Spring Clean Your Sink: DIY Garbage Disposal Freshener

How do you keep a garbage disposal clean and smelling fresh?

Garbage disposals do a great job of grinding and spiriting away food particles, but that cavernous hole in the sink does not lend itself well to cleaning. As residue builds within, the cleanest of kitchens may still have one wrinkling their nose at a whiff of the foul stench emitted from the sink. As the coupons I received with my new disposal will attest, there are commercial products available for deodorizing, but I'm not too keen on the excessive use of chemicals. Fortunately, there is a DIY solution for keeping the disposal clean and smelling fresh with almost no effort.

RELATED: Follow This Helpful Checklist, Make Spring Cleaning Easy

A simple blend of baking soda, salt, dish detergent and citrus is perfect for cleaning the hard-to-reach depths of any garbage disposal and leaving behind a fresh clean scent. Salt acts as an abrasive to remove residue in the disposal, baking soda cleans surfaces and neutralizes odor, dish detergent is a degreaser and the power of citrus helps keep the disposal clean and smelling great.

Pour a quarter cup of this grime buster down the sink once a week to keep your disposal fresh and clean and if things get out of hand, try adding a quarter cup of vinegar and a handful of ice to the mix for an extra burst of cleaning power.

Does your garbage disposal need a breath freshener? Follow these steps to make your own natural disposal freshener using common household items.

-by Mick Telkamp for DIYNetwork.com


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