Keep Your Garbage Disposal Disposing Avoid clogs and slow draining situations.

 

 

Garbage disposals are amazing contraptions. With just the flick of a switch, you can send your food wastes down the drain eliminating food germs, messes and smells.

 

The funny thing is while kitchen disposals are strong work horses, they rarely come with operating instructions. Is it any wonder they clog from time to time?

 

We're here to help!

 

Here are a few do's and don'ts to remember when using your disposal.

 

 

Do:

 

• Freshen and maintain your disposal by regularly grinding up pieces of lemon peel and ice cubes.
• Avoid odors by also treating your disposal every month with a combination of a couple of handfuls of baking soda and a half cup of vinegar. After it's done foaming, rinse it down the drain with running water.
• Use a strong flow of water and keep the garbage disposal running at least 30 seconds after noise of grinding has stopped to flush all food particles through the drain line.
• Always use cold water when operating the disposer to solidify greasy waste so it will be chopped up and flushed down the drain.
• Do put small bones through the disposal. They help to scour the sides of the grinding chamber.
• Run the disposer each time you put food waste in it instead of letting it accumulate. This is particularly advisable in the less-expensive models that are more subject to corrosion from the acids formed by food waste left for a long time.

 

Don't:

 

• Do not grind up potato peelings. They will form a starchy paste similar to mashed potatoes when ground up and will easily clog your drain.
• Do not put coffee grounds or eggshells into your disposal. They create very tiny granular waste that will stick to any sludge in the pipe and quickly create a clog.
• Don't pack in too much garbage at once, because you can jam the disposal.
• Do not grind large bones or fibrous materials like corn husks. Only put a small amount of fibrous foods (celery, chard, asparagus ends, etc.) at a time through the garbage disposer with full water flow. If the drain line is long and horizontal, fibrous foods or too much garbage at one time can clog the line.
• Do not put uncooked fat off meat into the garbage disposer as it may clog. Don't pour liquid fats down the line. Instead, pour grease in an empty can and dispose in the trash.
  

 

All disposers have overload protectors to avoid damage to the motor. If the disposer should stall, turn off the disposer and the cold water. Remove the article causing the problem. Press the reset button on the disposer. If it won't stay in, wait a few minutes and try again. If the disposer won't start when the switch is turned on, check the house fuse.