When it's working correctly, your garbage disposal is a very handy appliance to have in your kitchen. But when it stops working, it can be very inconvenient. By following a few simple tips, you can keep your garbage disposal in good working order and avoid the need for garbage disposal repair in Springfield Missouri.
Use Cold Water
You might intuitively think that hot water would help food particles go down the drain easier. That is actually true, but it can also cause damage.
If the food you’re putting down the disposal has grease or fat in it, then washing it down the drain with hot water won't initially cause problems, but once the grease and fat cools down, it can harden and clog your pipes. Using cold water instead alleviates this potential problem.
Break Up Larger Items
The blades inside your residential garbage disposal are only made to handle smaller quantities of food. Shoving larger items down your garbage disposal may be too much for the disposal’s blades to handle, causing the motor to burn out.
Avoid Drain Cleaners
This one applies to all of your plumbing, including your garbage disposal. When drain cleaning chemicals are used excessively, they can eat through your garbage disposal’s pipes, leading to nasty leaks and half-disposed food that may not make it all the way down the drain into the sewer system.
Clean It Regularly
There are several methods we recommend for keeping your garbage disposal clean. The first is running ice cubes through it while it’s turned on. This cleans the food particles from the blades safely. Water can also do the trick. If you fill the sink with water, then turn on the disposal as you let it quickly drain, the water pressure will clean the blades.
Be Careful What You Dispose Of
Your garbage disposal should be used sparingly. Too many items are put down the garbage disposal that should go in the trash instead: bones, celery, coffee grounds, eggshells, pasta, potato peels, and grease, to name a few. These items can glob together, stick to the disposal blades, swell in size, and damage your blades or your plumbing.
The garbage disposal in your kitchen sink is an extremely handy household appliance when it's working properly. If you follow these tips, yours will hopefully continue to provide beneficial use for many years to come.
Is your garbage disposal not working as well as it should be or not at all? United Plumbing can fix any type of plumbing fixture and we can help you with your garbage disposal service, installation and repairs whenever you need us.