You probably don’t think much about your garbage disposal until it starts to smell or run rough. When that happens, grabbing a pack of cleaning tablets seems like the easiest fix. They work to a degree, but if you’ve ever tried a powder that actually foams up and fills the whole drain, the difference is obvious.

Powders and tablets behave differently the moment they touch water. That small detail makes a big difference in how well they clean the tight, uneven interior of a disposal.

Here’s why you should make the smart move from tablets to powder.

 

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1. Tablets don’t dissolve evenly

A tablet breaks down from the outside in. Since the water inside a disposal doesn’t move in a perfectly even swirl, some parts of the tablet dissolve fast while other parts hardly dissolve at all. You end up with weak foam that never really expands enough to clean the upper walls or areas under the splash guard.

It’s inconsistent by design.

 

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2. Powder activates everywhere at once

When you pour in a powder, every grain hits water at the same time. That creates an instant, even reaction. The foam forms quickly and rises upward, filling the entire chamber — including spots a tablet can’t reach.

This is important because the worst buildup usually sits:

• under the splash guard
  
  

• around the upper walls
  
  

• in tight ridges near the grinding ring
  
  

 

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3. Powder creates a stronger, more useful foam

A good powder produces a thick foam that expands upward and gently presses against every surface. That “push” helps lift out old food residue, grease, and odor-causing film without any scrubbing.

Tablets simply can’t generate the same pressure or coverage because they dissolve too slowly.

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4. Tablets can actually strain the disposal

This part surprises people: tablets are still solid objects. When you drop one into a disposal, the motor has to break it apart before it can start dissolving. That means the grind plate and bearings take on extra strain they were never designed for.

Disposals are built to chew through soft food scraps, not dense compressed cleaners. A tablet can get wedged between the spinning plate and the grind ring, causing the blades to chatter or the motor to momentarily stall. It’s not catastrophic, but over time it adds mechanical wear you’d never get from a powder.

Powder skips that entire problem. It activates without forcing the disposal to crush anything.

 

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5. Tablets often leave gritty residue

Because tablets dissolve unevenly, they sometimes leave small binder particles behind. In normal plumbing that's rarely an issue, but inside a disposal those leftover bits tend to cling to the splash guard or internal ridges.

Since powder fully dissolves, it rinses out clean without leaving anything behind.

 

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Why SplaShh Uses Powder Instead of Tablets

Our formula is powder for a reason. It offers:

• stronger foam
  
  

• better coverage
  
  

• instant activation
  
  

• a cleaner rinse
  
  

• no risk of straining the motor
  
  
  

It gives you that “foam fills the whole drain” effect that actually cleans the disposal rather than just masking the smell.

You can see how it works here:
SplaShh Foaming Garbage Disposal Cleaner