Remedies for Disposer Smell?

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rp2813

rp2813

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It's not horrible, but my disposer has developed a foul stink, probably from misuse when my mom was still living here and having caretakers doing the cooking and cleaning.

 

I've tried the "Plink" balls but they don't provide any lasting effect.  I've also stood by as the dishwasher drains from a wash cycle and have run the disposer while that is happening. 

 

I'd appreciate any suggestions for eliminating the odor permanently.  The disposer works fine.  I'm guessing it's a 20-25 year old Kenmore.
 
Run it with lots of dishwashing detergent or even some scoops of laundry detergent and a little water, to fill it lots of suds. (if you have 2 sinks maybe the other will start to fill with suds) Turn off the disposer and let it soak for a few minutes. You can also use toothpaste... your disposer's smile will be bright and the breath will be fresh LOL.
Then dispose lots of ice and then some lemons. Fill it with the lemons before you turn it on, so you'll have time to get enough splash inside it.

At least once a week, fill the biggest pan you have with water, boil it, turn on the disposer and throw the water in the sink all at once. it helps rinsing some light residue.

Sometimes dispose some hard foods like bones or dry beans, to "sand" the chamber.
And remember disposers are not HE top loaders. always use lots of water while disposing and keep it running for a few more seconds after you hear the garbage is gone.

The splash guard must be washed almost every day.

That's what I do here. It's breath is always good.
 
I occasionally will do a "power flush" of the disposal. I fill the sink with hot water and liquid dish detergent such as dawn or palmolive right to the top. turn on the disposal and open the drain. It shakes rattles and rolls and sucks the water very quickly down the drain. Cleans the disposal and give a good boost through the drains and cleans them also. This eliminates the smell. Also I take the splash guard out and run that through the dishwasher on the top rack. It is amazing what collects on the bottome of that.
Jon
 
Most of your odor is probably coming from grime stuck in all the nooks and crannies....and the hard part is trying to keep it filled while solutions like bleach water, or heavy duty cleaners work on getting rid of it.....

several things I do at Moms, 2 ex-large pots of boiling water, with bleach, one for the beginning and one for the end.....I use either toilet bowl cleaner, or purple cleaner, squired all inside, and use a wraparound kitchen brush, similar to a toilet brush, and scrub the inside, then with the sprayer, rinse thoroughly with hottest water, and then again with the last pan of boiling water....you shouldn't mix chemicals, but there are times you need joined forces to knock it out....

heck I even poured bleach and ammonia in there at the same time.......keep windows open....and stand back....but it clears out everything....drain pipes and all....

theres always a build up in these things, not just in the grinding chamber, but under the wheel, and the pipe leading to the trap, areas you can't get to....now, if we could get water to stay in there, simple denture tablets would probably work....ammonia and baking soda would foam up, but not strong enough to kill the bacteria and odors for long....
 
Here's what I do

Put the stopper in and fill the sink to the top with the hottest water you can stand.  The reason you have to make it that you can stand is you will have to reach in and pull the stopper.

Add about a cup of good ole fashion Liquid Chlorine Bleach. 

Turn the disposer on, and pull the stopper. 

The abundance of hot water, the bleach, and the swirling action of the disposer will clean the grinding chamber out and flush what's stuck.  You may have to repeat a few times. but . . .Walla fresh and clean.

 

White Vinigar works too.

 
 
Before Power Flush

Dump a whole box of backing soda in the disposer.  Add two cups of hot vinegar(heated for 2 min in microwave) then put the cap on.  Wait ten minute and complete your power flush!

 

Malcolm
 
hot water dangers

Hot water will remove more grease; but it will cool down and now cling to the sewer pipes.

It works with rental house and apartments; the problem is the landlords! :)

With your own house hot water just creates another problem; sewer clogs.

A soap that works at room temp is what you should try; and hot water if you want to go against 100 plus years of plumbing advice.
 
My disposer gets that way from time to time, but I usually fill the sink with hot water, baking soda and dish soap, let it cool down for a bit, take the stopper out of the drain and turn on the disposer. Odor gone!

