Don't Throw Away Leftover Orange Peels! Put Them In Your Garbage Disposal

Orange peels are more valuable than you think, and they can actually be fun. If you take a fresh peel — the thicker the better — and squeeze it sharply with one hand while holding a lighter next to it, the spray will produce a momentary display of dazzling sparks. The compound in the peel that's responsible for this is d-limonene, and it has many uses, including being an effective cleaning agent for your garbage disposal. 

Using orange peels to clean a garbage disposal is a trick that's been around years, and it takes care of two problems at once: a smelly sink and pile of orange rinds you don't know what to do with. It works because the rind gently scrubs the inside of the garbage disposal while the essential oils, rich in d-limonene, deodorize and disinfect. D-limonene is also a de-gumming agent that helps dissolve grease and oil buildup. 

Lemon peels also contain limonene in the form of l-limonene, but it has a slightly different chemical composition and isn't as fragrant. Lemon peels will also do a good job of cleaning your garbage disposal, perhaps even better, but if you want that citrusy-sweet fragrance to linger after you're done cleaning, orange peels are the way to go. Besides being more fragrant, orange peels have a higher concentration of limonene than other citrus fruits, accounting for nearly 97% of their essential oils. 

It's quite easy to clean your garbage disposal with orange rinds, as long as you don't go cramming whole rinds into the drain and filling the canister. The motor will struggle to grind them all and will probably wear out prematurely. Instead, cut the rinds into small pieces and feed them slowly into the disposal while the water is running. If you have a large pile of rinds to throw away, this may take some time, so you might want to consider grinding only some of them and composting the rest. Alternatively, you can use the rinds to make orange oil that helps vinegar-based weed killing sprays become more effective.

Besides deodorizing your garbage disposal, orange rinds will also clean it, but they aren't abrasive enough to do a thorough job. To know why, you have to understand how a garbage disposal works. Instead of a blade that slices through food, it has a blunt impeller that throws food against a grate (much like a cheese grater) on the sides of the canister. Food, including orange rinds, can collect in the small openings of the grate and clog it. 

To really clean the grate, you need to grind something hard, and ice is the perfect candidate. Just turn on the water and the disposal, and toss in some ice cubes, one at a time. Grind the orange peels after you've done this to disinfect and make everything smell great.