Come summer time, your kitchen is the epicenter of brief conversations as everyone rushes out to their activities. Regardless of whether you’re cooking for the entire family or for kids on the run, it means plenty of dishwashing. While you cook and during cleanup, what are you putting down the garbage disposal? Could your quick, cleaning habits be cutting your disposals lifespan short? Here are some garbage disposal tips from Mr. Plumber in San Antonio.
As a general rule of thumb: If you wouldn’t feed it to a baby, don’t feed it to your garbage disposal. Suddenly that chicken bone is sounding like a bad idea, isn’t it? A few easy ways to cut back stuffing unfriendly leftovers down your garbage disposal is by creating a compost pile. As you cook or clean up, keep a large mixing bowl handy for the bits and pieces of food you would normally throw away. Instead of feeding all of that to your disposal or a trashcan, send it out to your compost pile. As the food composts, it creates a nutrient-rich fertilizer to use in your garden. A longer lasting disposal and thriving plants? Win-win!
Always run the water while you use your garbage disposal.
Just like with a blender, your garbage disposal needs water to liquefy the scraps of food that are washed into it. Without water, a thick, chunky paste of old food can form and clog your disposal and drain. Try to make a habit of using your disposal in this order.
- Turn on water. (Make sure it is running into the garbage disposal)
- Run the disposal.
- When it sounds clear, turn the disposal off.
- Let water run for a few seconds to rinse away any remains before shutting it off.
For our final tip, if your garbage disposal needs a little extra help breaking up food particles, drop a few ice cubes down there while it (and the water) is running. This is the safest way and most effective way to knock away any possible clogs.
A working garbage disposal is a fast, convenient way to quickly clean your dishes. Just make sure that you’re aware of what is and isn’t going into it! A quick sort of scraps could save you from a clogged sink or burned up motor. Remember, it’s a garbage disposal not a miracle worker. Clean accordingly!
