Shea Simmons
There’s a funky smell in your kitchen, but it’s not coming from your trash. What could it be? Your garbage disposal is a great place to start. If you’ve cleaned it lately and its odor is still a bit weird, you might have forgotten to clean this important part.
There are several simple ways to clean your garbage disposal. From simply throwing in some ice to a trusty solution of baking soda and vinegar. These methods can certainly help get the interior of the disposal clean, but if you’re not cleaning the flanges, that stinky odor could linger.
What are the flanges? They’re the rubber pieces at the top of the drain that prevent food from coming back up when the disposal is turned on—think of it like a splashguard. Given its function, it’s not surprising that stuck-on food can accumulate causing said funky smell. But the good news is that it’s easy to clean.
To do so, you’ll take a grease-cutting dish soap, add it to the flanges, and then, using a toothbrush, scrub in between the flanges as well as underneath. Be sure to scrape off any residue and clean underneath the flanges well to be sure nothing lingers. For a little something extra, you can use an antibacterial cleaner as well which could help cut the smell.
Want to give your garbage disposal an extra deep clean? Here is everything you need to know.
[Via Better Homes & Gardens]
