Cleaning the Garbage Disposal

The first cleaning task of my Clean and Organized Challenge is the garbage disposal. Check out the post from Clean and Scentsible about cleaning the "garburator" (That makes me laugh. I've never heard it called that before :) and the microwave.

Start by running the disposal quickly to clear out any food that may be in there. Then, pour some baking soda and then vinegar and let sit (and listen to the fizz :), then run the disposal with hot water to help loosen anything that may be stuck on there. Use an old toothbrush to clean the under side of the rubber guard over the disposal. Food that gets stuck under there can cause it to smell.

And that's all you need to do to clean it. Vinegar is a germ killer and a deodorizer, but if you like to use another method for deodorizing in addition to the vinegar, run some citrus rinds through there.

Here's what each of these things do for your garbage disposal:

1.Lemon/Limes/Oranges – Place a couple halves of lemons or limes in the garbage disposal and process them through. The acid from the citrus will remove the odor and leave your disposal smelling much fresher. The oils from the rinds will also freshen it up, so you don't have to use the whole fruit.

2.Baking Soda – Baking soda is well known for its odor absorbency and can be added to other items being processed through the disposal to aid in odor removal.

3.Vinegar Ice – Fill an ice cube tray with vinegar and freeze. Place a couple of ice cubes in the disposal and process with cold water. Be sure to label the remaining cubes or someone may get a surprise in their beverage!

4.Ice/Salt – Place some ice in the garbage disposal and sprinkle with rock salt or 1 cup of vinegar. Process the ice through the disposal with plenty of cold water.

I've read in several places that ice in the garbage disposal helps to keep the blades sharp, so #3 and #4 would work for that.

Today, I decided to try frozen lemon rinds.

There was a crazy sale on lemons at the Farmer's Market, so I made lemonade. I didn't want to just throw away all of those lemon rinds, so I froze them. Today, I ran them through the garbage disposal to freshen it up and sharpen the blades. I only used a handful, so I still have several in my freezer for next time it needs freshening up :)





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