Caring for Your Garbage Disposal: Do’s and Don’ts

The garbage disposal is a wonderful tool. The sort of thing you don’t realize how good it is until you don’t have it. You can avoid touching nasty, soggy leftovers for the rest of your life. But is that all you use it for? It seems like it can handle anything. Why not pour down coffee grounds, chemicals, whole fruit, or whatever else down there? It can handle it, right? The plumbing experts at Tri-County Water Services are here to provide some clarity. Today, we’re talking all about the garbage disposal do’s and don’ts.

Garbage Disposal Do’s

First, let’s take a look at all the do’s. Here, we’re mostly talking about maintenance. But you can implement these steps now.

• DO keep it clean. Run a little soap and cold water down the drain every other day.
• DO use it routinely to prevent rusting.
• DO cut large pieces of food waste into smaller pieces. It can’t handle a whole sirloin!
• DO run your garbage disposal with cold water from the tap. When you’re finished using the disposal, turn it off and let the cold water run for another 10 to 15 seconds. This helps keep it clear.

Garbage Disposal Don’ts

Second, we can now take a look at the essential don’ts. Avoid these things if you want to avoid frequent repairs!

• DON’T pour grease, oil, or fat down your drain.
• DON’T grind glass, plastic, metal, or trash.
• DON’T use hot water. It will cause grease to liquefy and accumulate, leading to clogs.
• DON’T grind corn husks, celery stalks, onion skins, and artichokes. These can cause clogs. Also, avoid grinding food that expands like rice or pasta.
• DON’T install a garbage disposal in your bathtub. 
• DON’T be afraid to grind small chicken bones, fish bones, or egg shells. These create a scouring action inside the grind chamber that cleans the garbage disposal’s walls.

All in all, a good rule of thumb is to only put biodegradable materials down your garbage disposal.

Learn All the Garbage Disposal Do’s and Don’ts with Tri-Co!

Finally, we hope these garbage disposal do’s and don’ts have been helpful! That’s what we do at Tri-County Water Services. We help our clients. Let us show you why we’re the best company in the area. Contact us today!