Lemon peels are a solid tip, but honestly, I've had mixed results with citrus. When I first moved into my place, I swear the previous owners must've been feeding the disposal some kind of swamp creature buffet. Tried lemons, oranges, even grapefruit peels (figured bigger fruit, bigger results?), and it helped temporarily, but the funk always crept back after a few days.
Eventually, I got curious and did some digging around online—turns out sometimes the smell is from gunk building up under the rubber splash guard thingy. Took a deep breath (literally), grabbed some gloves, and flipped that sucker inside out. Let's just say... it wasn't pretty. Scrubbed it down with baking soda paste and an old toothbrush, rinsed thoroughly, and popped it back in place. Huge improvement.
Now I toss lemon peels down there occasionally too, but mostly for maintenance rather than a full-on fix. Also heard vinegar ice cubes can help sharpen blades and deodorize at the same time—haven't tried that yet though. Anyone brave enough to give it a shot?
Anyway, seems like garbage disposals are just one of those homeowner mysteries you learn as you go along. Glad I'm not the only one battling swamp monsters in the kitchen sink...
I had the same issue and tried the vinegar ice cube trick a while back—honestly, it wasn't bad. Didn't notice much blade sharpening (not sure how you'd even tell?), but it did help with the smell. Another thing that worked surprisingly well was grinding up a handful of ice cubes with coarse salt. Apparently, it scrubs away buildup inside. Worth a shot if you're still battling the swamp monster...
"Another thing that worked surprisingly well was grinding up a handful of ice cubes with coarse salt."
Tried this one myself, and it really does help scrape away some of the mystery gunk. Also, tossing in citrus peels afterward freshens things up nicely—plus, it's eco-friendly and smells way better than swamp monster cologne...
"Also, tossing in citrus peels afterward freshens things up nicely—plus, it's eco-friendly and smells way better than swamp monster cologne..."
Gotta admit, I was skeptical about the citrus peel thing at first. But after years dealing with disposals, I've come around to it. Ice and salt definitely help scrape off the built-up grime, but the citrus peels add that extra freshness that's hard to beat. One tip though—make sure you cut the peels into smaller pieces first. Big chunks can jam things up, and trust me, fishing lemon peel bits out of a disposal isn't exactly a fun afternoon.
If you're still noticing lingering odors after trying these methods, you might want to check under the rubber splash guard. You'd be surprised how much nasty stuff hides there...a quick scrub underneath with an old toothbrush and some baking soda paste usually does the trick. Anyway, good call on the citrus—it's simple, cheap, and way less harsh than chemical cleaners.
Good tip about checking under the splash guard—I learned that one the hard way after weeks of wondering why my kitchen smelled like a swamp. Citrus peels help, but nothing beats actually scrubbing out that hidden gunk...gross but effective.
