How Often Should I Clean the Sink Disposal?

June 11th, 2019

Your kitchen’s sink disposal certainly makes cooking and cleaning easier because it helps in getting rid of all the excess food scraps in the kitchen. Although most sink disposals are self-cleaning, they still need to be cleaned too. This is so that you can prevent unwanted odors, clogging, and in making sure that your sink disposal remains working properly as well. You wouldn’t want to repair or get a new sink disposal just several months after you bought it, right?

The thing is, most homeowners don’t really want to clean their sink disposals. Just the thought of cleaning through all the food scraps isn’t really the best chore. But how often should you really be cleaning your sink disposal? How do you clean it?

Cleaning Your Sink Disposal

The sink disposal works a lot, and the odor can get pretty bad if you use it all the time. This is why it is only important to make sure that you clean it regularly. It is usually best to clean your sink disposal at least once a week. However, if you maintain it regularly and if you try to monitor what goes in it, then you can probably clean it once every two to three weeks. This will depend highly on the food scraps that you drop inside it. If you will be leaving your home for some time, make sure that you clean it as well. This is in order to prevent excess debris or scraps inside from rotting and smelling.

You should also be deep cleaning your sink disposal at least once a year, or once in eight months. This is so that you can get rid of all the accumulated gunk that might be stunk along inside the pipes.

How to Remove Food Residues

Your garbage disposal is probably filled with food debris. One way to get rid of all this junk is by putting in peels of orange and lemon inside it. The next step would be to grind them. This way, you will be leaving your sink disposal with a clean and fresh odor. Another alternative to using lemon and orange peels is by throwing in some ice cubes and baking soda in your disposal, and then running it after. This will clear the buildup from the blades.

You may also want to pour in a cup of baking soda and distilled vinegar in your sink disposal. After letting it sit for a few minutes, you can then pour in some boiling water to flush everything out.

How to Get Rid of Bad Odor in Your Sink Disposal

If you are starting to smell some bad odor that is coming from your sink disposal, then the drain or rubber splashguard might be dirty. Slime, gunk and food residue usually end up accumulating in the rubber splashguard, causing it to smell bad. Aside from the nasty smell, you will also have a place for germs to multiply and breed. In order to clean the rubber splashguard, you will have to put on some gloves. You will also need a brush, soap and water. Start scrubbing your rubber splashguard until it all the slime and gunk are gone, making it look squeaky-clean.