How to Clean a Garbage Disposal With Natural Items

Garbage disposals can harbor food residue, which leads to smells in your kitchen. Follow these easy steps to keep your disposal smelling fresh while using gentle, natural items found in your home.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Half a lemon
• 2 cups white distilled vinegar
• 1 3/4 quarts boiling water
• 1 cup hydrogen peroxide
• 1/4 cup baking soda

1. Start the cleansing process by pouring a mixture of boiling water and vinegar down your garbage disposal while running the blades. Use about one quart of the boiling mixture. Stand clear of the sink as you do this to avoid the hot steam.

2. Turn off the blades. Pour another quart of the mixture down the drain to flush away any food that is left.

3. Pour a mixture of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide into your garbage disposal. Do not run the blades between this Step and the next one.

4. Neutralize the odor and prevent its return. Cut your lemon into half-inch pieces. Run your faucet and your disposal while depositing the lemon pieces into the sink to be washed down the drain.

5. Allow your blades to run until all of the lemon is successfully washed down. You have completed the cleaning process with gentle, natural items that are commonly found in your home

Tips & Warnings

• Do not put lemon pieces directly into your disposal while the blades are running. Allow the water to wash them into the garbage disposal as you toss them into the sink.