With all the food waste running through it on a daily basis, your garbage disposal unit could use some cleaning every now and then. The good news is you do not have to drive down to the grocery store to get one of those cleaning agents. You can just use things that you have at home to clean it.
Vinegar and baking soda mix
Good for: cleaning and removing odor
Things you will need: Vinegar, baking soda, hot water
Pour one half cup of baking soda into the waste disposer. Slowly pour one cup of vinegar after. There will be a fizz once the vinegar mixes with the baking soda. Cover the drain with the plug and let the fizzing go on. Finally, pour boiling hot water into the drain to remove the waste that the baking soda and vinegar mix has loosened.
Bleach and water
Good for: sanitizing the garbage disposal
Things you will need: bleach and water
Pour one table spoon of bleach into one gallon of water. Slowly pour the bleach into the waste disposal and let it sit for 15 minutes. Run the disposal. Flush water from the faucet while it runs to rinse the bleach away inside the unit.
Dish soap and water
Good for: daily cleaning of the garbage disposal
Things you will need: dish soap and water
Pour some water into the disposal. Then put some dishwashing soap into it and let the unit run.
Vinegar ice cubes
Good for: Cleaning accumulated debris and keeping the blades sharp
Things you will need: vinegar and ice trays
Pour the vinegar into the ice tray and put it into the freezer until it has become ice cubes. Carefully and slowly put the iced vinegar cubes into the garbage disposal unit. Cover the lid and let the unit run. Grinding the ice cubes creates a whetting effect that will sharpen the blades of the disposal.
You can also use plain water alone if vinegar is not readily available. It creates the same whetting and sharpening effect but water is not as good as vinegar when it comes to absorbing odor. You can also add rock salt into the ice cubes for added scouring power.
Citrus peels
Good for: removing odor from the garbage disposal
Things you will need: citrus peels (lemon, lime, or orange peels)
Waste disposal units can accumulate waste on its chamber walls which later on will give off that stinky odor. Citrus peels are you answer to getting rid of that odor. You can do it every day if needed. Just slice up some citrus peels and put them inside the garbage disposal. Let the disposal run to squeeze the juice off the peels. Keep the water running to make sure that the grounded peels go down the drain.