Disposal Maintenance
- , by Trudy Chuoke Trudy Chuoke
Have you come into your kitchen and detected this lingering smell and found out it’s coming from your disposal? Or has your disposal ever backed up on you, sending water everywhere? Well, both of those things have happened to me. And I wanted to share what I found that worked.
When it comes to odors in the disposal, there are several products that you can try. One of my favorites is the one made by Glisten. It’s been around forever and still does such a great job. With your disposal off, run hot water into the disposer side of the sink, but not directly into the disposer. After a minute, reduce the hot water to a pencil-width trickle. Place one cleaning packet into the disposal, unopened. Turn on the disposal. Now, be prepared, blue foam will erupt from the disposal. In fact, it may come up on the other side of your sink if you have two bowls. Once the foam disappears, cleaning is complete, and you can turn off the disposal. I like this foaming action because I feel it reaches into the disposal's crevices. Plus, it leaves the disposal smelling fresh. CLR also makes a disposal pod that foams and smells fresh. I just think the Glisten does a better job. There is another disposal cleaner called Instant Power Disposal and Drain Cleaner, which contains enzymes. This product does not foam. Run your disposal for 2 minutes with the water on. Turn off the disposal and water and pour 4 oz into the garbage disposal. Cover and turn on the disposal for a few seconds. Do not flush with water. Leave covered overnight. It’s safe for septic systems, leaves a fresh lemon scent, and helps clean out the drain and keep it running smoothly. This product is guaranteed, or it’s free!
But for those of you who like to scrub a surface, there is the Danco Disposal Brush. This brush can be used inside the disposal to clean all its surfaces. It comes with a splash guard that serves as a shield, keeping anything from splashing back at you. If you have a favorite dish soap, pour a little down through the splash guard while you are scrubbing. You want to work the brush up and down and around to clean all areas of the disposal. DO NOT TURN THE DISPOSAL ON WHILE CLEANING.
If you find that the disposal side of the sink is clogged and not draining, you can clean out the pipe. There is a disposal discharge pipe connected to the P-trap. If everything is PVC, you can unscrew the discharge pipe and gently pull it free. There will be a gate there, and if the drain is clogged, you will find the problem right there. I had eggshells that were completely blocking the drain. With gloves on, remove what is clogging the drain. Have a large mop bucket underneath while you work, as there will be a lot of water. When you have the drain clear, place the pipe back in and screw it back in. It’s easy, I promise.
If you shop on our website, you will be happy to know that we will start offering free freight on purchases of 4 items or more. This will only be for the state of Texas. I hope this helps some of you who want to try the product but have been put off by freight costs.
Now to the email….
I have marble countertops, and I am frustrated by the constant watermarks and rings I keep having to remove. What do you suggest that I clean with? Wish I had kept my granite.
Answer: I like to use Granite Gold Daily Cleaner for any watermarks. But what you really need to do is seal the marble. Granite Gold has a sealer that is so easy to use. But you need to let it dry for 24 hours before you place things back on the surface. So, what I do is I move everything to one side of the counter and seal the empty side. Then the next night, I move everything back and seal the other side. I would seal marble countertops every 6 months to prevent watermarks and food stains.
Question: Trudy, I ordered Trudy’s Headlight Magician- when will your product be ready for purchase?
Answer: Look for it on the site at the end of April 2026. Glad you liked it.