My Sink Smells Way Better After Cleaning With This Best-Selling $15 Tool
I’ve lived in a lot of places in my adult life, and a month ago I moved into my first house that had a garbage disposal. I’ve grown so used to dealing with “drain salad” (read: food stuck in my strainer) that the thought of simply flushing that grime down the disposal felt oddly liberating. Of course, convenient as it may be, a garbage disposal isn’t maintenance-free either. But since I’d read and written about plenty of hacks for keeping a disposal unclogged and smelling fresh, I felt as prepared as I could be.
At least I felt prepared… until I came across this bestselling drain brush on Amazon. Beloved by reviewers — so far, more than 1,000 happy shoppers have left a five-star rating — the Mr. Scrappy Universal Garbage Disposal Brush is said to be just as functional as it is cute. (Honestly, I get major Big Bird vibes when I look at this thing). The goal is to use the long, bendy brush to banish the extra food waste from the corners of your garbage disposal that you can’t easily or safely reach with your hands or a rag. I knew it was important to clean food residue to prevent smells, but I didn’t know how common it was for gunk to linger in unreachable parts of the disposal!
Trying it out was an oddly satisfying experience. After running the disposal to remove the big stuff, I spent the better part of a minute cleaning it out with the brush. It reminded me of using a cotton swab to clean out your ear (which, I know, is actually not recommended by doctors!).
I’d rate the user experience 10/10. Mr. Scrappy is definitely the perfect size and shape. I could feel the bottom of the disposal with the bottom of the brush, and the bristles on the top easily rubbed up against the sides and flaps of the disposal. I also really like that it’s flexible, which makes it easy to grab lingering food from corners and crevices. And even though the brush itself is bendy, the handle is sturdy, so I can clean more forcefully if I want to.
I didn’t pull out anything too disgusting — remember, I just moved into this kitchen — but what I did pull out made a difference. (Reviewers rave about the amount of gunk that this things can pull up.) It worked wonders at moving the scraps around, so that they could be properly disposed of. And, the drain magically smelled, um, way less stinky … almost instantly. Funny how that works, right? Clean out the rotting food and things smell better!
The tool is a dream, and I can’t wait to keep using Mr. Scrappy. And when I do, inevitably, get the brush all gunked up, it’ll be so easy to clean: You rinse with soap and water or, better yet, rinse and toss on the top rack of the dishwasher!
This post originally ran on Kitchn. See it there: The $15 Garbage Disposal Brush That Makes My Sink Less Stinky