Easy Kitchen Hack Leaves Your Garbage Disposal Clean and Odor Free

We've all been there. The kitchen is clean. The dishes are put away and the sink is empty but when you walk to the fridge something just doesn't smell quite right. Your garbage disposal is likely the culprit. The good news is that it is a pretty easy fix!

No Need for Special Products

You could buy some tablet or gel pack off the supermarket shelf to remedy the situation, but there is an easier and much cheaper way to do it. All it takes is a few items that you almost surely already have on hand in your kitchen.

First Things First

You want to remove the rubber bumper from the sink if you're able and give that a good soak. The underside of that thing is likely caked in grossness and 99% of the smell is likely emanating from that crud. If you cannot remove it, don't fret. You can just move on to the next step.

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Grab a Glass of Ice

No, we aren't going to pour ourselves a cocktail before we clean the disposal. Although you can if you're so inclined. No judgment here. Take your glass of ice and put it into the disposal drain. Pack it in there. I know it sounds crazy, but trust the process here, ok?

Squeeze A Little Soap

Squeeze in a little bit of dish soap. Whatever liquid soap you have on hand is fine. We aren't brand loyal here. Add a little splash of warm water and put the drain plug into the hole. Now, this is where the magic happens... turn on your disposal.

That's It

Really! That's all there is to it. The soap, warm water, will suds up in the disposal. Meanwhile, the ice will act as an abrasive scrubber for any hard-to-remove gunk and if you're concerned with the disposal blades, the ice will actually sharpen the blades too.

A Couple of Variations

There are a couple of variations you can do too. First, you can skip the warm water and add a splash of vinegar to the ice and dish soap. This will help to eliminate weird smells. Another option to reduce odors is to add a tablespoon or two of baking soda over the ice and dish soap to add a little extra scrubbing power and to help deodorize the disposal. If you don't have baking soda, plain old table salt will add a little extra grit to boost the scrubbing power, but it won't help neutralize odors like the other two variations.

No More Smells

That's it! It's really simple to keep your garbage disposal and sink smelling fresh and much cheaper than buying those specialty products from the store.