Personally, I prefer baking soda and vinegar too; it's safer and avoids unnecessary wear on the disposal parts.
I've always wondered about that ice trick myself... does it really cause wear though? I mean, disposals are designed to handle tougher stuff. Personally, lemon peels seem to freshen mine up nicely without weird noises or issues.
Ice cubes causing wear? Nah, disposals chew through way tougher stuff regularly. Lemon peels are fine occasionally, but too many citrus rinds can actually dull the blades over time... just something to keep in mind.
I've always been cautious about citrus peels too—heard similar things about dulling blades. But speaking of weird noises, have you checked if anything small like a utensil or bottle cap slipped down there? Happened to me once, drove me nuts until I found it...
"But speaking of weird noises, have you checked if anything small like a utensil or bottle cap slipped down there?"
Funny you mention that... I once spent an entire weekend troubleshooting my disposal, convinced it was broken. Turned out a tiny screw from a kitchen gadget had fallen in and wedged itself just right—made the most awful grinding sound. After fishing it out, I learned to always double-check before flipping the switch. Have you tried manually rotating the blades with an Allen wrench underneath to see if there's resistance? Could help pinpoint the issue.
Had a similar issue last year—turned out to be a bottle cap that somehow slipped past me. Took forever to fish it out, and the noise was awful. Now I always peek inside before flipping the switch. Also, quick tip: tossing in some lemon peels every now and then helps freshen things up naturally... beats chemical cleaners any day.
