It smells like something died in my garbage disposal. What can I do?

[iggbees]

i love having a garbage disposal. we use it all the time. i had never had one until i moved in with my boyfriend in our apartment.

i do the same thing that everyone else said. lemons or lemon scented dawn or something of that nature. works for me every time.

 

[Sandcass]

I would do baking soda + vinegar a couple times. It foams & cleans it for you. I've had it work wonders on a stinky bath drain before. Let it sit. Then do ice + citrus peels.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[MAKmom]

Foolish question here.
What is the purpose of the garbage disposal? Never had one, my entire life till 7 years ago (have never used it)
I just take the garbage out each day.
Everyone I ask, say they never use theirs either.

This is why I will always have one I hope. I grew up without one also. You don't have to clean the drain thing of all the food that ends up in it when you are cooking. Without one you need to to prep work over a trash can which is kind of gross. I no longer use it for large amounts of food just the stuff still stuck to the plate after dinner.

TIP OF THE DAY:Never use it for the peels of potatoes from a 10lbs bag. Potatoes are starch & can clog your pipes, which backs up your toilets with all your Thanksgiving Day guest in your house.

 

[AllyBri]

Thank you for your answers. I may never use it but appreciate the information.

 

[KT27]

I use mine alot and every morning after I have my grapefruit I put the left over rind in there. I love the citrus smell!

 

[Cindy's Mom]

TIP OF THE DAY:Never use it for the peels of potatoes from a 10lbs bag. Potatoes are starch & can clog your pipes, which backs up your toilets with all your Thanksgiving Day guest in your house.

Or Easter Sunday. I did this about 5 years ago. Couldn't get a plumber, had to use the sink in the basement. DH was at work, I was alone w/ colicky baby.....oh my!

Carry on.

 

[lg3]

I often have the same problem, and I treat my garbage disposal with kid gloves. You MUST take everything out and clean it thoroughly with a disenfectant. I have tried EVERYTHING!!!! Little lemon scented pellets (from Linens & Things) were okay, but never really got to the root of the problem I guess. I finally found a foam cleaner for disposals at Home Depot that seems to work wonders. I'll check on the type and let you know.

The foaming cleaner is "Zep Foaming Garbage Disposal Cleaner". I get it at The Home Depot. It really works. Lemons or limes, etc. only worked for a day or so for me but not long term. ITA with the suggestion of taking out your black rubber flange and cleaning it out if yours comes out, which it should. A lot of gross stuff gets in there and makes things smell. We use our disposal every day. NEVER put eggshells or gooey things down. Good idea not to put potato skin peels!

 

[Mr. Sunshine]

TIP OF THE DAY:Never use it for the peels of potatoes from a 10lbs bag. Potatoes are starch & can clog your pipes, which backs up your toilets with all your Thanksgiving Day guest in your house.

Also, do not put celery in your disposal. You might as well throw a ball of yarn in there.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

Citrus fruits work for us too.

 

[perdidochas]

I never use the garbage disposal. I grew up without one so I'm used to not using it.

My roommate, however, shoves everything (except bones, flatware, and plastic and other no-no's) into the garbage disposal. It currently smells like something died down there and my kitchen stinks!

I've tried running it with ice cubes, pouring baking soda down there and letting it sit overnight, pouring boiling water down while running it, and even vinegar (once the baking soda was gone.) Nothing has helped.

Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Look for garbage disposal cleaner agents at Wal-Mart, in the section close to dishwasher detergent. Once it's clean, citrus rinds every once in a while is good for it.

 

[perdidochas]

Foolish question here.
What is the purpose of the garbage disposal? Never had one, my entire life till 7 years ago (have never used it)
I just take the garbage out each day.
Everyone I ask, say they never use theirs either.

I mainly use it to grind down the food stuff that I get from the pots and pans. Let's say you're cleaning a pot with burned on rice. What do you do with the rice that you've scrubbed off? With a disposal, I just grind it down. Without one, you have to pick up the rice and put it in the garbage.

I lived in an apartment once where they requested that we NOT put food garbage in the dumpster, and that we should use the disposal whenever possible.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

Avoid putting sauerkraut down the disposal as well. I had fun taking the elbow joint off and all that.

 

[AllyBri]

I mainly use it to grind down the food stuff that I get from the pots and pans. Let's say you're cleaning a pot with burned on rice. What do you do with the rice that you've scrubbed off? With a disposal, I just grind it down. Without one, you have to pick up the rice and put it in the garbage.

I would scrub it off and throw it in the garbage.