When the kitchen garbage disposal is running properly, it’s great. It keeps your kitchen smelling fresh and clean. Cleaning up after dinner is very easy. It even reduces the amount of garbage in the landfills. But if the disposal isn’t working properly, the decaying food remaining in the appliance produces foul odor, standing water will make your kitchen or even your whole house stink.
Follow these 5 simple steps to keep your garbage disposal clean,
Use Plenty of Cold Water
If you’re not aware of using your garbage disposal correctly, don’t worry! It’s not a big deal. When you put something on your disposal, start by running a steady stream of cold water for a few seconds.
Let the cold water flow till the food particles are broken down. If you hear any changes in the sound of disposal from grinding noise to a softer, whirring sound then turn off the disposal. Keep the cold water running for about 10-15 seconds.
The reason for running cold water is to flush out the food particles from the disposal. If you use hot water, it can melt down grease and fat and cause it to build up on the blades of the garbage disposal.
If you notice a water backup in the sink you should still use cold running water to allow the disposal to suck up the excess standing water.
This cold water strategy will help you avoid garbage disposal repair.
Cut Food Into Smaller Pieces
If you need to dispose of items in your garbage disposal, make sure they are not too big, cut them into smaller pieces and start disposing. Though your disposal is durable, it might also have certain limits.
Cutting up food scraps, fruit and vegetable peels, or anything else that enters in your disposal will reduce the chances of clogging and build up.
If you have a large amount of food waste to be put in the disposal, cut it into smaller pieces. Don’t put all the waste together, be patient and put down as much as you can down the drain at once.
By following this, the longevity of your garbage disposal will be increased and save you money in repair costs.
Avoid hard or fibrous foods
Mind what you put in your garbage disposal. Hard seeds, popcorn kernels, peach stones, apple seeds, or bones will not grind very well, if at all. If cut down into smaller pieces it can get wedged underneath the blades which causes them to jam. Fibrous foods should be avoided, the fiber will wrap around the blades which causes it to jam, avoid throwing onion skins, egg shells, celery stalks, corn husks, etc.
Clean Your Disposal
Your garbage disposal needs to be cleaned regularly. Clean the inside of the disposal to keep it running properly. There are a few ways to clean your disposal. Use baking soda + vinegar to remove the sludge that naturally builds up in the blades of the disposal.
Don’t use hands to clean the disposal because it can be very dangerous to reach inside the disposal. Another method for cleaning the disposal is by putting ice cubes down the drain and running it.
Use a drain cover when you put ice down the drain to avoid small pieces of ice coming out of the sink. You can also add salt to this process to help clear out the disposal.
Schedule Routine Maintenance
Hire a professional plumber to perform service maintenance on the disposal once every two years. They can snake the drain and make sure there is no buildup or blockage in the pipes.
