A Jacksonville, Florida-based apartment complex maintenance technician shared a simple way to clean your garbage disposal using just two household items you probably already have on hand.
The tip was posted by Indigo Isles (@indigoislesjax) on May 14 and already has 66,000 views. The video stars a maintenance technician named Jayson. According to a playful post by the complex, Jayson “does it all” for the complex—from the landscaping and cleaning the pool to installing and maintaining the community gym equipment.
In the most viral video on the apartment’s account, Jayson shares his “little maintenance tip.”
He grabs a few blocks of ice from an ice cube tray and sticks them in the garbage disposal. He then runs some hot water over them while sticking a few more cubes down the drain. Jayson then pours Mrs. Meyer’s Liquid Dish Soap in the disposal as the hot water continues to run. “Put a little dish soap—not too much,” Jayson warns.
While the hot water runs, Jayson turns on the disposal. Not only does this leave you with a “nice, clean” disposal, according to Jayson, but it also “prevents fruit flies and … sharpens your blades.”
@indigoislesjax 🛠️ Maintenance Tip Tuesday🧼 Keep your garbage disposal fresh and clog-free! 💡
♬ original sound – IndigoIslesJax
Viewers thanked Jayson for the tip and begged for more content like this. “Aye do more stuff like this, this content elite,” one said.
Another wrote, “Keep things coming. Because I never knew this.”
How to clean and unclog drains in the bathroom is a common request in the comments section.
“Can you do one for unclogging bathroom drains?” one asked.
“I need tips for my bathtub drain and bathroom sink they’re both clogged,” another said.
How effective is this ice cube and dish soap hack?
Apartment Therapy spoke with a plumbing expert while reporting on a similar hack. Paul Abrams, a representative from Roto-Rooter Services, told the outlet that this method is actually one he recommends.
However, he prefers not letting the water run until after the ice cubes are finished pulverizing. This will reportedly ensure the ice cubes unlodge all of the debris in the disposal first. Then the water sends it to the sewer afterward. When hot water is used in tandem with the ice, there is a chance the debris will come back up into the sink.
Here are some alternative cleaning agents you can mix with ice if you don’t have dish soap on hand:
- Peeled lemon wedges
- Lemon juice
- Baking soda
- White vinegar
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