How Homeowners Can Maintain the Garbage Disposal - Wisler Plumbing & Air

Do Not Forget the Maintenance!

Whenever I go into someone’s home to take a look at the garbage disposal, I always cringe because it has practically everything  dumped into it that you could imagine. Garbage disposals get a lot of abuse because people tend to use them for trash or anything else they just don’t want to deal with. Instead of doing that, here are some maintenance tips for homeowners when it comes to keeping garbage disposals working at their best.

The Lifespan of a Garbage Disposal

First, let’s consider garbage disposals that aren’t functioning properly. Very old garbage disposals will often have dull blades that no longer do a good job of actually grinding up food. The food does get ground up enough to go down the drain, but the halfway-ground clumps can end up in your drainpipe and cause problems. Therefore, if you have a really old garbage disposal, you may want to consider replacing it. Like other appliances, garbage disposals have specific lifespans, and a new one is going to work much better. However, if your garbage disposal is not very old, there are a few other things you can do.

A Cleaning Tip

One useful tip would be to fill your sink with a bag of ice (or simply get some ice cubes from your ice maker). Turn on the water and let the ice go down the drain while running your garbage disposal. Ice actually has the ability to clean any built-up debris on the cutting blades. While this won’t necessarily sharpen the blades, it will clean them and make them much more effective.

Make it Smell Fresh

If you have a foul smelling garbage disposal, it’s generally because there’s food left in there that might not have been drained out completely. This is where using some kind of microbacterial agent would be very useful. We offer a product called BioSmart, which is a microbacterial agent that breaks down and clears any buildup in the actual casing of the garbage disposal. Regular application of these kinds of products will keep bad smells from forming.

Avoid These Things

Next, be mindful of what you put down the garbage disposal. (This might not sound like a maintenance tip, but it really is.) If you abuse your garbage disposal, it will not behave very well. Avoid items like eggshells, celery, bones, potato peels, or rice. Eggshells tend to break into fine pieces that get stuck, celery is a stringy food that binds up the disposal, and rice expands as it sets with water. A garbage disposal simply isn’t made for dumping bowlfuls of food, either—not so much because the disposal itself can’t handle the job—it’s mainly because all that stuff has to make its way down your drain.

Use Plenty of Water

Finally, whenever you do use your garbage disposal, make sure to run a good amount of water after any items have run down the drain. One of the worst things that could happen would be to let your garbage disposal grind up a substance only for it to stay sitting in there. Make sure you flush everything out entirely and rinse out the disposal well after every use.

If you have any questions about maintaining your garbage disposal, or if you need professional assistance, reach out to the team at Wisler Plumbing and Air by contacting us online or giving us a call at 540-483-9382.

Everything but the kitchen sink

https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/everything+but+the+kitchen+sink