DIY Garbage Disposal Cleaner Pods, Effective and All-Natural

We’ve all had it happen at one time or another. You walk into the kitchen, and there’s a horrible stench coming from the garbage disposal! It’s amazing how fast that smell can pop up, even overnight. I used to remedy it with the store-bought pods, but after noticing the many warning labels on the package and reading the ingredients list, I realized that I was breathing in harmful substances just to clean my home! That’s not worth it to me. The great news is that we can make our own DIY garbage disposal cleaner pods with simple ingredients that are safe and effective!

Why You Should Make these DIY Garbage Disposal Cleaner Pods

I have two different DIY garbage disposal cleaner pods that you can make. You can choose one or the other, or make both to use in combination with each other. Each pod works to do slightly different things, but they are both powerful! They can even be used in combination with each other.

These are both very easy to make, effective, smell amazing, and they only take 5 minutes of hands-on time!

OPTION 1: The Baking Soda Pods Recipe

Reusable Supplies

• A medium bowl: I love my my glass bowl set.
• A fork: You can use your regular silverware set for this. I use a small fork from our silverware set.
• A measuring cup: My favorites are these measuring cups.
• A measuring spoon: I love these measuring spoons because they sit on the counter without tipping.
• A small dough scoop: This small dough scoop is very affordable and highly rated! If you are in a pinch and don’t have a dough scoop, you can alternatively press the mixture into an ice cube tray to shape your pods.
• An airtight container: I like to use mason jars.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup baking soda: I use Arm and Hammer baking soda, but any brand would work just fine.
• 1/2 cup table salt: I prefer sea salt, but you can use anything that you have.
• 1 tbsp. Castile soap: I definitely prefer Dr. Bronner’s citrus because it smells so fresh when you use the pods!
• Water: I use distilled water in my cleaner recipes, but you could use tap water for this one if you don’t have distilled water on hand.
• Optional: 10 drops of lemon essential oil to add a pleasant scent and boost the cleaning properties of the pods.

Directions for the Baking Soda Pods

Using the fork, stir the baking soda and table salt together until combined. The fork will help to break apart any clumps.

Add the Castile soap and optional essential oil. Stir that with the fork until combined. It will be lumpy in this step, but that is totally normal.

Add the water 1 tbsp. at a time until the consistency is slushy. Just enough to make it all wet, but just dry enough to still be scoopable. It takes me about 4 tbsp. of water to reach this point.

Using the dough scoop, shape the mixture into individual pods, lining them up on a tray or baking sheet. This should make anywhere between twelve to fourteen pods.

Allow to sit at least 24 hours to dry out. You’re wanting the water to evaporate here so that the pods are no longer moldable. Once they are dry, transfer to a mason jar for storage. These will store indefinitely as long as they are kept away from moisture until used.

To use: Place 2 pods into the garbage disposal. Slowly stream cold water down the drain, and then turn on the disposal. Let it grind the pods for about 15-30 seconds before turning it off. Always run water when you are using the disposal.

The Benefits of the Baking Soda Pods, and Why These Ingredients are Used

Baking soda dissolves grime and scum that has been stuck on the disposal.

Table salt has an exfoliating texture that works to scrub leftover food off of the blades.

Castile soap is a cleaning agent, like dish soap. This helps to clean the disposal walls, degrease the blades, and also gives a pleasant scent to the pods.

Water helps bind the ingredients together into one cohesive pod.

Essential oils add a pleasant scent to the pods and boost the cleaning and disinfecting properties.

OPTION 2: The Citrus Vinegar Pods Recipe

Reusable Supplies

• An ice cube tray: This ice tray is flexible and highly rated.

Ingredients

• Citrus vinegar: You can find my recipe in the Vinegar Cleaning Spray post.

Directions for the Citrus Vinegar Pods

1. Pour the citrus vinegar into the ice cube tray, making as many pods as you’d like to use.
2. If you still have the citrus peels from your citrus vinegar, you can cut those into small pieces and push them into each cube as well.
3. Freeze until solid. Store in the freezer until you are ready to use.
4. To use: Place 2 pods into the garbage disposal. Slowly stream cold water down the drain, and then turn on the disposal. Let it grind the pods for about 15-30 seconds before turning it off. Always run water when you are using the disposal.

Benefits of the Citrus Vinegar Pods, and Why These Ingredients are Used

Vinegar has been used as a cleaning agent for thousands of years. It helps to disinfect the disposal and loosen stuck-on food.

The citrus juice and peels in the vinegar give it a pleasant scent while also boosting the cleaning properties.

Because these are frozen into ice cubes, these actually help sharpen the disposal blades so that they grind food better in the future.

Using These DIY Garbage Disposal Cleaner Pods Together

You can use these two pods together for ultimate cleaning power! When baking soda and vinegar are mixed, they react with each other to bubble up and form carbon dioxide. This reaction works to loosen any grime that is stuck on your disposal blades and walls.

To get the ultimate cleaning power boost, use two of each pod. Place all four pods into the disposal, and let it just sit there for about a minute to allow the vinegar to start to melt.

Once you can hear some bubbling in the disposal, turn the cold water on, and then turn on your disposal. Let it run for 15-30 seconds to grind everything up and loosen up all of that grime.

You’ll be left with sharper blades, a pleasant scent, and most importantly a clean disposal!

Can I add other essential oils?

Yes, you can add essential oils to either recipe! The baking soda disposal pods call for lemon essential oil, but you can add to or swap that for any oils that you like. You can also add oils to the citrus vinegar disposal pods, and even make those with just distilled white vinegar if you don’t want to have the citrus scent at all.

Some suggested combinations to try:

• Lemon + Lime
• Lavender + Rosemary
• Orange + Grapefruit
• Peppermint + Spearmint
• Lime + Lavender

How long can these be stored?

Both pod options can be stored indefinitely until ready to use.

The baking soda pods must be kept away from moisture to stay fresh. I suggest storing those in a mason jar.

The citrus vinegar pods must be kept frozen in order to sharpen the blades when they are used.

Are these DIY garbage disposal cleaner pods safe to use around children?

Yes! The ingredients in these pods are safe for use around the entire family, as long as there are no allergens present in the pods. Always check ingredients for allergens before using any products.

Don’t forget to pin this recipe for later!