Clean the rubber flaps. There is a rubber piece with several flaps that fits over your garbage disposal. Often times, this is a place that catches food, grows mold, gets slimy, and smells. If you can remove this, then clean it with hot soapy water. Wash the ridges where it sits in the drain and continue. If yours doesn't remove, then wash with a soapy sponge, brush, or old toothbrush by pulling up each flap and scrubbing underneath as well as anywhere else you can reach.
Loosen gunk and sharpen your blades. If you have ever looked into your garbage disposal, chances are you saw a mess of black sliminess or food bits. If you haven't looked, just think about what goes down there. Not only does food get stuck down there, but minerals from the water build up and the blades work hard chopping up a wide range of items. You have a few choices for this first step of the cleaning.
- Fill the disposal with ice cubes so that it is overflowing some. Turn on the cold water and then the disposal. The gunk will loosen and the blades will be sharpened by the ice.
- Rock salt can also do the trick. You don't need quite as much. Add 1-2 cups of rock salt and make sure the cold water is running.
Clear away debris, clean mineral deposits, and kill bacteria. It may sound like a lot of work to do all of that in one big sweep, but it isn't too hard. It is also a little fun and the kids will enjoy doing it as well! Add two to three cups of baking soda to the disposal. Slowly dump lemon juice or vinegar down the disposal. Often times, this takes about one whole bottle of lemon juice or one gallon of distilled white vinegar (which costs about a $1-2 either way). The combination fizzes and will fill the sink quickly so don't go too fast. You may also see bits of food or brown or black gunk come up. That is all normal. (The fizzing is the part that is fun!) The vinegar smell will go away shortly, especially if you follow the rest of the steps. However, the lemon juice adds a fresh clean lemon scent to the kitchen. ...
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Author: Danelle Karth