I've also taken out the rubber "gizmo" from the disposer and found all sorts of "lovely" green mold on it. I cover it with Comet or baking soda and give it a good scrubbing with a Tuffy or SOS pad. This is usually done every couple of weeks.
 
Disposer floss

I'd go to the local hardware store and buy some old LYE drain cleaner crystals.  Wear rubber gloves and goggles. Put a tablespoon of the lye into the disposer and CAREFULLY pour boiling water into the disposer, keeping your face as far away from this operation as possible. Run the disposer with more boiling water and see if that doesn't do the trick.  If not repeat a couple of times.This is what we do at work once in a while. This is why it's good to run hard things like bones and mussel shells through the disposer once in a while to grind away some of the plaque. You might also want to check your drain traps because it may not be the disposer at all and somehow sewer gas is leaking up.
 
Re; hot water down kitchen disposal

One is free to wash down and use boiling hot water down a gunked up with grease disposal.. it keeps plumbers in business! :)

What happens is that grease and lard you melt and free up goes so only so far; then it cools off and redeposits on one's sewers pipes as buildup.

You just "move the problem downstream".

If one is a renter; one can too just dump that cooking grease down the disposal; since as renter you have your rich landlord pay for the sewer cleanout. ie your short term view is he will not raise your rent if repair costs go up.

As a renter; you have no concerns if all that hot water will cool down in pipes causing fats and grease to coagulate. ie your goals are all short term; no concerns of long term damage downstream.

There are reasons that in plumbing a grease trap is installed in many applications.

If ones goals are all short term; then that buildup downstream is avoided; ie you move on and let others pay for your poor habits.

 
Nobody says one has to follow a product,s instructons

When we got our first Garbage disposal back in the 1950's it's instructions mentioned the same as today's wiki link item #6 :

"Don't use hot water, because it can melt fat and allow it to re-solidify as a blockage further down in the drain."

These instructions are nothing new. Grease clogged sewers 500 years ago too.



3 Ways to Maintain a Garbage Disposal - wikiHow Life

Having a garbage disposal in your kitchen makes cleaning up after a meal much easier. Using it correctly, choosing the right food scraps to dispose of, and cleaning it regularly will keep your garbage disposal in perfect working order for...
www.wikihow.com
 
Lye?

Lye will begin to deteriorate the seals in the disposal and eventually, you'll replace it with a minty fresh new one.

 

Malcolm

 
 
Nobody says one has to follow a product,s instructons

When we got our first Garbage disposal back in the 1950's it's instructions mentioned the same as today's wiki link item #6 :

"Don't use hot water, because it can melt fat and allow it to re-solidify as a blockage further down in the drain."

These instructions are nothing new. Grease clogged sewers 500 years ago too.

3 Ways to Maintain a Garbage Disposal - wikiHow Life

Having a garbage disposal in your kitchen makes cleaning up after a meal much easier. Using it correctly, choosing the right food scraps to dispose of, and cleaning it regularly will keep your garbage disposal in perfect working order for...
www.wikihow.com
 
Thanks for all of the great suggestions.

 

I have two issues:  1) The splash guard is not removable (I make sure to clean under each "tab" when I scrub the sink) and 2) There is no stopper.

 

I can probably devise a stopper or find one that will fit.  This is a large single sink with disposer in the middle.  Due to the age of the house and sewer pipes, and the issue of a 90-degree turn that has a history of causing problems under the house, my mom stopped putting any major quantities of solid material down the disposer many years ago.  No doubt, there is plaque  build-up that some grindable items would help to clear, but while it's not grease, the debris could easily cause that same old clog to re-occur at the 90-degree turn. 

 

I use the disposer to handle miscellaneous chunks of stuff that may end up in it, but have a strainer that catches most items first, which I empty into the garbage.  Now I'm wondering if not using the disposer for bigger tasks is the cause of the smell.

 

I'll try what's been suggested above, and I'm confident one of the methods will take care of the problem.
 

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