Can Sani Sticks Be Used In Garbage Disposal? – Eco-Friendly Cleaning

Sani sticks are organic, eco-friendly, and completely safe to be used in the garbage disposal. You can put a stick in your disposal to keep it clean and fragrant for one month.

Who wants a Thanksgiving dinner ruined by a clogged pipeline? I bet you don’t! But what if your garbage disposal is clogged where you cannot put bleach or other corrosive drain cleaners?

Enter: Sani sticks. These magical drain cleaners are safe enough to be used in your garbage disposal and won’t hurt your skin, eyes, nose, OR the environment. All-natural enzymes clear the gunk in your drains and even deodorize it.

So, to answer the question: yes, you can use Sani sticks in garbage disposals to prevent them from clogging and giving off a stink. Let’s see what these sticks are and what good can they bring.

can sani sticks be used in garbage disposal

What Are Sani Sticks?

Sani sticks are cylindrical, usually blue, and almost 6 inches long sticks that contain several enzymes that can dissolve organic waste in drain pipes and prevent them from clogging.

Since most of their composition is organic enzymes, they are biodegradable and will dissolve completely in your drain without leaving behind any residue that could harm the environment.

Also, they are non-corrosive, non-toxic, and pretty safe to use without any preventive measures. 

Once you drop a sani stick down your drain or garbage disposal, it will carry on with its drain-cleaning job for almost a month. The natural enzymes slowly release and dissolve any food leftovers that stick to the walls and could build up to block the disposal.

What Do Sani Sticks Do?

Sani sticks dissolve organic waste in your drain to PREVENT clogs and eliminate foul odor. One crucial detail is that sani sticks cannot clear an already choked pipe. Instead, they work as a preventive measure to avoid any such incidents.

A few things sani sticks work best on are:

  • Grease
  • Food particles
  • Fruits and vegetable peels
  • Meat and small bones
  • Hair

Are Sani Sticks Garbage Disposal Friendly?

Due to their organic nature and natural constituents, you can safely use sani sticks in the garbage disposal. You will need to push one stick down the disposal a month, and it will keep it clean and deodorized. 

Let’s see why sani sticks are so ideal for garbage disposal:

1. They Are Effective 

Since most of the waste we push down the garbage disposal is organic, the enzymatic composition of sani sticks is best suited to dissolve them. These sticks work best on food scraps, vegetable and fruit peel, pieces of meat, etc.

2. They Are Organic

Sani sticks are organic and safe for the environment. They dissolve completely without any residue that could end up in our water sources and pollute them. You can even find a “vegan” label on a few variants.

3. They Are Non-Toxic

Bleaches and other drain cleaners usually require you to wear gloves and protective eyewear since they give off dangerous fumes. On the contrary, sani sticks are perfectly safe to use without precautionary measures and produce no fumes or hazardous products.

4. They Last A Month

Sani sticks release enzymes slowly from their cylindrical structure over one month. Hence, a pack of twelve will last you a whole year and keep your garbage disposal clean and deodorized.

5. They Neutralize Bad Odor

Not only are sani sticks great for keeping your garbage disposal clean and unclogged, but they also make it smell less like a stagnant pond. They come in multiple fragrances you can choose from, like rose, lavender, and lemon, and keep your drains deodorized.

Sani Sticks Limitations

Even with all the advantages they provide over conventional drain cleaner, sani sticks have a few limitations.

1. They Cannot Unclog

The primary purpose of sani sticks is to PREVENT drain clogging. They cannot unclog a drain or garbage disposal already blocked by gunk. 

These sticks dissolve small amounts of grease and food scraps that keep coming into the garbage disposal, but if you shove them down a severely blocked drain and expect them to clean it, you will be let down.

2. They Do Not Dissolve Hair

Contrary to what manufacturers claim, I have never found sani sticks to be effective on hair. Even though these sticks are supposed to be effective on all things organic (and hair is organic), I’ve always heard mixed reviews about their efficiency with hair.

