The Truth About Cleaning Your Garbage Disposal

Be honest…how often do you think about cleaning your garbage disposal? It’s something many of us don’t think about until it starts getting sluggish, smelly, or unusable.

The truth is your garbage disposal requires proper cleaning to prevent performance issues and accelerated wear and tear. When your disposal breaks or goes out, it can be both inconvenient and potentially cause leaks or even water damage.

Here are a few helpful tips when it comes to caring for your garbage disposal on a regular basis.

The Best Way to Cleanse Your Garbage Disposal

A simple way to get your garbage disposal like new again is with a few household products you likely have at home. Water, dish soap, baking soda, and vinegar can clean just about anything, and they’re particularly good at getting rid of excess gunk within your garbage disposal. Here’s a step-by-step process you can follow when cleaning:

Turn the power off to make sure it doesn’t run while you’re cleaning it. A good rule of thumb is to unplug it from the outlet under the sink, and you can even turn off the breaker to make sure there are no accidents.
Use dish soap and a hefty sponge to clean the baffle (or the mouth) of your disposal within your sink. Be sure to get into all of the folds and crevices to remove any debris and rise with hot water.
Wash out the grinding chamber using the same method, rinsing occasionally with hot water until the sponge comes up clean.
Deep clean the inner workings of your disposal by pouring a half cup of baking soda into the disposal, followed by 1 cup of vinegar to remove any remaining gunk and eliminate any odors. (Keep in mind that while natural, vinegar can be harsh on the rubber elements so be mindful of using this method sparingly.)
Place a stopper over the opening of the drain to make sure the mixture stays focused on the inside of the disposal. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes and then flush the drain with hot water.
Fill the disposal with one cup of ice, and run the disposal along with hot water to remove any extraneous food or particles.
If desired, you can deodorize your disposal even further running citrus peels or a diluted bleach solution through the system. Please be mindful when using harsh chemicals as they can erode many of the components of your system when undiluted.

How Often Should You Clean Your Garbage Disposal?

If your garbage disposal is less than two years old, you can give it a light cleaning once a week.

If it’s older than two years, you can consider cleaning it more often. Disposals produced before 2012 were made with a finer mesh that allows more food particles to get caught, leading to a slower, stinkier drain, and higher water usage.

Tips for Maintaining a Clean Garbage Disposal

To keep your garbage disposal in top shape, here are a few helpful tips and best practices:

Avoid overloading your system with food waste. Toss out large amounts of food and use your disposal only as often as necessary. Compostable waste such as coffee grounds, egg shells, animal bones, and fruit pits should be disposed of elsewhere.
Avoid pouring grease and oil down the drain because as it cools, it hardens and can clog up your entire system.
Allow the disposal to run until you no longer hear any sounds of grinding up food (and even a few seconds beyond that)
Flush out your garbage disposal with hot water any time you use it.

When you care for and clean your garbage disposal regularly with the tips above, you can avoid any major long-term issues and make your system last a long time. If you’re still having issues, please get in touch with us so we can help assess your situation and recommend a swift repair or replacement.