How to Remove Garbage Disposal Odor

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By Lawrence N
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Remove Garbage Disposal Odor

There are a variety of remedies for dealing with garbage disposal odor. These steps are what were described to me by an industry professional, and they work for me and my particular garbage disposal unit.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Step 0 is to understand that many industry professionals frown upon garbage disposals in the first place. They are simply another gizmo that can break, get clogged up, or start smelling.
Step 2

Step 0.5 is to understand that your garbage disposal is not a magical portal that just obliterates anything at all that you throw down it, with no consequence whatsoever. Even if you have a garbage disposal, you should still fully scrape your plates into the trash before placing them in your sink. In particular, be very careful with things like rice and pasta which can cling to the walls of your disposal and start rotting.
Step 3

Before even getting to the first cleaning step, take every effort to minimize the times that you need to do any special type of maintenance or deodorizing for your garbage disposal. When you do allow food to go down the disposal, be sure to chase it down with soap and plenty of water. Don't just scrape the food into the disposal and forget all about it. It is advised to not use hot water to wash down the food, since that can result in melting animal fats and having them re-coagulate lower down in the plumbing system where they will be harder to deal with.
Step 4

If you have odor coming from your disposal unit which you are unable to remedy with basic soap and water, start by feeding some ice cubes into the unit, and then turning it on to let the unit chomp away at them. This helps to dislodge food that is stuck around the edges of the pipes. Obviously be very careful. Put in one or two cubes, take your hand out, then turn on the unit. Wait until the unit is fully stopped before feeding in more cubes and trying again. Don't do this any more than is necessary.
Step 5

Carefully pour a small amount of oxygenated bleach (not regular bleach which could have long term negative effects) into the disposal unit. Turn it on and let it spin the bleach around a bit, and follow it down with some cold water. Repeat the above steps as needed, but no more than necessary. In my case, doing these steps always eliminates any odor that is coming from the unit.
Step 6

As mentioned, you will read a wide variety of other solutions to this problem, many of which may be equally effective. You may also read warnings which caution against certain solutions. Be sure to read the manual for your particular unit, as well as consult a professional who is familiar with your unit. If you follow the first three steps, you will not have to do any special cleaning or deodorizing for your unit very often at all, and when you do, you should only need to use a minimum amount of any product to remove any odors. Good luck!

Comments

babblebubble said

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on 8/8/2009 I never thought about food sticking to the sides either! That's useful info!

newmama said

on 1/11/2009 Oh my gosh I never knew that about rice and pasta sticking to the sides and causing foul smelling odors! This is great advice. I'm going to make it a favorite. 5*. Thanks!