Smelly Garbage Disposal

If you notice an unpleasant odor every time you turn on your garbage disposal, you’re not alone. Garbage disposals have many moving parts that can easily collect food debris, sludge, and bacteria. Over time, this can create a bad smell that can permeate throughout your kitchen. Try these tips for cleaning a smelly garbage disposal.

• Use Lemon to Neutralize Foul Odors 

• Remove the rind from a fresh lemon.

  Chop the lemon into small pieces and toss them into your running garbage disposal. The citrus scent can neutralize and eliminate even the strongest stenches. Just remember not to grind up the peel of the lemon; this can lead to drain clogs.

• Grind Up Ice Cubes

• Putting ice cubes through your garbage disposal can sharpen the blades as well as eliminate trapped food debris. The ice cubes freeze debris, making it fall off the blades and pass through the holes in the disposal. Dump two to four trays of ice cubes as quickly as the disposal will take them. Follow this treatment with chunks of lemon or other cleaning product to get rid of lingering odors.

• Try a Garbage Disposal Cleaning Product

• There are cleaning products specifically designed to clean and eliminate odors from garbage disposals. Give one or more of these solutions a try to see if one works for you. Never pour drain cleaners down your kitchen sink; they can have harsh chemicals that can corrode the disposal and shorten its lifespan.

• Hire a Professional Plumber

• If you simply cannot get rid of a sour smell in your kitchen sink, you may have an issue deeper down in your pipes or plumbing system that requires professional cleaning. There could be food debris stuck farther down your drain that’s rotting and creating a bad smell. Call our Concord, CA, plumbing and draining company at (925) 369-3067 to schedule your service.