It’s a fact that garbage disposal is one of the most helpful and practical things we have in our kitchens.
Once installed, it’s like a housekeeper cannot live without it. Unfortunately, she gets used to it and starts taking the tool for granted. Eventually, the garbage disposal might be a bit overestimated.
For instance, when you place things that it cannot grind, you block the device and put it at risk of going out of order.
What else you shouldn’t do? And are there some concrete expert-approved tips for maintaining the garbage disposal in top condition?
Here are the tips that will answer these questions clearly.
Turn Off the Disposal During Maintenance
A garbage disposal is so convenient and helpful in the kitchen, mainly because it’s a very sturdy and reliable device. To be honest with you, it’s also a bit dangerous, especially if not used the right way.
This is why no matter what you do – whether you clean it off or do something else for the sake of efficient maintenance – never forget to turn the device off. It’s not only about your disposal safety. It’s about yours as well.
Run the Disposal Regularly
Here’s one more tip from the plumbing specialists: don’t miss a day without running the garbage disposal. They claim that the more often you use it, the better.
However, you shouldn’t go too far with this recommendation. Like any other electric device, you should also give this one a break. The experts say this because if it’s not been used for a long time, the blades might begin to deteriorate. This may also include things such as rust.
So even if you don’t have anything for disposal, run the device with cool or even better –cold –water for prophylactic purposes. Make it a habit of yours – turn it on every time before bed or bathing.
Avoid Items That Damage Disposals
Let’s return to the things you try to grind through the disposal. It’s a must to list every single item that you shouldn’t put in there. That’s due to the fact that most garbage disposals break because of the customer’s pressure on them.
For instance, things like fruit skins and peels (especially bananas and citruses), meat bones, eggshells or coffee grounds must not have contact with the blades.
Most of the uncooked food types shouldn’t be put in the garbage disposal, either, as they are too tough (rice, beans, meat, chia, pasta and many more).
Although some of these objects may seem soft enough to you that you think they might not break blades, they are still dangerous. You should also keep in mind that there’s a significant likelihood that when they’re being processed, they can actually clog the drains.
Keep Food Scraps Small
Even the allowed items that can go through the garbage disposal are not always suitable for processing. To ensure they will not break your favourite kitchen helper, ensure they get in it in small sizes.
For this purpose, you can cut them into pieces in advance. Get used to performing this cutting exercise every time before running the garbage disposal, and soon you will do it by heart.
Run Your Disposal with Cold Water
Remember how we told you that if there’s nothing to be recycled in the garbage disposal, you should still run it daily? In these cases, we’ve mentioned that you can still use the device with ordinary cool water.
Why not hot, you might ask, it’s logical.
Well, too high a temperature can make different foods melt, dissolve and fall apart into greasy pieces that will get stuck inside the device. The more of them, the sooner your garbage disposal will be clogged.
Although that is usually not something too hard to deal with yourself, especially if you ask the local plumber to fix it. However, the more times the device clogs, the shorter its lifespan will become and the likelihood of becoming damaged beyond repair.
Clean the Garbage Disposal
Of course, disinfection has always been the most significant thing a customer should do to protect his kind of device.
What’s critical to understand here is that the garbage disposal is made to collect and process dirty, nasty-smelling and full of bacteria items. Your own struggle for a high hygiene level in your kitchen should tell you never to forget to sanitise the device.
The best way to perform quick, efficient and budget-friendly disinfection is by dismantling it. Start with the removal of the plastic flange made to support the dishes. Then, keep going with the rest items.
In this case, we won’t forbid you to use hot water. On the contrary, applying such is better for dissolving the harder-to-be-removed debris by hand.
Of course, it goes without saying that a universal mild washing cleanser or ordinary soapy water should also be included in the purge.
Use Citrus as a Freshener
Apart from doing a decent cleaning, a quick freshening up is an excellent idea to keep the garbage disposal not just in order but also nice-smelling and hygienic. What else, then, but a citrus fruit could be at once antibacterial and antiseptic?
With fresh lemon juice or a whole slice of orange, you can quickly freshen up a whole garbage disposal on a budget. You will thank us later when you start sensing the amazing aroma coming straight from your sink, which in the past used to stink, didn’t it?
Conclusion
Last but not least, to close the topic, it’s critical for us to mention that DIY fixes are, in most cases, not suitable for keeping your garbage disposal in a proper condition.
You don’t have any business inside the broken garbage disposal except for not being a professional plumber or some other technician type.
If something with its normal functions or look goes wrong. It’s way better to call some experts to fix your problem. It would be not just safer, but by all means faster. And if you usually fail in your DIY repairing projects, it would be more budget-friendly, too.
