The garbage disposal

Indispensable in the modern kitchen, a garbage disposal helps make food preparation and cleanup easy and fast. Attached under the kitchen sink’s drain, a garbage disposal works by chewing up food scraps fed down the drain with a heavy flow of water.

The garbage disposals are compatible with all kitchen sinks, from stainless steel sinks to granite and natural stone sinks, however, before buying one, you should make sure that you get the right size for your drain.

 Garbage disposals work best if you use cold water when grinding food, do not overfill, and do not pour bleach and other chemicals into them. Also, you should know that not all things can be thrown into a garbage disposal. Items like egg shells, grease, fruit seeds/pits, pasta, corn husk and banana peels can cause blades to lock up or the pipes to clog, even with regular maintenance. 


To clean the blades of the garbage disposal you can use store-bought products, or you can pour a cup of ice cubes down the running disposal to clean the grinder blades once a month. This will help keep the blades clean, but it won't get rid of the bad odors. For that, lime, orange, and lemon are recommended. Just grind slices or just the peels from these fruits, while the cold water is running, of course. 
Lemon and other citrus are known to have natural cleaning properties and will also make the entire kitchen smell great. But you already know of the wonders of lemon from my previous post.

8 uses for lemon in the household

Lemon scent is fresh and refreshing, symbolizing cleanliness for many people. In fact, there are hundreds of cleaning products on the market that smell like lemon. Lemons contain acids that have antibacterial and antiseptic properties so can be used as such, for cleaning. Here's how and what you can clean with a lemon:


1. Cleans copper and stainless steel surfaces

If your copper and stainless steel objects (like stainless steel sinks, stainless cutlery, copper sinks, copper bath tubs, etc.) lost their luster, use a lemon to clean them. Cut a lemon in half, spread some salt over it and rub the area that needs shine. Then rinse with water and wipe with a soft cloth.

2. Covers the smell of vinegar

Vinegar can be used successfully to clean and remove stains from various surfaces, but many people avoid it because of the persistent smell. Adding lemon juice to a solution of vinegar and water helps neutralize the odor. Plus, the acid in the lemon makes the solution more efficient.

3. Cleans countertops

Hardened traces of food and grease on the kitchen countertops can be cleaned in seconds with lemon juice. If the stains are persistent, add a little baking soda over the lemon juice and scrub with an abrasive pad. Be careful not to let the lemon juice too long to act because it can discolor the surfaces.

4. Removes the smell from wood and plastic surfaces

Plastic or wood cutting boards can smell like food over time. To clean and remove odor rub them with a slice of lemon. You can apply the same treatment to plastic dishes.




5. Unclogs pipes

Use a solution made of hot water and lemon juice from 2-3 to remove fat deposits and odor coming from the the kitchen sink drain.

6. Can be used as bleach

The acid in lemon juice whitens fabrics and removes stains. Use lemon juice when you put white fabrics to soak. You'll be amazed to find that it acted like bleach.

7. Removes rust stains

To remove a rust stain from a fabric use a solution made from hot water, lemon juice, lemon salt and table salt. Rub the stain with this solution and leave on for 30 minutes - 1 hour, then wash the fabric normally.

8. Cleans leather items

Lemon juice can be successfully utilized to clean leather items - couches, clothes, purses, shoes. Soak a soft cloth in lemon juice and polishes these objects.