Stinky Disposall

[Bubba]

The Disposall (Disposer?) in my kitchen sink has a terminal case of "buzzard breathe". Running the thing while running hot water through it doesn't help a whole lot. Any suggestions?

[dnoyeB]

I like to run it, and put some dishwashing liquid in it. I like to see it fizz up. Not sure if that cleans it or not but I like to think so.

[hallerb]

soap and bleach cheap fix

disposer deodorant expensive fix, no joke my wife bought that bleach works better..

[Doug Kanter]

I clean mine by dumping a tablespoon or two of Comet or Ajax powder in there. I turn the thing on with a little water running, to make the insides wet so the powder will stick. Shut off the water, wait till you hear it all drain out, then VERY carefully lower a spoon full of powder into the hole and tap it to release the powder. Shut off the disposal, go have a beer, wait another 23 or 47 minutes, and rinse it out.

[HotRod]

TRY a sink full of ice cubes and some cold water, that should help losen anything down there.

[HotRod]

Found this on the net., which reminds me that when I use to work in a greasy kitchen we would use grapefruit juice to clean the grills, it always worked great.

Don't waste peels that can freshen your entire kitchen. Putting orange and lemon peels down the garbage disposal makes the drain, sink, and entire kitchen smell fresh and clean. No one likes a smelly drain, and recycling these peels as air freshener can make your entire kitchen smell citrus fresh. Older citrus fruits that may be going partially bad, can still be cut up and put into the garbage disposal. I cut the peels into at least quarters of the whole to not make the disposal work so hard. If you don't have a disposal, orange and lemon juice with warm running water can keep your drains smelling fresh.

[badgolferman]

Drop a lemon or two in there and grind them up with a bit of water. Let it sit for a while and then run hot water while grinder is churning away.

[jerry_maple]

Grapefruit rinds work for me.

Jerry

[Mark and Gloria Hagwood]

Is it possible that the trap beyond the disposal is emptying out? Too vigorous a flow from the disposal, coupled with no vent or a plugged vent might explain the smell. The first thing I'd do is to pull the trip and make sure that nothing is obstructing the vent. If it's OK, then run some ice cubes through the disposal to get rid of any food that might be caught on the impeller or sides. Finally, dump in a little Chlorox while running it. Be sure that the "flippers" or blades inside the disposal are free to swing.

Mark

[mm]

How would this work? If I take out the whole trap, how will I know if the vent is good or not?

BTW, it occurs to me, why is there a separate trap for every sink, tub, shower, and toilet? And usually 2 or more vents per house because a separate vent is needed for any drain not close to another drain.

It seems to me all the economizers would want to use one trap and one vent for the whole house. Does anyone do this, anywhere in the world?

I can see how this would mean that the drains would have to be cleaner to keep smells down (since there would be much longer drains between the sinks and the trap) Is this the only reason they don't do this? Is that because of toilets, rather than sinks?

[Jeff]

lemon peels

[Roger]

Here is a site for care and feeding/cleaning of your disposal:

is important to avoid using warm or hot water to wash down garbage, as hot water will melt fat and grease and redeposit it on the working parts, adding to smells.

[stevie]

try using the ice cubes without water at first. the disposer makes a lot of noise, but run it for a few minutes without water, just cubes. then run water.

[stevie]

Here is a site for care and feeding/cleaning of your disposal:

is important to avoid using warm or hot water to wash down garbage, as hot water will melt fat and grease and redeposit it on the working parts, adding to smells.

[Steve Barker LT]

Dump your ice makers full tray of ice into it. Cleans the piss out of them.

[Grumman-581]

Ammonia and bleach -- you won't notice the smell anymore...