How to clean your garbage disposal in 5 steps.

Do you need to clean your garbage disposal?

Yes, you need to clean your garbage disposal. Garbage disposals are breeding grounds for smelly and rotten food. While disposals get rid of most of the waste, they leave small bits behind. These small bits of food, fat and waste promote mold growth and emit bad smells. Cleaning is a necessary maintenance step to prevent the accumulation of odor-emitting bacteria, mold and rotten food.

How often should you clean your garbage disposal?

The need to clean your garbage disposal is not up for debate, but the frequency you clean it is. In short, you should clean your garbage disposal whenever needed.

Some disposals work better than others, and some people never use theirs. A quality garbage disposal that is never used needs to be cleaned the least, and a less-efficient disposal that is used daily will need to be cleaned the most. This leaves a lot of middle ground where most garbage disposal owners are.

If you aren’t sure how efficient your disposal is or know how often you use it, you should clean it regularly. In a perfect world, this would be every time you use it. However, we know no one has the time for that, so I recommend working in a weekly or bi-weekly cleaning or doing it every time you deep clean your kitchen.

If you don’t regularly clean your disposal, it will eventually tell you it needs cleaning. Two of the telltale signs a disposal needs cleaning are gunk and smell. Shine a flashlight down the drain. If you see gunk or food particles, it’s time to clean. Moreover, if you notice a funky smell in your kitchen or near your sink, you should clean your disposal.

Is it safe to put baking soda and vinegar down the garbage disposal?

Baking soda and vinegar are great alternatives to caustic (and potentially damaging) chemical drain cleaners. Not only is it safe to put vinegar and baking soda into your garbage disposal, but it is often preferred to most other cleaners. The chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda emits carbon dioxide, which can lift food particles from the walls of the grinding chamber.

At-home remedies for cleaning and eliminating odors.

You can use cleaners specifically designed to clean your garbage disposal. But if you prefer natural ingredients and items you can find around your house, you can use the following:

• Baking soda
• Vinegar
• Ice cubes
• Rock salt
• Citrus peels
• Dish soap

In addition to the ingredients above, you’ll also need the following tools to clean your garbage disposal:

• Scrub brush (an old toothbrush, scouring pad or an abrasive sponge)
• Hot water
• Gloves

Garbage disposal cleaning tips.

Has it been a while since you last cleaned your disposal? Maybe you’ve never cleaned it, and a deep clean is long overdue. Either way, the following garbage disposal deep cleaning tips will help deep clean your disposal safely and efficiently.

1. Turn off the power to your disposal.

There isn’t a clean enough garbage disposal in the world for which I would give a finger, so the first step is disconnecting the power. If you plan on putting your hand or a brush in the grinding chamber, you should always cut the power to the disposal. You can do this by unplugging it or turning off the breaker. Failing to turn off the power could result in severe injury or damaged disposal.

2. Clean the splash guard or baffle.

Another deep cleaning tip is to pay extra attention to the splash guard. A splash guard, baffle or gasket is the rubber implement that lines your sink drain. The folds on the underside of the baffle are a common place for food particles and mold to collect. It could be the source of the foul smells you’ve noticed. 

Once you remove the splash guard, you should use hot water, a scrub brush, an abrasive sponge or an old toothbrush to clean both sides. A small brush or toothbrush is the most effective way I have found to clean this part of the disposal. While the splash guard is off, remove any large visible pieces of food in the grinding chamber.

Although you can, you don’t have to clean the splash guard every time you clean your disposal. However, you should at least do it every other month. The regularity in which you need to clean the splash guard will ultimately depend on how much you use your disposal.

3. Use baking soda and vinegar.

For this step, pour a 1 to 1/2-cup of vinegar baking soda mixture into your disposal. Give the baking soda vinegar mix 15 minutes to work its magic, and then flush it with hot water. The baking soda serves to deodorize your disposal, and the vinegar reaction loosens the built-up gunk inside.

4. Clean your garbage disposal with salt and ice.

The salt and ice mixture are the true heroes of the process. The abrasive nature of the two removes the toughest, oldest and often smelliest built-up debris. Before you continue this step, you need to turn the garbage disposal on by either plugging it back in or flipping the corresponding breaker.

Insert the drain plug in your kitchen sink and run cold water until the sink is a quarter full. Add a generous amount of ice, a cup of salt and your favorite-smelling dish soap (or lemon wedges). Turn the cold water back on, pull the drain plug and turn the disposal on. Let the disposal run until you can’t hear any more ice being ground up.

5. Grind the citrus peels to improve the smell.

All the previous steps were instrumental in cleaning your disposal, but this final step makes it smell good. Run cold water with your disposal, and grind citrus peels. You can use any citrus peels, but I recommend using fresh peels as they emit a stronger odor. 

This step is not required every time you clean, but if you start to notice a funky smell, this can be a quick fix.

Garbage disposal mistakes to avoid.

There are a few common mistakes to avoid when cleaning your garbage disposal. For example:

Using harsh commercial cleaners.

Although strong commercial cleaners might seem like a quick solution to a dirty, smelly disposal, they may cause more harm than good. Some chemicals (like bleach and drain cleaners) might eat away the rubber splash guard and damage the internal metal components. 

Stick with the materials mentioned above, and you’ll prolong the life of your disposal — and keep it clean at the same time. 

Putting the wrong items in your disposal.

There are some items you should never, ever, ever put down your disposal. Here’s a list of what to avoid and explanations for why that is:

• Chicken bones can damage your plumbing and clog drains.
• Fibrous celery and corn husks wrap around the blade and cause clogs.
• Starchy potatoes and pasta gum up the disposal.
• Coffee grinds accumulate into a muddy mess and cause clogs.
• Eggshells slowly decompose, which can clog your drain.
• Grease plugs up drains and creates foul smells.

For more guidance on what you can and cannot put down your disposal, check out this Consumer Reports article.

How to keep your garbage disposal clean and odor-free.

To keep your garbage disposal clean and smelling fresh, I recommend cleaning it weekly or every other week. If you don’t think you’ll remember, work it into your regular kitchen cleaning routine.

Regular cleaning does not have to be as thorough as the one I outlined above. Just grind the salt and ice mixture, and you should be good. This step alone will keep your disposal clean. However, if you start to notice smells, you should repeat the vinegar baking soda step or grind citrus peels.

When to call in a professional.

Do you find yourself pressing the reset button on your disposal whenever you need to use it? Maybe it works, but it makes a strange sound when you turn it on. Or, it could be the case that the disposal works but leaks water. If any of these sounds like you, it’s time to call in a professional. Use Thumbtack to find and hire professionals who can repair or replace your garbage disposal. 

And if you need help staying on top of all your cleaning tasks, you can search for local house cleaning services on Thumbtack too. Just let the professionals know what type of cleaning services you’re interested in, and be sure to get multiple quotes before you make a decision on who to hire.