The Unexpected Way You Can Use Mouthwash To Fix A Smelly Kitchen

The garbage disposal can be one of the hardest-working appliances in your kitchen. It makes dishwashing easier and more tidy, gobbling up bits of food that would otherwise sit in a quite unsavory manner at the bottom of your sink. To no surprise, it’s bound to collect smells over time, especially when being often forgotten about whenever deep-cleaning day comes.

When you start noticing a stench in your kitchen that is hard to pinpoint, oftentimes it is coming from the garbage disposal. Anything that handles food waste can be expected to need a refresh regularly, and bacteria can cling to the walls of the drain and eventually cause an unpleasant stench. While we have the best way to deep-clean your garbage disposal, there’s also tips to ensure that your garbage disposal stays smelling fresh at all times, even between cleanings. Our favorite is unexpectedly pulled from the personal hygiene aisle. 

For a smelly drain and garbage disposal, you can use mouthwash to give instant relief to your nostrils, and otherwise maintain a neutral odor when you don’t feel like performing a proper deep-clean. In a similar way that mouthwash can eliminate bacteria in your mouth, it can help stave off food bacteria in the drain, while also leaving a minty-fresh scent afterwards that beats out any plain vinegar rinse. 

Pouring mouthwash down the drain provides a temporary refresh that will keep your kitchen smelling good, and you can keep a bottle underneath the sink for using as often as you’d like. A full cleaning of the drain and garbage disposal comes in handy a few times a year, but mouthwash can help in between to reduce any unwanted odor in a quick and low-maintenance way. Just make sure you choose a mouthwash with antibacterial properties. 

Additionally, set your sink up for success by avoiding these 10 things that you should never put down your garbage disposal, as well as always running cool water when using the garbage disposal, as it keeps food and fat solid so the disposal can wash the particles away. While we’re not advocating for skipping your seasonal deep-clean, it doesn’t hurt to keep things minty and fresh in the meantime with a generous pour of mouthwash.