Take Care Of Your Garbage Disposal With These Maintenance Tips

One of the top reasons a plumber is called into a home is to clear drains. And since the kitchen drain is one of the busiest areas of the home, it’s the one most frequently clogged.

Most homeowners would never think of stuffing a plateful of food down a drain. But attach a garbage disposal to the drain, and all bets are off.

Your garbage disposal isn’t a “gremlin” living down there eating whatever you send down. The sole purpose of a garbage disposal is to take small amounts of kitchen debris and grind them up to ensure they make it down the pipes.

That doesn’t include large amounts of pasta or rice, chicken bones, or the leftovers you had from Thanksgiving dinner.

To avoid issues like leaks, know the causes of garbage disposal leak. Take the time to learn about what’s appropriate to send through your garbage disposal. Teach your entire family the do’s and don’ts of good garbage disposal maintenance and follow them every day to avoid problems down the road. 

A few trace scraps as you clean off your plate after dinner? Yes.

The entire bowl of pasta that sat in the fridge for a week? No.

A garbage disposal isn’t meant to chew up broken glass, bones, stringy vegetables, or grease or fat. When in doubt, throw it away.

Even when you think twice about what goes down, your garbage disposal and drains see a lot of different things. Which makes it a good idea to use cold water only when running the disposal. This reduces the likelihood of grease liquifying as it goes down, and congealing further down the line. This is what starts the process of clogged pipes. As it solidifies and thickens, it sticks and builds up, especially through twists and turns.

To keep your garbage disposal working its best, send down an ice cube or two each morning to sharpen the blades and keep the gunk away. If anything stuck to the blades from the night before, this helps send the debris on its way.

Always keep in mind that you should never try to “unstick” anything from the garbage disposal by sticking your hand down the drain. Accidents happen all the time, so it’s better to err on the side of caution. Unplug it if something mistakenly falls into the drain. Use a tool to grab the object. When in doubt, all in an expert to help you out.

If you’re looking for Atlanta garbage disposal maintenance, we can help. Give us a call today.