A garbage disposal is one of those modern conveniences most of us couldn’t picture being without. It’s also one of the most misused of plumbing components, a common cause of troublesome drain clogs in your kitchen. Follow these tips to prevent annoying clogs and keep your garbage disposal motor running smoothly.
Avoid these items
Your garbage disposal is not designed to handle any of the following:
- Hard food items – Your garbage disposal can only break up the same kind of foods you could chew with your teeth. Popcorn kernels, seeds, fruit pits, meat bones, and other hard items should always go to the trash.
- Non-foods – Of course, any item that is not a food (plastic and paper wrappers, cigarette butts, etc.) should also stay out of your drains!
- Fibrous foods – Celery, onion skins, and other stringy materials can wrap around the garbage disposal and cause the motor to stop.
- FOG – Fats, oils, and grease can solidify in your pipes and lead to drain clogs, or they can coat the garbage disposal and create some difficulties for the unit.
Run cold water
You should dump FOG (see previous point) into a separate garbage receptacle whenever possible, but we know it’s difficult to avoid some moving down the drain. That’s why you should always run the cold water when you use your disposal. This allows the FOG to cool and solidify sooner, so your garbage disposal may be able to break it up and make it a little easier on your pipes.
Only put in a little food at once
Break up large hunks of meat and other foods into smaller pieces before you put them into the garbage disposal to prevent drain clogs and ease the work for your disposal. This is particularly important at holiday meals. (The day after Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days for a plumber.)
Contact the friendly plumbers at Admiral Plumbing Services, LLC for plumbing repairs and installation in the West Palm Beach, FL area.
