A garbage disposal can help make kitchen clean-up quicker and more efficient. Your garbage disposal sits below your sink drain and contains impellers (not blades!) used for breaking down food scraps. When your disposal is working properly, these scraps can flow down the drain easily. However, over time and sometimes due to misuse, your disposal can begin to put off an unpleasant smell.
At Mr. Plumber DFW, we’re here to break down why your garbage disposal may have a funny smell, and how to combat the odor.
What Makes a Garbage Disposal Smell?
A number of things can cause your disposal to smell bad. There might be old food trapped around the impellers. This can happen when large pieces get dropped into the disposal and aren’t broken down all the way by the blades. There could be grease accumulated in the disposal or the pipes connected to it. Or the smell could be coming from residue and build-up under the rubber splash guard.
How to Avoid a Smelly Disposal
Despite its name, your garbage disposal cannot handle anything you throw at it. To keep your kitchen funk-free, there are a number of foods to never put down your garbage disposal. Avoid these mistakes and save yourself from unnecessary disposal repair.
- Coffee grounds should not be rinsed down the disposal. Even though they are finely ground, they become dense and paste-like when compacted after brewing. Forcing them down your disposal can lead to clogs.
- Grease is a common source of disposal clogs since it flows down the drain as a liquid. However, soon after it cools and congeals, leading to a stopped up drain.
- Eggshells and onion skins both have thin membranes that can slip past the impellers and wind around the base of the grinder. Or they can slip past the entire grinding mechanism and wind up blocking the drain, like a net.
- Potato peels can cause problems similar to eggshells and onion skins, but they can do even more damage. They can also be broken down into a starchy paste and travel into your pipes, leading to a blocked drain.
- Hard foods like bones, nuts, or pits have no business going down the garbage disposal. They can damage the grinding mechanism and likely won’t be broken up into smaller pieces anyway. Your disposal is not indestructible, so throw these hard items into the trash or compost.
- Dry, expandible food like oatmeal, pasta, rice and bread can continue to absorb water once they’re flushed down the sink. Large amounts of these starchy foods can cause clogs. A few dinner remnants are fine, as long as you run the water on cold and leave the disposal on for 30 seconds.
How to Banish the Smell
If you are guilty of putting something in your disposal that does not belong, or if you’ve never cleaned your disposal and it’s starting to reek, it’s time for a refresh. There are a number of DIY drain cleaning options available to you. The following guide can help you get started.
Hot, Clean Water
Sometimes rinsing hot water through the disposal while it’s running is enough to loosen any old food that has built up. Try to get in the habit of doing this after every time you use your disposal.
Add Some Suds
If your disposal is greasy, plain hot water may not be enough to banish the stink. In this case, fill your sink with hot water and mix in some dish detergent. Then drain this water while running the disposal. The dish detergent can help break down and wash away grease inside the disposal.
It’s in the Details
Over time, grime and buildup can collect on the underside of the splash guard that covers your disposal. Turn the guard inside out and scrub it clean with soap or an all-purpose cleaner.
Banish All Bad Odors
Use baking soda and vinegar for a serious deodorizer. Sprinkle ½ cup of baking soda into the disposal, followed by ½ cup of vinegar. These products will react with each other and bubble up. Let them sit for about ten minutes before rinsing them down the drain with hot water. The vinegar smell will dissipate as it dries, leaving your sink without a stink.
When All Else Fails
If you have exhausted your do-it-yourself resources and your garbage disposal still smells like trash, it is time to contact a professional. A plumber will diagnose the problem, be it your disposal or the pipes connected to it, and take it from there. To take advantage of our reliable plumbing and garbage disposal services in your area, contact Mr. Plumber DFW today!
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