Garbage Disposal Maintenance

Regardless of if you have used garbage disposals for a while, or using it for the first time, it is important to know how to maintain it properly.

With the right usage, garbage disposals are valuable home tools. Your garbage disposal should serve you for many years if you keep it clean and watch what you put in it.

A lot of frustration commonly experienced by users can easily be avoided by simply following a few tips.

Garbage Disposal Maintenance: Bad Odor

Users often complain about the bad odor from a garbage disposal. It stinks!

Most times this is caused by inadequate flushing of the disposal to empty everything.

These tips will help you maintain your disposal properly:

Thorough Grinding:

Odor comes from leftover particles. Ensure you give enough time for grinding and flushing of everything.

Regular Cleaning:

Cleaning your disposal regularly – at least once in a week – will help keep it fresh.

Use a bottle brush to scrub the inside of your disposal.

Citrus:

Grinding pieces of fresh oranges, limes or lemons in your disposal can help eliminate odors and cut grease.

Vinegar:

Take some vinegar frozen in ice cube trays and blend it in your disposal. This can kill bacteria which causes odor.

Garbage Disposal Maintenance: Troubleshooting

Is your disposal clogged? Not to worry! The following tips will help to fix it.

What can I send down the disposal? This question is frequently asked by garbage disposal users.

Even though this varies depending on your unit’s horsepower, there are some fundamentals which everyone should know:

No Garbage:

Do not be deceived, garbage disposals are actually intended for food waste and not garbage.

Never put things like paper, plastic, metal, wood and cigarette butts down the disposal.

No Fibrous Foods:

Avoid things like corn husks, celery stalks, and onion skins, as they can get twisted around the disposal blades and cause damage.

No Oils, Fats, or Grease:

Fatty, oily or greasy foods can build up within the drain pipes and disposal, resulting in clogging of the drains. Fatty food buildup in the disposal can also go rotten and give a bad odor.

No Tough to Grind Foods:

This includes bones, rice, pastas, and potato peels. Bones are too hard, and potato peels and pasta in large quantity contain too much starch and can result in clogs.

Garbage Disposal Maintenance: What to send down the drain

A lot of people run their disposal for short periods with little water. This is wrong! Running the disposal with lots of cold water will ensure all particles are properly flushed out to prevent bad odor and clogging. Cold water will help prevent overheating of the motor.

Please read our article on "Replacing Galvanized Pipe"