How to Deodorize a Garbage Disposal

Garbage disposals have become indispensable elements of modern kitchens, but they still aren't able to guarantee that every speck of food will go down the drain. Some bits will stick to the blades and the inner walls, and if they are left behind long enough for them to rot, they'll start to give off a noticeable odor. Fortunately, cleaning and deodorizing these machines is a very fast and easy job.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Ice cubes
• Citrus rinds
• Knife or citrus peeler

1. Empty the sink of all dishes and silverware that might fall into the disposal while it's running.

2. Prepare the disposal for cleaning and deodorizing by running some cold water and turning on the disposal for about 20 seconds. This will drain any loose food particles that just haven't been flushed away yet.

3. Peel one or more citrus fruits. Lemons and oranges are the most fragrant, but limes, grapefruits and other citrus fruits will also work well. Set aside the peels and either eat or store the fruit immediately.

4. Drop a large handful of ice cubes into the garbage disposal.

5. Put all of the citrus rinds in the garbage disposal on top of the ice.

6. Fill the garbage disposal the rest of the way with ice cubes.

7. Turn on the disposal. Allow it to run for at least 30 seconds without stopping. If you can still hear ice and citrus rinds tossing around inside after approximately 30 seconds, turn on the cold water and allow both the water and the disposal to run until the noise stops. This process will not only make the disposal smell like citrus, it will dislodge and flush away any stuck-on and smelly food particles.

Tips & Warnings

• If you eat citrus fruit regularly or occasionally, plan ahead to use your peels to deodorize the disposal. If you have an automatic ice maker, there's no reason not to deodorize the disposal every time you eat a piece of citrus fruit.
• If the disposal is jammed, do not attempt to dislodge the obstruction without first turning off the circuit breaker that the disposal is on. Alternatively, you can unplug the disposal from its power source.