How to Get a Bad Smell out of a Garbage Disposal

Last Updated: February 12, 2023 References Approved

A garbage disposal in the kitchen is a great way to deal with food scraps and to prevent your drains from getting clogged. Unfortunately, because garbage disposals deal with food, it’s not uncommon for them to be plagued with bad smells and lingering odors that are difficult to address. Fortunately, there are ways to clean your garbage disposal, get rid of bad smells, and most importantly, prevent future odors from invading your sink.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Removing the Source of the Smell

1
Remove clogs. When your garbage disposal starts to smell, there's a chance that there's a clog in the unit somewhere that’s causing the bad odor. In order to get rid of the odor, you must first remove the clog. When cleaning the disposal, never stick your hand into the drain, even if the appliance is turned off. To remove clogs:^{[1]
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- Unplug the garbage disposal
- Shine a flashlight into the drain to see if you can locate any large clogs, stuck food, or other blockages
- Use tongs, long tweezers, or pliers to remove the blockage
- Plug the appliance back in
- Turn on the water, turn on the disposal, and run the disposal for a minute
- Turn off the disposal, followed by the water
2
Soak the garbage disposal in soapy water. Because the disposal is always processing and draining, it can be difficult to give it a good soaking and cleaning. This means food particles can get trapped in the disposal, and they’ll start to smell eventually. To soak the disposal for a thorough cleaning:^{[2]
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- Put a plug in the garbage disposal drain
- Fill the sink with at least 4 inches (10 cm) of water
- Add 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of liquid dish soap
- Swish the water around to create suds
- Unplug the drain
- Turn on the garbage disposal and let it process the soapy water
- Turn off the disposal when the water has drained out
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3
Scrub the visible parts of the appliance. Once you’ve soaked the garbage disposal housing and loosened any food particles that might be trapped, you can scrub the disposal to dislodge any crumbs that are still stuck. To scrub the visible parts of the appliance:^{[3]
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- Rinse a dish wand or scrub brush with water
- Pour a liberal amount of liquid dish soap onto the brush
- Scrub the accessible parts of the garbage disposal, including the rim in the sink basin and the inside of the drain
4
Scrub the inside of the unit. Put at least 10 ice cubes into the basin where the garbage disposal is. Cover the ice cubes with ½ cup (96 g) of coarse salt. Turn on a slow stream of water, turn on the disposal, and push the ice cubes and salt toward the drain. Run the disposal until the ice cubes and salt are gone.
- The ice cubes will help dislodge any stuck-on food particles, and the salt will scrub the impeller blades and remove possible odor sources.^{[4]
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5
Flush the appliance with cold water. To flush out any leftover debris or remnants, turn the cold water on full blast and direct the stream into the garbage disposal drain. Turn on the garbage disposal and let it and the water run for one to two minutes.^{[5]
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- Always turn the water on before running the disposal, and turn the disposal off before shutting off the water.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Deodorizing the Disposal

1
Use baking soda and vinegar to get rid of smells. Baking soda is a great odor absorber and vinegar is a wonderful cleaner. Best of all, the two are safe to use in your garbage disposal. To clean, disinfect, and deodorize the garbage disposal with these two ingredients:^{[6]
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- Pour 2 cups (440 g) of baking soda into the garbage disposal drain
- Slowly pour in ½ cup (118 ml) of vinegar
- Let the cleaner sit for an hour
- After an hour, turn on the water and the disposal and run it for a minute
2
Use vinegar cubes in the garbage disposal. You can combine the cleaning power of vinegar and the scrubbing power of ice cubes to clean and deodorize your garbage disposal. Fill an empty ice cube tray with vinegar. Place the tray in the freezer and let the cubes freeze overnight.^{[7]
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- In the morning, remove the vinegar cubes from the tray and pour them into the disposal drain
- Turn on a low stream of water, turn on the disposal, and let it run until the cubes are gone
3
Freshen up with lemon peels. Citrus peels contain powerful cleaners, and they make everything smell great. To make your garbage disposal smell like fresh lemons, juice a lemon and reserve the juice for another use. Cut up the peel into 1-inch (2.5-cm) chunks. Turn on the water, turn on the disposal, and feed the lemon peels into the disposal a few at a time.
- You can use any citrus peel for cleaning and deodorizing your disposal, including orange, lime, or grapefruit.^{[8]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Preventing Odors

1
Don’t put fibrous foods in the disposal. One of the keys to preventing odors in your garbage disposal is making sure you don’t put in the wrong foods. The wrong foods can clog the disposal, jam the motor, clog the drains, and leave rotting and smelly food stuck in the drain.
- Fibrous foods to avoid include banana peels, artichoke, celery, onion skin, and corn husks.^{[9]
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2
Avoid putting starchy or expandable foods in the disposal. Foods that contain a lot of starch or that expand when wet are also a bad idea in the garbage disposal, because they can get thick and sticky and gum up the impeller. Foods of this nature to avoid include:
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Bread
- Pasta
3
Cut larger items into smaller pieces. Large chunks of food can clog the disposal and get stuck in the drain, and this can lead to bad food smells coming from the drain. To deal with large pieces of food, cut them into smaller 1-inch (2.5-cm) cubes before feeding them into the disposal.
- Similarly, putting too much food into the disposal at once can also cause problems, so only add food in small quantities.
4
Run water every time you use the appliance. The garbage disposal needs a steady stream of water to process food properly, and you should never run the disposal unless you're running the water too. When you're processing food, run a strong stream of cold water with it.
- Always turn the water on before you run the disposal, keep the water running as long as the disposal is on, and run the water for at least five seconds after you turn the disposal off.^{[10]
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- If you don’t run the water long enough, food can get caught in the disposal, can dry onto the blades and housing, and can cause bad odors.
5
Don’t use hot water. When you use hot water to run the garbage disposal, the heat can liquefy any grease or fat that’s in the disposal or the drain. The problem here is that once the grease cools farther down the pipes, it will congeal on the walls of the pipes and cause clogs.^{[11]
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- As the grease ages, it will start to smell, and if food gets stuck in the drain because of the grease, it will also cause bad odors.
- Because grease can accumulate on pipe walls and cause blockages, you shouldn’t put grease into the garbage disposal.
6
Clean the blades regularly with hard materials. Another important thing to remember when you want to prevent garbage disposal smells is to keep the blades clean. You can do this by running hard materials through the disposal every few days at least. Good hard materials that can clean the blades include:
- Egg shells
- Chicken bones
- Small fruit pits, such as cherry pits
- Fish bones
- Ice cubes