My garbage disposal smells like a water buffalo died in it

I never cook, always run the disposal after pouring anything down there, never leave food in the sink, etc.

But it smells. I've tried running Lysol through it, letting the detergent sit after I've cleaned the sink. Nothing helps. I bought a lemon, sliced that up and crunched in the disposal, didn't help for more than a day.

I'm tempted to just replace it, or maybe live outside in a tent.

Any ideas?

 

Just replace it - $100 at Home Depot - takes 1 hour at the most. Had the same
thing happen here - stinky gunk gets trapped inside and never purges.

Or just WAIT. And keep dumping baking soda down the hole.... it WILL go away
if you do that long enough.

Tents CAN be had for cheap, though

Jedi

 

Run lots of ice thru it along with some water. It breaks up all the crud.

 

...yes... but will it break up WATER BUFFALO????

Jedi

 

Fill sink with hot water and lots of bleach, then take out the drain plug, turn on the disposal, and let it suck down the water until it is gone.

 

Will try this tonight.

My weekend project if nothing else works this week.

 

My understanding was that the ice sharpened the blades. No idea who told me that, that's just what I had heard.

 

We use a bunch of ice and bleach every month or so... seems to keep ours clean.

 

How would ice sharpen the blades?

 

The ice will sharpen the blades, but not much else unless there is something jammed in the disposal.

Unless there is a specific reason you are saying the disposal smells, I would guess that it is a plumbing issue with something in the drain pipe.

I have been building homes for a long time and literally dealt with 1000's of warranty issue, but never this. Have you checked the p-traps?

 

I have no idea

 

The dishwasher (assuming you have one) typically discharges into the disposal. It's possible that the smell is from that hose. Run a load or two there (no dishes required), maybe add a little bleach to the water.

No need to buy a new one, it can be cleaned.

 

Yes, it does discharge into there.

Sounds like everyone here works for Clorox.

 

No. Does smelly crap accumulate in traps under the sink? Wouldn't be hard to check.

 

If your drain is properly vented and the water drains quickly, the trap should be full of water (to prevent sewer gas from entering). It wouldn't hurt to check the trap(s) but if the drain is used frequently it shouldn't smell.

 

This is Fchat. buy a new house.

 

Make sure Bleach has gone away . . . then:

Step 1: Mix Baking Soda & Salt. Pour.

Step 2: Pour Cheap Vinegar. Admire bubbly cauldron.

Step 3: Pour Hot Water to rinse away [salt is corrosive].

Cost: $3

 

Best. Answer. Ever

 

I'm not moving. I have an In-Sinkerator 16M, which is 26% faster than plain model. Believe me, you'd notice the performance.

 

yeah....but the belt service is a killer.

 

There is a tablet made to put down the disposal that will help break up the residue and deodorize it. Just drop in once a week and fuggit about it........Seriously, get some of these little yellow gel tablets and it should help. I replaced ours about two months ago and when I had the p-trap off I noticed it was pretty gunked up. But the disposal had not been changed in 20 years....

 

Once a week? How much residue could build up in a week?

The bleach idea seems to have worked -- at least this morning I didn't notice any odor.

We'll see if lasts more than a week...

 

I just pour bleach directly down there and let it sit. Later run it with lots of water and that'll get rid of the smell.

 

The once a week is to keep the smell down, not cutting down so much on the residue....Kinda has a lemon scent.

 

I am a disposal tech by day...