3 Little-Known Garbage Disposal Tips

Garbage disposals are convenient kitchen appliances. They allow you to send small amounts of food down the kitchen drain instead of performing the monotonous task of scraping this food waste into the garbage can before you wash dishes. However, when used incorrectly or not properly maintained, garbage disposals can be nuisances that jam frequently and contribute to clogged kitchen pipes.

Learn about three little-known garbage disposal tips that can help keep your garbage disposal from becoming a nuisance.

1. Always Run Cold Water When Using the Garbage Disposal

You should always run water when using your garbage disposal to help flush food particles down the disposal and through your kitchen pipes without clogging them. However, you should always run cold water down your garbage disposal instead of hot or even warm water.

If you run hot water when disposing of food, the hot water can melt the fat in the food as it passes through the disposal and your pipes. This melted fat can stick to the inside of your kitchen pipes, eventually leading to a clogged drain.

When you instead run cold water, fat stays in solid form as your disposal grinds the food and as the food makes its way through your kitchen pipes. This reduces the chance of the creation of a pipe clog. To help ensure all food makes its way through the drain line, be sure to continue running cold water for at least 15 seconds after you turn off the garbage disposal.

2. Never Attempt to Sharpen Disposal Blades With Eggshells

Many myths surround garbage disposal blades. One is that you can sharpen these blades by placing eggshells in your garbage disposal on a regular basis. However, the truth is that garbage disposals are not equipped with sharp blades at all and instead have impellers with relatively dull edges.

These impellers rotate with extreme force to grind foods up, so no sharp disposal blades are necessary. These impellers never need sharpening by anything, because they are not sharp to begin with.

In addition, you should never dispose of eggshells in your garbage disposal. Even very small shell particles can easily clog your kitchen sink drain.

3. Upgrade to a High-Horsepower Disposal to Prevent Frequent Drain Clogs

Some homeowners experience frequent kitchen sink drain clogs when using a garbage disposal on a regular basis, even when they think they have taken all precautions to prevent those clogs. When you feel like you have tried everything to prevent drain clogs when using your garbage disposal and nothing seems to work, then upgrade to a high-horsepower disposal.

Garbage disposals come equipped with motors that range from 1/3 to one horsepower. Disposals with stronger motors grind food into much smaller particles. These smaller particles are much more likely to flow through the disposal and kitchen drain smoothly without clogging.

In addition, more powerful disposals are capable of grinding foods that less powerful disposals cannot, such as fibrous foods and even small bones. That does not mean that you should send these items through your disposal on a regular basis. However, if a small piece of food accidentally falls into a high-horsepower disposal, it is less likely to jam the disposal or clog the kitchen drain.

Follow these three little-known garbage disposal tips. This will ensure your garbage disposal helps make your life easier instead of contributing to frequent kitchen drain clogs or making a kitchen smell foul. Contact the plumbing experts at Express Plumbing & Drain Service for all of your garbage disposal repair and replacement needs today. We look forward to hearing from and speaking with you soon.