Can You Put Baking Soda in a Garbage Disposal

The powerful natural cleaner, baking soda is often seen as a miracle cleaner. It can be applied to stains, messes, and appliances to make sure all those items are cleaned thoroughly. Baking soda does a great job on its own and when it is made into a paste using water.

But what about using it solo in a garbage disposal? Will baking soda be up to the task and get that appliance clean? To find out the answers to these questions, just continue to read our article.

It has the information you want to know about. Take a few minutes to see if this information is helpful to you or not.

Where to Clean

First off, it is perfectly safe to send baking soda down through your garbage disposal. But by itself, it may only deodorize the appliance and not do any cleaning. Usually, baking soda needs a partner to make sure this appliance gets nice and clean.

One partnership is with vinegar and these two ingredients do a great job cleaning up your disposal. Another partnership will involve lemon pieces, bleach, and ice cubes. You would need:

• 6 ice cubes
• 3 thin lemon slices
• 1 tbsp. of baking soda
• 1 tsp. of bleach

Place the ice cubes in first, then the baking soda followed by the lemons and the bleach. Next turn on your disposal and the cold-water tap. Wait for the grinding to stop before flushing the disposal with running water for 30 minutes. The disposal should be on during that flushing stage.

Also, take the time to remove the black rubber panel sitting on top of your sink. That will be your trouble area when it comes to rotting food and bad odor. Use baking soda and some water to clean that panel off then return it to its proper place.

What Not to Use

It is highly recommended that you do not use commercial disposal cleaners on sale at your supermarket. Most do not clean the disposal while others contain harsh chemicals that will damage the blades over time.

Also, do not use lye or chemical drain cleaners either. The same reasons apply.

Some Final Words

When it comes time to clean your garbage disposal, it is safe to use baking soda. But this product is not that good at cleaning when it is on its own. The easiest partnership to use will be the one with vinegar. Just pour both ingredients into your sink and wait.

When the waiting is done, simply flush and your disposal should be clean.