3. They Can Block A Small Pipe

It may sound insane since sani sticks are supposed to unblock drainpipes and garbage disposals. But if you push a big stick down a narrow pipe, it is bound to clog it before it dissolves. 

So the key here is to choose the correct size for the drain you aim to use them for.

food by garbage disposal

How To Use Sani Sticks?

The best thing about these sticks is they are effortless to use. You need to buy a pack and put one in the garbage disposal every month. Here is a step-by-step method on how to use sani sticks for your garbage disposal:

  • Take one sani stick out of the packet.
  • Check that the diameter of the stick is considerably less than the disposal drain pipe.
  • Push the stick down the garbage disposal or any drain pipe you want to keep clean.

Other Drain Cleaners Suitable For Garbage Disposals

Till now, we have established the fact that acids and bleaches are not safe for garbage disposal. First, they are not eco-friendly; second, they can damage your disposal’s parts.

So how do you clean your garbage disposal to keep it from getting clogged and smelling like a gutter? One option is the sani stick, but these sticks have a few limitations, as we have discussed above. If you are looking for alternatives, here are a few I find most compelling:

1. Liquid Plumr Foaming Powder

Powders tend to reach the tightest nooks and crannies that other cleaners can miss. The Liquid Plumr Disposal and Drain cleaner produces foam when you put it in water and effectively cleans any obstruction.

Here’s how you can use it:

How To Use?

  • First, turn the garbage disposal off.
  • Now, run hot water in your sink for one minute.
  • Put one packet of Liquid Plumr Foaming Powder down your sink unopened.
  • Turn on the garbage disposal.
  • Foam will start forming and will even rise to the sink. Run water to wash all of the foam down to the disposal.
  • Now turn the disposal off again and let the foam do the cleaning.

2. Green Gobbler Disposal Cleaner

Green Gobbler is another commercial garbage disposal cleaner. It comes in the form of a thick liquid with a citrus smell that is safe for disposal and effective at eliminating foul odors. The cap comes with measurements for ease of use.

How To Use?

  • Turn the garbage disposal off.
  • Put one capful or 4 ounces of the cleaner down your disposal drain.
  • Cover the drain.
  • Let the cleaner sit in the disposal overnight.
  • Drain in the morning with hot water.

3. Home-Made Cleaners

If you don’t want to use conventional commercial cleaning products for your garbage disposal, several hacks use ingredients lying around you.

Here are a few of them:

Citrus Fruits

Oranges, lemons, and limes belong to the citrus family and are famous for their cleaning and deodorizing properties. Several commercial cleaning products use their extracts to give a refreshing scent.

  • Simply chop a couple of citrus fruits into small pieces to clean your garbage disposal and eliminate foul odors. 
  • Now, put these pieces down your garbage disposal and turn it on. 
  • The fruits will give off a pleasant smell while grinding, and the acidic nature will cut down the grease.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is another famous ingredient used widely in cleaning hacks. It also helps in getting rid of the foul odor from multiple surfaces.

Here’s how you can use baking soda with vinegar to clean your garbage disposal:

  • Turn the disposal off.
  • Put a quarter cup of baking soda down the disposal.
  • Now pour half a cup of vinegar too.
  • Let the concoction sit and fizz for a few minutes.
  • Finally, rinse using hot water.

Dish Washing Liquid

A mixture of dishwashing liquid and warm water is always a life-saver when cleaning. You can use this mix to clean your garbage disposal as well.

  • Put a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid in a cup of warm water.
  • Shake the mixture well.
  • Pour the mixture down your garbage disposal.
  • Let it sit overnight.
  • Finally, rinse using hot water.
unclogging pipes

FAQs Regarding Sani Sticks In Garbage Disposals

Why can I not put drain cleaners in my garbage disposals?

Drain cleaners containing corrosive acids and bleaches can irreversibly damage the plastic and metallic parts of your disposal. Hence, you should avoid putting any strong cleaners in your garbage disposal.

Do sani sticks also disinfect garbage disposals?

Sani sticks only prevent clogs in drains and garbage disposals. You cannot use them for disinfection.

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