How to Clean Garbage Disposal with Ice and Baking Soda in 2023

Your garbage disposal has a remarkable ability to make your leftover food vanish down the drain like magic. However, with repeated use, food particles accumulate and eventually cause your sink to emit unpleasant odors. The great news is that you can easily solve this problem using common ingredients like ice and baking soda.

“Most odors that come out of the garbage disposal are coming from food buildup on the splash guard,” says Alyssa Wiegand, product manager at Moen.

According to Eric Schultz, the Director of Product Management at InSinkErator,
“Ice cubes help break up any food stuck to the disposal while baking soda and bleach kill germs, and lemon provides a bit of freshness,”

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to clean your garbage disposal with ice and baking soda when odors arise, along with some useful tips for everyday use to prevent unpleasant smells from lingering.

How to Clean Garbage Disposal with Ice and Baking Soda

Ingredients

• 1 cup of ice cubes
• 1/2 cup of baking soda
• 1 cup of vinegar
• A spray bottle
• A funnel

Instructions:

1. Turn off the power to your garbage disposal.
2. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar.
3. Pour the ice cubes into the garbage disposal.
4. Sprinkle the baking soda over the ice cubes.
5. Spray the vinegar over the baking soda.
6. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.
7. Turn on the disposal and run it for a few seconds.
8. Now flush the disposal with cold water until the vinegar smell is gone.

This method is safe and effective for cleaning your garbage disposal. The ice cubes will help to break up any food particles that are stuck to the blades, and the baking soda and vinegar will work together to kill any bacteria or odor-causing germs.

Additional Tips

1. Do not put grease, oil, or fat down the disposal. These substances can solidify and clog the blades.
2. Do not put any hard objects down the disposal, such as bones, eggshells, or metal. These objects can damage the blades.
3. If you have a garbage disposal with a built-in disposal grind cycle, use it once a week to clean the blades.
4. If you notice that your disposal is starting to smell, run the ice and baking soda cleaning method once a week to keep it fresh.

Final Verdict

By utilizing a natural and cost-effective solution involving ice and baking soda, you can easily eliminate stubborn residue, grime, and unpleasant odors from your garbage disposal. The step-by-step process outlined in this article provides a safe and effective method for cleaning your disposal.