Garbage Disposal Smell
DEAR TIM: My wife has been fighting with a stinky garbage disposal. It's relatively new (I replaced it for other reasons last year). She's tried many different approaches to cleaning, and yet to her the smell returns. Before I pop the drain pipe and see if there's something accumulating down there, do you have any tips for cleaning a garbage disposal? Leo N., Seattle, WA
DEAR LEO: This is pretty simple to solve but because you now have an odor problem, it is going to take a little work. Let me explain what has probably happened over time. The inside surfaces of the garbage disposal get a slime on them because I suspect the disposal is not being used properly.
Many people simply throw garbage down into a garbage disposal, turn it on while some water is running through it and quickly turn the disposal off as well as the water. The spinning motion of the disposal blades throws a slurry of garbage up on the sides of the disposal chamber and the small amount of water coming from the faucet doesn't always completely wash this organic slurry off the sides of the disposal.
If this slurry of organic debris is not completely washed off the inside of the disposal, it begins to rot and this decomposition produces a foul gas. If you do this enough times - meaning not rinse off the organic slurry, it can harden over time and then becomes a problem to clean. You have to re-hydrate the hardened slurry.
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Hi, Tim --
I have a persistent odor from my disposal. Your advice is to "rehydrate the hardened slurry." How do you do that?
Thanks,
Nancy Darling
Nancy,
Lots to discuss on how to do this. Plus you need my Stain Solver. It destinkifies garbage disposers.
To talk about the job, consider my 15-Minute Consult.
I had an insinkerator Essential installed 2 years ago. It stinks all the time. I clean it and after a few uses it stinks again. I have had disposals in my homes for over 40 years and never had disposal odors, NEVER. I recently found the reason. The anti-vibration mounting ring at the top of the chamber is shaped in such a way that it is a natural food trap. Put your fingers just under/inside the steel mounting ring and curve them up toward the sink. There you will find a ridge about 3/8 inch deep that will be filled with old stinky food, gross.
I called insinkerator about the POOR DESIGN of this unit and they just didn't get it. They said I am the only person who has ever complained. They tried to troubleshoot the cause of the odor everywhere, even though I told them all about the large amount of stinky food I found trapped in the anti-vibration mounting ring. They were of no help at all. They agreed to send me a new replacement unit. I said OK, but the problem is a design flaw, and a new replacement unit will not fix it unless you have corrected this serious design flaw.