A garbage disposal is a very useful tool to have in your kitchen. It’s a small electrical appliance that grinds up food scraps so they can easily go down your drain without causing a blockage. With the proper care, you’ll have your garbage disposal for many years to come.
How Your Garbage Disposal Works
You can rinse small bits of food waste off of your dishes and down your drain with a garbage disposal. This appliance has a spinning impeller that forces food against the sides of the grinding chamber. It turns those scraps into small particles that can easily make their way through your plumbing system.
A well-functioning garbage disposal reduces the amount of food waste that goes into your trash can. This eliminates the odors that decaying food produces while sitting in your trash. Your garbage disposal further aids you by helping to prevent clogs in your kitchen drain.
Make Sure Your Garbage Disposal is Adequate
Ensuring the longevity of a garbage disposal begins with picking out the right one for your needs. Begin by taking a look at the horsepower of any model you’re considering. One with 1/3 HP is best for someone who lives alone or a couple who only has a small amount of food waste to deal with. A disposal with 1/2 HP is the most common. These are perfect for the average household. You’ll only need a model with 3/4 HP if you have a large family or a lot of food waste.
Most homeowners opt for a continuous-feed garbage disposal. This provides you with a way to eliminate small pieces of food as you rinse your dishes. You may also hear about batch feed disposals. These require you to manually insert the food into the disposal.
Look for one with stainless steel parts to help avoid corrosion issues. Automatic reverse features and jam sensors further aid you in preventing clogs. When we install your garbage disposal, we make sure it fits the space under your sink and that we install it properly. Once the installation is complete, you can ensure the functionality, efficiency, and longevity of your garbage disposal with the following five tips from our plumbing services experts.
1. Only Use Cold Water
It might sound strange, but you’ll get the best results with your garbage disposal by using cold water while it’s running. We were all taught that hot water is for cleaning, so why would you think to use cold water for this? Well, hot water softens most foods. As a result, those foods will stick to the blades of your garbage disposal. This makes it next to impossible for the garbage disposal to effectively break up debris and wash it away. Cold water will keep food waste solid and easier to grind up. It can also aid in preventing the motor from overheating.
2. Keep the Water Running
When you drop food waste into your running garbage disposal, you’ll hear a very distinct grinding noise. Don’t turn your disposal off as soon as it stops making that sound. If you keep it running for a minute or so afterward, all of the food particles will have a better chance of washing away through your pipes.
Since food is organic, it breaks down. As it does so, it can corrode the metal in your garbage disposal. This is why it’s so important to ensure that everything washes through your plumbing system. Left-behind food particles can also clog the drainage, which may result in costly repairs.
3. Use Small Amounts of Food
Your garbage disposal is not meant to replace your trash can. Even the most expensive, highest-quality disposal can’t handle large amounts of food. Those small pieces of food you find left on your dinner plate are fine, but big pieces won’t grind up properly. This can lead to some pretty serious drain clogs which will require drain cleaning by an expert.
You also don’t want to grind up anything that isn’t food. Save metal, plastic, paper, and other non-food items for the trash can.
Keep an eye on what types of food make their way into your garbage disposal too. Avoid oils and grease. They start as a flowing liquid, but they can quickly solidify in your drain that creates blockages over time. You also want to avoid fibrous vegetables like celery. The strands can wrap around the blades and cause major problems. Avoid carbs, such as rice, pasta, and bread, as well, as they can expand. Of course, eggshells, bones, and fat aren’t good either.
You can also add a little dish soap while the garbage disposal continues to run. This further helps get rid of food that’s left behind, and it can help keep the disposal clean.
4. Clean Your Garbage Disposal Properly
Just like any appliance, you need to periodically clean your garbage disposal. Ice is inexpensive and a great way to do it. Tossing a couple of ice cubes into your running disposal will help get rid of food that is stuck on the blades. Do this with the sink’s stopper in place so you won’t have chips of ice flying out of the drain. Doing this once a week is recommended.
While you will normally use cold water with your garbage disposal, pouring a pan full of boiling water down it monthly will help eliminate debris that doesn’t come off with ice. It’s a great way to clean out the grinding chamber and your sink’s drain pipe.
5. Run Your Garbage Disposal Regularly
Most of the parts in your garbage disposal are metal and are constantly in contact with water. If you’re not using it often enough, they can rust. Even if you don’t need it to grind up food, turn it on now and then with running water to eliminate a buildup of rust.
Rust causes the moving parts of your garbage disposal to become less effective when it comes to grinding food waste. Rust also increases the friction between these major components, which means the motor has to work harder. This could lead to overheating or premature replacement of the disposal.
Reach Out to Plumbing, Cooling & Electrical Nerds Today
In addition to our garbage disposal service, you can count on us for all of your plumbing needs. If you have high water bills, dripping faucets, or puddling water that’s making you suspect there’s a leak, our leak detection experts can pinpoint the exact cause of these issues, and they will promptly repair them.
Our team is also able to handle a variety of drain cleaning and repair services. We will also help you find the perfect water heater for your home, including tankless options. With all of our jobs, we provide you with upfront pricing and back up our work with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Call Plumbing, Cooling & Electrical Nerds in Bonita Springs now for more information.
