Garbage disposals make doing the dishes a breeze. With just one little flip of a switch, these handy little kitchen gadgets make food scraps and kitchen waste disappear in a flash. However, like most kitchen tools and plumbing elements, they do require a little care to keep them working properly and, in this case, not clog or smell.
Because as helpful as garbage disposals can be, they can get clogged fairly easily (here’s how to unclog them) and unpleasant smells can be a regular occurrence. They can even make clean dishes dirty if they aren't properly maintained. That’s why it’s important to know exactly how to clean and sanitize a garbage disposal regularly to minimize those pesky downsides. That includes not putting certain items down the disposal, such as grease and shellfish shells, and cleaning them regularly.
To help us all learn how often to clean garbage disposals to prevent clogs and smells, we spoke to several experts for their tips, tricks, and best practices.
“Most people honestly don't clean their garbage disposal anywhere near regularly enough,” says Scott Schrader of house cleaning service Cottage Care. “If you use it every day, once a week is a good rule of thumb. If not, you may start to notice strange smells creeping up, and the next thing you know, you're dealing with gunk that has built up and will be a pain to get rid of.”
Patrick Fee, co-founder of Mr. Drain, also recommends flushing your disposal every night. “One of the primary causes of odors associated with garbage disposals is leftover food waste sitting in them. If you only clean your disposal once a week, that odor will build up over the course of the week. Therefore, I encourage homeowners to make a habit of flushing out their disposals every single day,” says Fee. “I find doing this as part of your evening clean-up routine to be the best approach.”
“Each evening, run the disposal to remove food scraps, flushing it with hot water afterwards. Once the drain has been flushed, put drain covers over all drain openings in the sink (these can be purchased very inexpensively online or at the hardware store). The added bonus with this routine is that this will also help break the breeding cycle of fruit flies, another problem we often find, especially in the summer.”
In addition to conducting a weekly cleaning of garbage disposals using the ice cube-and-lemon-peel method, Elizabeth Shields, the Operations Manager of Super Cleaning Service Louisville, recommends doing a deep clean of the garbage disposal once a month. She recommends a product called Glisten, but there are other options out there. These are her instructions for deep cleaning a disposal:
To keep garbage disposals smelling fresh, Schrader recommends this method for his clients:
If you have a particularly stubborn odor emanating from your garbage disposal, and the above doesn't work, Fee recommends contacting a professional. “If you are doing both of these things and still struggling with drain odors, especially if the odors smell like sewage, you should reach out to a trusted plumber. Persistent bad odors may indicate a larger problem in your drain line. Your plumber can perform an inspection, identify the source of the problem, and provide guidance on correcting it."
