Garbage Disposal Maintenance

Disposal Uses

• Maintenance of a garbage disposal often requires homeowners to monitor the kinds of foods and materials that are flushed through it. While the common disposal is tough enough for most jobs, gritty or fibrous materials like coffee grounds or artichoke husks should be avoided because of their tendency to dull the blades or become stuck underneath them. In the event that these unwanted materials are placed into the disposal area, be sure that the switch is turned off before removing them, and always use long-handled pliers or tongs for this job rather than reaching in and risking severe hand injury by the sharp blades. Also, avoid pouring drain cleaners, bleach or other chemicals directly into the disposal unit.

Buildup Prevention

• When a garbage disposal is in use, only cold water should be used to flush materials down into the pipes, and the water should be run for a long enough period to ensure that the debris has been completely flushed out of the system. Cold water is strongly preferred over hot because elevated water temperatures may melt animal fats or gooey materials into a sludge that can stick to the inner walls of pipes, causing buildup and blockage over time. If such a blockage occurs, it can be very difficult to extricate from the pipes, requiring regular drain cleaner treatments--to be used only if the disposal has been temporarily removed--or the use of a rooter system to scrape the pipe walls clean.

Sharpening and Cleaning

• To sharpen the garbage disposal blades and safely clear any debris that has become stuck underneath them, most homeowners prefer to use solid ice cubes, and occasionally accompany them with 1 cup of rock salt. The ice cubes will be easily ground up while helping to clean and sharpen the blades, while the rock salt provides an occasional boost to the sharpening effect, and will easily dissolve as water flushes through the system. In the event that the disposal still produces an unpleasant odor after cleaning and sharpening the blades, run an orange or lemon peel through the system for safe, easy and natural deodorization.