My Apartment Stinks!

There is a garbage disposal cleaner available called plink. It is a little gel ball that you put down the garbage disposal. I used them for the office where I used to work, and they did seem to help. I don't remember how often they suggested using them or the exact directions, but I would recommend looking into those or a generic if there is one available!

 

I have a stink problem in my apartment but I have a name for it - Duke, my dog. He has the terrible habit of going potty, getting his paws wet on it and walking around the house... I try minimizing it as much as possible but sometimes he escapes me! The thing I found helps the most with the smell is plain old anti-bacteria disinfectant. I usually get the flowery ones that have a really strong scent because they keep the stink away. I'm using a jasmine one now that smells pretty good.

 

I recently read that alka seltzer can help with the smells in your garbage trap, drop 4-6 tablets in the disposal add some warm water and let it set for 20-30 minutes, then pour a pot of boiling hot water down the drain it should clear out what ever is down there causing the smell. Have you tried running your hand around the blades to see if there is a piece of skin or meat caught on something that is not coming lose but is stinking to high heavens.

 

If you have a chute, the best way to remove smell (personal experience) is to buy a bag of cat litter and dump it there. It's not very expensive and it will keep dampness and trashy smells from attacking your home. It retains smells and fluids.

On the off chance that there's an ordinary garbage disposal, simply take apart P-trap and clean it. There isn't a real pumping methodology (you can dismember the trap by hand at home) yet it may not be an average thing to do, prepare to be grossed out. Have a container prepared to catch the water and gunk in the trap, then hose out the trap outside.
Alka seltzer works too, but not just 6 tablets, it usually takes an entire box (be sure not to use it all at once)

 

I would second taking a look at the P-trap. All kinds of stuff can get lodged in there. You may want to make sure you are wearing rubber gloves when you do this!

I would then drop a couple of Alka Seltzer (or even just use bicarbonate of soda) down there followed by boiling water once a month for maintenance.

 

Bleach, or PineSol. If you use bleach you are going to have to make sure that the area is well-ventilated.
I would pour bleach down the drain and let it sit for about 10 minutes, and then turn the water on and run the garbage disposal for awhile. I'd do that maybe 2 or 3 times, that should do the trick.

PineSol is great for killing odors too. I'd do the bleach first, and follow it up with some PineSol the next day.

 

Yeah, I'm with missbishi, it sounds like you might have something lodged or possible there is some stagnant water just lying around somewhere. This can happen in some showers as well.

 

If you are in an apartment, just ask the maintenance to come in and take a look at your disposal. I'm sure they would be more than happy to, since they don't want to risk it backing up and damaging the apartment itself. I wouldn't risk trying to take it apart myself, since I wouldn't know what I was doing in the first place, and if I damage it in the process I'm going to get stuck replacing it.

I've always thrown lemon rinds down my garbage disposal and ran it with hot water going full blast to freshen it up. Also I always threw my coffee grinds down it, supposedly they help keep it clean and unclogged somehow. I've had problems with stuff like rice and pasta though backing mine up.

Are you sure it's the garbage disposal itself that is stinking? Maybe there is a leak or something under the sink which is creating mold. Another culprit for odors in my kitchen would be my trash can. When meat juices and other liquids leak out of the bag into the can itself, they accumulate at the bottom and seriously start to reek.