How to Remove the Smell From a Garbage Disposal

Inspect the underside of the black rubber tongues that cover your disposal. Use a bleach-based kitchen spray and paper towel to remove any food debris stuck to the rubber.

Grind citrus peels in your disposal along with a steady, full supply of cold water. Your discarded lemon or lime peels work for this.

Fill the sink with a handful of ice cubes, then turn on the cold water, followed by your disposal. Or make ice cubes from a mix of vinegar and water, then use those to clean your disposal. The hardness of the cubes and the ice shards created once they hit the blades will scour away organic waste.

Run hot water down your kitchen sink drain with the disposal off for 10 to 15 minutes if your odor problem persists. If the buildup is due to grease, this will help flush the grease from the disposal blades and help flush organic waste from the walls of the disposal.

Place the sink stopper in your drain then fill your sink with a mixture of hot water and a half cup of powdered oxygen bleach if hot water alone does not freshen your disposal. Use kitchen tongs to remove the stopper, and let the rush of hot water flowing down the drain flush out your system. According to building advice columnist Tim Carter, oxygen bleach is non-toxic and will not damage your skin, pipes or septic tank.