Bad smell in the kitchen?
Do you have a bad smell in the kitchen or break room in your building? Nothing ruins a clean space faster than a nasty odor, because while the surfaces may look clean, a bad smell just feels dirty*.
Now, before you get down on hands and knees and sniff every surface to find the source (who wants to do that?), first make a list of the most likely suspects. The main one is the trash can, but that’s so obvious. If the trash can has been taken care of, check the next most likely culprit: the garbage disposal. If you haven’t cleaned it in a while, it’s likely that it’s harboring a stink like an old grudge. Let’s help it let go.
There are lots of ways to clean a garbage disposal, but the following is a process that has worked for us:
How to clean a garbage disposal
Step 1: Remove the black rubber cover from the disposal and clean it with hot water and dish soap. Remove all grime and residue and put it back.
Step 2: Grind rock salt and ice in your disposal. This will scrape off the nasty sludge and food particles. Use two cups of ice and one cup of rock salt.
Step 3: Throw citrus fruits into your disposal and grind them up. You can use peels only or the entire fruit. Feel free to use oranges, lemons, limes or any other citrus fruit. The citric acid will clean the disposal and leave it smelling citrusy!
*According to an article from ScentAir, people don’t look for signs of clean, they smell for them. It’s not enough that your laundry be free from stains; you want to bury your nose in it. The same is true of homes and offices as well, except for the “bury your nose in it” part.
