Kitchen

[SharkE]

I'm afraid to pour bleach down the sink. I've used vinegar.

Every morning there they are swarming around the black rubber material.  I keep the disposer twirling.

Where they're coming from  I do not know.

I'm glad they seem to just stay in that one area.

[PinkyPetunia]

You need to scrub out the rubber gasket.  Find a dish or bottle brush and just use it for the disposal.  Wear rubber gloves, squirt dish soap on the brush and scrub down into the disposal and around the gasket until the soap foam is not filthy any more.  Rinse well and save the brush under the sink for future use.  I keep it in an old 32 oz. plastic yogurt cup.  

A small amount of bleach (1/2 cup or so) mixed wth water and poured down the drain won't hurt anything.  

I don't have gnats but my disposal gets an odor if it's not cleaned regularly.  Once a month is good for me.  I've tried commercial disposal cleaners and they don't perform any better than my homemade methods.

[geezerette]

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@PinkyPetunia wrote:

You need to scrub out the rubber gasket.  Find a dish or bottle brush and just use it for the disposal.  Wear rubber gloves, squirt dish soap on the brush and scrub down into the disposal and around the gasket until the soap foam is not filthy any more.  Rinse well and save the brush under the sink for future use.  I keep it in an old 32 oz. plastic yogurt cup.  

A small amount of bleach (1/2 cup or so) mixed wth water and poured down the drain won't hurt anything.  

I don't have gnats but my disposal gets an odor if it's not cleaned regularly.  Once a month is good for me.  I've tried commercial disposal cleaners and they don't perform any better than my homemade methods.

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That. ⬆️

Scrub the underside of the rubber flaps.  That's where all the gunk clings.

[jlkz]

@SharkE  

Best cleaning set for the underside of the disposal is a brush and disposal cleaning spray from Fuller.  It takes a total of 5 minutes and the clean lasts quite a while.  It's good for regular sinks also.

I don't recall the exact home remedy for tiny flyers at the disposal, but I bet google can provide a few that work well.

[drizzellla]

This is the first year we had trouble with fruit flies (guess they are the same as gnats).

We bought traps, that would catch a few. I sealed all my apple skins, strawberry tops and all other fruit parts in plastic bags. And we still had fruit flies.

Went on line. Someone made a trap with a jar, a banana skin and a piece of paper rolled and sticking out of the neck of the jar. It was very successful.

Can you also put the stopper covering the opening to the garbage disposal? So the gnats can't leave or return to their favorite spot? Maybe after dinner and leave it on all night.

[felixmom]

1 cup baking soda followed by 1 cup white vinegar. Let it sit and fizz for 30 minutes. Pour boiling water to flush.

Do this routine weekly. If gnats persist, it may indicate problems/blockages. Good luck!

[Puppy Galore]

A half cup is strong. I use 10% bleach to 90% water. It will kill the bacteria.

As others have mentioned scrub all surfaces and underbellies.

For those of you that have pets and take them outside they usually have a favorite spot to pee. If it has an odor caused by bacteria, spray it or pour the same ratio, 10% bleach to 90 % water. 

[deeva]

I bought a brush from Amazon that has a soap well to add dishwashing liquid, the brush is also adjustable.

It works much better than a cheaper brush I bought at the hardware store.

[loriqvc]

The tips here are great. For ongoing cleaning, I love the Kochblume brush set I bought here at QVC; it does a very nice job and can be thoroughly sanitized, so it doesn't hold onto any grime or odors:

https://www.qvc.com/kochblume-7pc-removable-handle-%26-silicone-brush-cleaning-set.product.V85234.ht...

(There are other sets available as well; just search for Kochblume.)

[Shelbelle]

Agree with first baking soda, then rinse with vinegar, works on clogged drains too