5 Tips for Effective Garbage Disposal Maintenance

If you own a garbage disposal, it can be a great cleaning aid and can keep your home smelling fresh. In fact, a garbage disposal can help reduce the amount of trash your home produces. However, owning a garbage disposal is a responsibility, and you’ll have to keep it well-maintained. Failure to do so means your sink can get clogged and make a big stink in your kitchen. At Alliance Plumbing, we can help you learn how to provide the best garbage disposal maintenance you can!

Here are five ways you can make your garbage disposal maintenance more effective:

 Biodegradable food only

It may be called a garbage disposal, but it’s only really accustomed to a certain kind of garbage. That kind is biodegradable food. Putting things like used paper towels and plastic bags in there will only serve to clog or damage it. Keep in mind that certain foods can also be bad for your garbage disposal. Some of these include:

• Fruit pits
• Bones and other solid trash
• Celery and other fibrous foods
• Coffee grounds and other foods that make lots of sediment
• Pasta and rice
• Excess grease and oils
• Potato peels and other starchy foods

Clean the inside of your garbage disposal

It may be out of sight, but don’t keep your garbage disposal’s insides out of mind. Luckily, it’s fairly easy to clean out the inside of your garbage disposal. Just a mix of baking soda and vinegar down the drain can help clean out your pipes. Alternatively, you can put some dish soap with cold water down the drain. Make sure you have the garbage disposal running while you have the water running and go for about a minute.

Keep your hand out of there

You should know better than to put your hand near sharp blades, but it’s worth mentioning. Sometimes you might be tempted to reach into the garbage disposal to dislodge something preventing the blades from spinning. Don’t do it! When you dislodge it, the sudden release of tension may cause the blades to spin around and nick you. If you need to dislodge something, use some tongs or something similar. Still can’t get it out? We’re always available to help with your plumbing problems.

Give it frequent use with cold water

Machines like your garbage disposal can get worn down if they don’t get frequent usage. By running your garbage disposal often, you can help prevent it from getting rusty, clear potential obstructions, and ensure everything is working. Also, make sure you run cold water when you use it. The cold water can help solidify grease and oils that would otherwise clog your drains.

Personally chop up larger trash

While garbage disposals have sharp blades, they have difficulty chopping up larger trash. Chop up larger food waste yourself before you put it down the garbage disposal. Also, you want to put larger waste down there one at a time. By doing so, you can help your garbage disposal handle the load and avoid clogs.

Why choose Alliance Plumbing to handle my plumbing needs?

Owner Kelly Caudel is a second-generation master plumber. Growing up in a plumbing family, his father is also a master plumber. The Caudel family are residents of the greater Clear Lake Area and have been providing professional plumbing work for decades. We’re lifelong citizens and we love our community! We hire and train the best local talent. We know that by providing the best in customer service and technical training to our plumbers, you get the best product, which makes us the best choice. By choosing Alliance Plumbing Services, you are supporting a local small business and building local jobs in our community. Fixed Right, RIGHT AWAY! When you call us, we answer the phone or return your call as soon as possible. We understand that it can be stressful when you have a problem with your plumbing. Call us today to learn more about how we can help you!