I’ve always wondered about the lemon peel thing—my uncle swears by it, but I’m not convinced it does much besides making things smell like a cleaning aisle. I had this one time where the disposal started making this weird grinding noise, and it turned out a tiny spoon had slipped in there. No amount of citrus was fixing that. Have you ever tried those disposal cleaning pods? I’m curious if they’re actually worth it or just another gimmick.
Lemon peels are great for making the kitchen smell less like last night’s dinner, but yeah, they’re not miracle workers. I tried those disposal pods once—honestly, they fizzed up and looked cool, but I didn’t notice a huge difference. Here’s my go-to: ice cubes and a handful of rock salt. Run that through and it scrapes off the gunk way better than citrus ever did. Just don’t forget to check for stray utensils first... learned that one the hard way too.
I get the whole ice and salt thing—seen it work, but honestly, I’ve opened up a bunch of disposals over the years and most of the time, the real gunk is stuck way under the splash guard or caked on the sides where ice barely touches. Lemon peels are mostly just for the smell, yeah, but if you actually want to clean it out, pulling the rubber guard and scrubbing underneath does more than any home remedy I’ve tried. Not the most fun job, but it beats a stinky sink.
Pulled plenty of splash guards myself and yeah, it’s never pretty under there. I’ve always wondered about the ice thing—does it really do much more than knock off the loose stuff?
That’s exactly what I see every time a tenant complains about a smell. Quick rinse, maybe some vinegar, but usually it’s knuckle-deep scrubbing that actually fixes it. Anyone actually had ice and salt make a real difference with the built-up grime? I’m skeptical.“the real gunk is stuck way under the splash guard or caked on the sides where ice barely touches.”
Ice and salt feel more like a quick refresh than an actual deep clean, in my experience. I get the appeal—run a couple handfuls through, it sounds satisfying, and you hope it’s doing something. But when I’ve taken disposals apart or pulled the splash guard, there’s always that greasy, sticky buildup clinging to the rubber and the upper chamber. Ice just sort of bounces around, maybe scrapes off a bit of loose stuff, but it doesn’t touch the really stubborn gunk that causes those lingering smells.
What’s worked best for me is pulling the splash guard and giving it a good scrub with a brush and some dish soap or vinegar. Sometimes I’ll soak the guard if it’s especially nasty. If you can reach up into the disposal (with the power off, obviously), a bottle brush or even an old toothbrush does wonders along those walls.
I wish there was a shortcut—ice just isn’t it, at least not for anything beyond minor maintenance. The real fix is getting your hands dirty.
