You already know about some of the things you should not be putting into your garbage disposal, such as pasta, rice and, of course, spoons, fruit pits, egg shells and your hand. Most of those things are not in the category of caring for your disposal and will cause the disposal to clog up, slow down or break the blades and your silverware pattern.
Caring For Your Disposal Is More Than Keeping Certain Things Out
Cleaning the disposal is an important concept to have in mind when something happens or when a strange noise is heard. There are things you can do to clean and deodorize your disposal and caring for your disposal means doing a few of these every couple of weeks. Not doing some of them will almost guarantee that something will happen fairly quickly.
Cleaning your disposal and keeping it that way:
- Caring for your disposal means running cold water while it is operating. This material can stay within the disposal if it is not rinsed out.
- Use vinegar ice cubes to clean, sharpen and deodorize. The hard surfaces of this ice will remove sludge coating the blades and will help sharpen them. This not only cleans but helps keep it clean and should be done about once a month at a bare minimum. Caring for your disposal does not have to be hard.
- If there are obstructions in the disposal (spoons, body parts of the last person who stuck their hand in there or anything that has fallen in) use a flashlight to find it and a long gripper, such as a set of tongs, to remove it first. Caring for your disposal means feeding it good stuff not adding more obstructions.
- Always flush with a little dish washing soap and a lot of water after it has been used.
Is it not working?
- Check for obstructions.
- Look for the reset switch under the counter and press it.
- Verify the electrical outlet has power.
Is it leaking?
- Turn off electrical power.
- Check sink flange and piping leading away from it.
- Tighten all connections and run some water through it.
After everything above is done, for each eventuality, and it is not working without leaks and or smells bad, contact a qualified plumber. Caring for your disposal means calling the professionals if need be.
If you’re experiencing a problem call D&D. We specialize in providing superior service to our customers whether it is a clogged drain, a complete new HVAC system or a new home construction. Sign up up for our newsletter and be entered to win a $200 gas card. Click HERE or on the image below.
