Stinky kitchen sink? Learn how to clean a garbage disposal with a simple cleaning hack…
If you have a stinky garbage disposal, this post is for you!
When we first moved into our old house 5+ years back, I fell in love with how homey everything felt.
The oak cabinets were polished and rustic, the sink reminded me of my parents back home several states away, and the living room was so cozy.
I knew from the moment we walked through the house, it was a done deal.
I immediately felt at home – and that’s a feeling you can’t replace.
But several moving boxes and months later, I was doing the dishes in our kitchen sink when I was hit smack dab in the face with a revolting smell.
It was…STINKY.
Where was it coming from?
For a while, I thought it was the dirty dishes.
I was working long hours and would occasionally have to leave a pile of dishes for our then family of three in the sink overnight just to make sure I could drive in the morning without falling asleep.
And that’s not too far-fetched, because dishes can certainly smell after a few hours!
I sacrificed sleep to ensure dishes were done each night, and dirty dishes were put away in the dishwasher so nothing sat in the sink.
After so much lost sleep over a week and a broken dishwasher episode, my husband finally leaned in and smelled the sink.
“I think it’s the garbage disposal, babe…”
Ahh, that makes sense.
He was right!
It took me a bit to figure out it was the garbage disposal, but when I did, I put my cheek stripes on and went to war.
I came up with a quick way to clean your garbage disposal that can really help when you’re dealing with some serious funk…
*This post contains affiliate links, however, all opinions are my own, as always.
What You Need To Clean Your Disposal
Here’s what you’ll need (and most likely already have on hand) to clean and deodorize your garbage disposal…
- kosher salt
- baking soda
- ice cubes
- lemongrass essential oil (or freshly cut strips of lemon peel – only use lemon peel if your disposal is newer)
How To Clean A Garbage Disposal








Why You Shouldn’t Mix Baking Soda And Vinegar
Okay – I might get some backlash on this one because this is certainly a popular cleaning method/solution for a lot of people.
But, I have to say it.
Mixing baking soda and vinegar together cancels both of them out.
Is there a crazy cool reaction to watch when you do mix them?
Yep.
Does anything actually happen?
Nope.
It’s really fun to watch and can make you feel like all that foam is going to break down grease and grime for you…
But it doesn’t – you’re just watching them cancel each other out so they aren’t really all that effective anymore.
I know I see plenty of cleaning videos where people sprinkle baking soda and then pour some vinegar onto a cleaning surface and it looks like something really cool is going on.
Unfortunately, as much as I wish that were true – it’s basic science.
The same goes for mixing castile soap and vinegar (the two don’t mix, they just become a sludgy ineffective mess together).
In the case of castile soap and vinegar – you could instead use Sal Suds with vinegar while making an effective DIY cleaner.
My advice is to use either or, but not both baking soda and vinegar.
Have you tried this easy cleaning hack? Let me know in the comments below!