Plumbing Tip of the Month: All About Garbage Disposals

This time of year, with all the cooking and entertaining that is happening in your home, your Garbage Disposal can get quite the workout. In fact a clogged kitchen sink is one of the most common plumbing problems homeowners have.

To avoid clogs and to keep the disposal working optimally, follow these easy steps.

1. When you turn it on to dispose of the food waste, always do so while running cold water at the same time. Warm/hot water, melts down grease which then coats the inside of your pipes – which leads to bigger problems down the road.
2. With the cold water running, allow the disposal to run for 60 seconds. Don’t just turn it on for a few seconds and then off again.
3. Once it’s run for 60 seconds, turn off the disposal, but allow the cold water to run for another 30 seconds to ensure all waste is fully flushed through the pipes.
4. It’s good to remember to pulverize ice cubes in the garbage disposal is the best way to keep the blades sharp and the disposal clean.
5. To keep it smelling fresh, you can run baking soda and vinegar through it once a month or more. Sometimes even grinding up half a lemon or lime through it will help freshen it as well.

These five simple steps will help keep your garbage disposal working efficiently – and smelling fresh and clean. However, should you get a clogged kitchen sink that just won’t drain, call a Rosie-Certified plumber.

 

Related Content

• More Plumbing Tips of the Month:
  • Water Supply Lines
• What kind of plumbing maintenance should I be doing? 
• Linda Stanfield from Stampede Plumbing, now Day & Knight Plumbing and Rosie chat about faucet and showerhead quality - and how that impacts maintenance and performance. (View)

 

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