Tips to Keep Your Garbage Disposal Clean

You know exactly how hard your sink’s garbage disposal works. It’s used almost on a daily basis and is a very useful device. The larger chunks of food remnants that you discard into it get broken down into smaller bits and are then washed down the drain. But there are times when it may dysfunction or will start working erratically and it becomes important to call your plumber in for some emergency plumbing. This is a very common plumbing issue and occurs because most people either overload or misuse the garbage disposal in some other way.

If you push the garbage disposal beyond its capacity, it is bound to stop functioning at some time or the other. These problems are very common in homes where people tend to entertain guests a lot and throw parties all the time; and  this is when most homeowners end up calling a 24/7 emergency plumber.

Tips to keep your garbage disposal clean

It’s simple to maintain the garbage disposal; and doing so on a regular basis can help prevent clogs down the line:

• Run some cold water into the disposal before & after you activate it. The water helps ease the flow of anything you dispose in it. Many people feel that they should pour hot water into the sink and that it will help loosen the grease and grime. However, that only means, the grease will then go and settle somewhere down the drain, harden and cause a block there. Contrastingly, when you pour cold water into the drain, it hardens the grease, which then gets broken into bits in the disposal, which then gets cleared out from the drain along with the flow of water.
• Do not dump any large meat bones into the sink; however you should definitely grind some rough materials like small fish bones/egg shells and soft chicken bones or fruit pits. When these get ground in that chamber, their scouring action cleans up the inner walls of the disposal and the drain pipe too.
• If you have cooked any greasy food, wipe the vessels and pan clean with kitchen paper towels before cleaning them in the sink. This prevents the build-up of grease in the garbage disposal.
• Don’t discard anything starchy like potato peels in the disposal as these tend to get converted into paste and it slows down the movement of the blades, which stresses the motor of the garbage disposal.
• When you are disposing larger chunks of food, its best to chop them up before you do so; this adds to the longevity of the system as it doesn’t stress it too much.
• Avoid discarding fibrous foods into the disposal; things like asparagus, artichokes and celery tend to be very tough and fibrous and they get entangled in the blades and impact their movement.

If you find that your garbage disposal is getting blocked too often, it’s best to call in a Sydney local plumber like SPS Plumbers to check what the problem is. These are the different areas we service. You can use this contact us form to connect with us, or simply call us at this number (02) 9072 0760. Click here, to make a free call to us.