An Orange A Week........Your Disposer Won't Stink!

So, over the last few years, I have been slowly moving away from standard household chemicals and begun utilizing more natural methods. I know many people who are doing the same thing, and I confess - my reasons may not be as "noble" as others.

Am I becoming more "green" to save the Earth? Honestly, no. Sorry - I love the Earth (Go Captain Planet!), but that's not fueling my desire for a greener cleaning regimen. Am I worried about the harm these chemicals are causing me and my family? Again - no. Pretty sure all the particulates in the air released daily by all the factories worldwide are probably a little more damaging to my lungs and general well being than my spray bottle of Krud-Kutter. Really and truly, my reason for wanting more natural cleaning products is two fold: I hate the chemical smell, and I hate the chemical cost.

Like I said - it's not a noble cause, but it is a good reason in my book. I HATE when my house smells like various bottles of chemicals. My nose burns, I get headaches, I sneeze.......so my house may be clean but I feel like crap. Top that off with the outrageous price of cleaners these days.

I think the coup de gras was when I went to the store not too long ago and saw Windex advertising one of their new products - with VINEGAR......and a spiffy price mark-up. Seriously??? Vinegar is an AGE-OLD window cleaner (which works quite well, thank you). Oh, and get this: a 26 ounce bottle of Windex Multi-Surface Vinegar spray costs $3.69 (meaning a gallon will run you $18.17), while a gallon of store-brand white vinegar goes for just $2.49.

So, I'm going to buy the vinegar, which I can use to clean my windows AND a vast number of other household chores (some of which can be found on this awesome cheat sheet, which you can download for free at Curbly.com)!

And now, I'm going to take a step OFF my soapbox, because I do have a nifty trick to share with you, and it does involve vinegar.

Something most of you probably don't know about me is that I have a very poor sense of smell. I have other senses that compensate for it, but the smell sense is completely jacked up. Because I cannot always smell things such as unsightly kitchen odors, for example, I try to stay a step ahead of them. As someone who cooks a lot, I find that my garbage disposer is a much used appliance. And like any appliance, it needs to be cleaned. Below is a very easy, inexpensive, and green way to clean your garbage disposal.

*Exercise care when cleaning your garbage disposer! Do NOT stick your hand, foot, head, bodily appendage, or anything else not intended to be utterly obliterated down a garbage disposer while it is running! I don't want anyone to be pulling off a Monty Python 'It's just a flesh wound' skit in a literal sense for Halloween.*

Materials needed: 

1/2 cup Baking Soda

1/2 - 1 cup Vinegar

A Few Citrus Peels

Handful of Ice Cubes

Begin by ensuring your sink is cleaned out (i.e., no dishes, silverware, food, etc.). Run hot water down the drain for around 30 seconds to loosen any solidified grease / food particles. Turn off the water and pour baking soda down the disposer opening.

Next, SLOWLY pour the vinegar down the disposer opening. As the two components are reacting - think 4th grade science volcano experiment - turn on the garbage disposer and run for a 5-10 second burst.

 Turn it back off and allow the vinegar / baking soda mixture to complete its reaction.

Once finished, run hot water down the disposer opening and turn the disposer on. While both are running, drop citrus peels, one at a time, down the disposer.

Approximately 30 seconds AFTER you can no longer here any peel being chopped up inside the disposer, turn the water off (leave the disposer on), and drop a handful of ice cubes down the disposer opening. These are going to do a final "walk-through" if you will, dislodging any stubborn particles still stuck on the blades. Once they have been chopped up, turn the disposer off and revel in the the citrus clean smell.

Oh, and just a few tidbits I'd like to point out here.

Vinegar has been found to have both antiviral and antibacterial properties. Click HERE for a research report published in the US National Library of Medicine. Click HERE for an open access research article published by OMICS Publishing Group

Citrus Oil has been found to have both antiviral and antibacterial properties. Click HERE and HERE for research reports published in the US National Library of Medicine.

I just wanted to share this information so that you can feel confident that you are CLEANING your disposer - not just masking odors with scents. The chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking soda work to remove buildup in the disposer. The baking soda itself helps to absorb odors, and the vinegar kills germs. Then, grinding up the citrus peels gives you a second shot of antibacterial cleaning, some citrus oil to help lube everything up, and a great scent to top it off with.