I get what you're saying about not wanting to warp the splash guard, but honestly, I've found pulling it out every once in a while makes a huge difference. I used to just scrub underneath like you mentioned, but after a while, it still had that lingering funk. Eventually, I bit the bullet and popped the whole thing out—wasn't as tricky as I thought it'd be. Gave it a good soak in vinegar and baking soda, and man, the difference was night and day. No more swamp monster smell for weeks.
I mean, yeah, if you're rough with it or constantly yanking it out, it'll probably warp eventually. But doing it gently every month or two hasn't caused me any issues yet. Plus, splash guards aren't exactly pricey if you do need to replace one down the line... beats dealing with that nasty smell all the time. Just my two cents though—whatever keeps your kitchen from smelling like Shrek's backyard is good enough in my book.
I've had similar experiences with splash guards, and honestly, soaking them does wonders. But I've also noticed that sometimes the smell comes from deeper down in the disposal itself. Last time I took mine apart (carefully!), I found some nasty gunk stuck around the blades—cleaned that out and it was a game changer. Have you checked further down into the disposal itself, or is it usually just the splash guard causing the funk?
"Last time I took mine apart (carefully!), I found some nasty gunk stuck around the blades—cleaned that out and it was a game changer."
Taking it apart can definitely help, but honestly, most of the time you don't even need to go that far. I've found that tossing in a handful of ice cubes with some coarse salt and running the disposal for about 30 seconds does wonders. It cleans off the blades without needing to dismantle anything. Worth a shot before breaking out the tools...
I totally get the hesitation about taking things apart—especially something like a garbage disposal. When I first moved into my place, I was pretty intimidated by mine. I'd heard all these horror stories about blades and fingers, you know? But after a couple weeks, it started smelling like something had crawled in there and died. Seriously gross.
Anyway, I read online about the ice cube trick someone mentioned earlier:
"I've found that tossing in a handful of ice cubes with some coarse salt and running the disposal for about 30 seconds does wonders."
I tried that first because it seemed safer than dismantling anything. It definitely helped a bit, but the smell came back pretty quickly. Eventually, I decided to bite the bullet and take a closer look (after unplugging it at the breaker box—I'm cautious like that). Turns out there was a ton of nasty gunk stuck underneath the rubber splash guard thingy. It wasn't even deep inside, just right under the flap where you can't really see unless you lift it up.
Cleaning that out made a huge difference, and honestly, it wasn't as scary as I thought it'd be. I didn't even have to fully disassemble anything—just lifted the rubber guard and scrubbed around with an old toothbrush and some baking soda paste. Took maybe ten minutes tops.
So yeah, if you're nervous about taking it apart completely, maybe start small like I did. Just make sure it's totally disconnected from power first... better safe than sorry. Good luck!
I had the same swamp monster situation a while back—tried the ice cube thing too, but it only masked the smell for a day or two. Eventually, I discovered lemon peels worked wonders. Just toss a few down there every now and then, run it briefly, and it freshens things up naturally. Plus, bonus points for eco-friendly disposal of citrus scraps... win-win.
