If you’ve noticed a strange, undesirable odor in your kitchen lately, you’re not alone. Many people fail to realize what’s causing that smell at first. That unpleasant scent can waft through your entire home and make using your kitchen a challenging task. Often, it’s the result of your garbage disposal. As useful as a tool as they may be, they can be prone to accumulating awful smells. We have good news, though. Cleaning your garbage disposal and making everything smell just right again isn’t difficult, requires a few tools, and we have all the steps you need to take to get the job done.
Soak First
Before you do anything else, you need to give your sink a good soak. Put the stopper in the drain and fill the basin with a few inches of hot water and a few drops of dish soap. Once you remove the stopper, the water that flushes through your drain should help dislodge some of the food remnants that may be causing your unwanted smells. You may want to repeat this step after we’re done everything else, too.
Clean Drains
There are products on the market made to deal with this problem specifically, but you can also come up with your own solutions. A mix of baking soda, white vinegar, and hot water will do the trick. Half a cup of baking soda goes down the drain, followed by a cup of vinegar. Once those are combined, let them sit for a few minutes before following up with hot water from your tap to help flush out your drain.
Try Citrus
Now that everything is clean, it’s important to think of some preventative maintenance. Natural solutions like citrus aren’t great for cleaning on their own, but they can do a good job in helping keep good smells lingering and preventing bad odors from coming back. Cut a few slices of lemon, lime, or orange peels into small pieces and drop them into your garbage disposal. Make sure the pieces are small enough that they don’t inadvertently cause a clog.
Wipe Splash Guards
People either forget about or intentionally avoid their splash guards. These areas accumulate all kinds of gunk, the kind that ends up causing unfortunate smells. Throw on a pair of rubber gloves, grab a brush, and make use of hot soapy water to get this job done. Removable splash guards are easier to work with, but either way, you’re going to want to rinse until you can see no more visible nastiness.
All of Your Plumbing Needs from Master Plumbing
Give Master Plumbing a call at (301) 650-9100, or contact us online to get more information on how our expert plumbers can help you with just about anything plumbing-related! We have received Angie’s List Super Service Award recognition for plumbing and drain cleaning every year since 2007, in addition to the Best Plumber award from Best of Bethesda. We are fully licensed, bonded, and insured, and our service is unparalleled. Give us a call today—you won’t regret it! To see examples of our projects, follow us on Facebook and Twitter!