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It pays to have a clean garbage disposal

Monday, October 22, 2007 by Dave Winer.

Another nugget I thought would be good to share. Permalink to this paragraph

I came home from my trip to NY and there was a pretty bad stink in the kitchen.  Permalink to this paragraph

Smelled like garbage. Permalink to this paragraph

It didn't take long to zero in on the source -- the garbage disposalPermalink to this paragraph

I tried pouring all kinds of cleaning stuff down the drain, to no avail, the smell didn't go away. Permalink to this paragraph

Then I did a search on the Internet, found a variety of suggestions, and felt pretty sure that I'd have to call a plumber because they all seemed to assume skills and/or tools I didn't have. Instead I tried a very simple idea and amazingly it worked. Permalink to this paragraph

1. Put a drain stopper in the disposal so no water can flow out through the bottom Permalink to this paragraph

2. Fill the sink with hot water mixed with soap and chlorine bleach. The hotter the water the better. Permalink to this paragraph

3. With the water running put one hand on the stopper and the other on the switch, as you pull out the stopper, turn on the switch. (Be sure to do it in that order, to keep your hand from getting chopped up!) Permalink to this paragraph

4. Let all the water run out of the sink and leave the water running as long as there's suds. Permalink to this paragraph

5. Repeat two or three times. Wait a day or two. With any luck the smell will be gone. Permalink to this paragraph

The reason this works is that junk gets stuck on the walls of the drain, and since it's garbage, it rots and stinks. By immersing it in soapy water, the junk gets dislodged and goes down the drain and out of your life.  Permalink to this paragraph



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