The Kitchen: Garbage disposals

The eater of all your food, the garbage disposal is an odor saving and space saving device. The garbage disposal keeps you from throwing things in the garbage and then from the garbage from smelling just so nasty. The garbage disposal is also home to germs and odors itself, which you will have to clean to keep your home fresh!

Clean out your garbage disposal when you are cooking by running the hottest water possible into your garbage disposal. Occasionally throwing a few pieces of ice in there to break up chunks stuck on the sides will help. 

Any of your favorite kitchen cleaners can be put in the garbage disposal to cut back on grease, odors and to keep your garbage disposal cleaner. Bleach, lemon juice, ammonia, Lysol, or what ever your favorite brand will help clean out the garbage disposal. Be sure to read your manufactures suggestions for the best results.

Garbage disposals can be wiped out by hand with any type of cleaning agent but only when you have the switch in the OFF position. Using a paper towels and your favorite cleaner, you can pull off or wipe off some of that stuck on food that can build up in your garbage disposal. 

Running a lemon, lime, or even a gallon of hot water through your garbage disposal just once a week is going to help keep it clean and odor free. Your more deep cleaning time frames, like spring cleaning or fall cleaning, should involve physically cleaning out the interior with a few chemicals and hot hot water to remove any types of build up.

The weekly cleaning and the occasional deep cleaning of your garbage disposal is going to make it last longer, run better, and in the long run, cost less because you don’t have to replace it. The garbage disposal, which is neglected, can become overloaded with smells causing more than just your kitchen to carry odors!