Awful Offal

The other day I was washing dishes and cleaning the sink when I noticed there was still a...smell.  So I put baking soda in the garbage disposal and added vinegar.  I love when it froths up, and it's suppose to clean real well.  After I rinsed, well, there was still that...smell.  I had to dig further.

Time to pull out the drain guard.  That rubber insert that protects you from debris when you run the garbage disposal.  I've cleaned this before--even ran it through the dishwasher.  It's very difficult to clean.  I guess it had been awhile since I'd last cleaned it.  Disgusting would be an understatement.

I worked it out of the drain and turned it over.  Ugh!  I couldn't take a picture (no camera).  I don't know if I'd want to post that anyway.  It was like old Jello--thick, jiggly and slippery.  It varied in color from tan through brown to black.  It was fascinating in a "car-wreck" kind of way.  Yeah, yeah, I'm weird.  I also like to look at forensic shows and medical mysteries.  But I digress.

I let the thing soak in bleach, which did absolutely nothing.  Then, in a moment of silliness, I poured salt on it.  Salt chases away evil.  Yes, I know--weird.  But this stuff was even weirder.  I was about ready to buy some lime.  No, not the fruit.

Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. --Wikipedia

This is the stuff murderers use to destroy dead bodies.  You can get it at a garden center, but it's not cheap.  So, not an option at that point.  I was going to have to do this the hard way.

Gritting my teeth, I got some paper towels and started wiping the drain guard.  The pieces started falling and jiggling.  Really gag-worthy.  Fortunately, I don't gag easily.  Although, when a piece fell off the paper towel and I was tossing it in the garbage, I almost lost it.  Bloody thing bounced!  I must have gone through a dozen paper towels.

Once it was clean I had to wipe the the drain.  Not any more fun than cleaning the guard had been.  After I reinserted the guard into the drain, I had an epiphany.  Next time, I'm going to just buy a new drain guard!