Stop Garbage Disposal Odors

If you notice a funky smell coming from your garbage disposal, that probably means you haven't been running it properly. First, make sure that the smell isn't being caused by accumulated debris in the rubber cover. Remove it and wipe it down with soapy water; if it isn't removable, clean under the flaps with an old toothbrush or something similar. If the rubber cover is clean, the odor is most likely coming from food particles that weren't completely washed down the drain, or from growing bacteria. First, you can resort to the old vinegar trick. If you can cap your disposal, do so. Put a cup baking soda down the disposal. Carefully add about 1 cup of white vinegar. The mixture will bubble up, and it should clean all of the gunk in your disposal. Let it sit for about 10 minutes. Uncap the disposal and rinse with a generous flow of water. Alternatively, you can freeze vinegar in an ice cube tray, then toss the vinegar cubes into your disposal and turn it on. The cubes should knock off any accumulated sludge, and the vinegar will clean as it goes. To further deodorize the disposal, put a few citrus wedges down it, adding more baking soda if you want. Turn on the disposal while running plenty of cold water. That should clean up whatever was smelly. In the future, make sure that you flush the garbage disposal with about a gallon of cold water while and after you grind up your waste.