how do you clean your garbage disposal?

[Marissamom]

mine keeps getting a build-up of sink scum, and I'm not sure of the best way of cleaning it so it isn't constantly smelling

[MeredithA]

I don't take special care to clean my disposal, but about once a week I will cut a lemon in half and toss it in the disposal and flip it on for a few seconds. It freshens it up a lot! 

[mkksmom]

Sometimes I put a few squirts of Dawn down in there with whatever I'm sending down. lettuce works well. I also will occasionally make ice cubes from vinegar and grind those up. I still never feel it's fully clean, but that helps. I also take a rag and dawn and srub the rubber underneath the opening, both sides.

[Marissamom]

the rubber opening is what seems to be the hardest

[Imakcerka]

I use ice,  it acts as a sand blaster.  It will clean the underside of the disposal.  For the top I use a lemon and salt.  Or sometimes I just use salt to scrub with.

[incorrigible]

We dump a bowl of ice and whatever citrus peels we have for the week down it once a week. It smells all fresh for a day or two, and hasn't gotten funky since we started that habit.

[cameragirl]

Ice definitely works well. Grinding up a used lemon or lime will help with the smell.