What Sharpens Your Garbage Disposal Blades?

Ice Cubes

• Most modern garbage disposals don't actually have blades but instead grind food with rotating cutters. Keep the cutters clean and working effectively with ice cubes. Every three months, toss a handful of ice cubes in the disposal and run the unit for about 30 seconds, or until you don't hear ice crunching anymore. The chopped ice removes any debris built up on the cutters and keeps them sharp and working well. Cut a lemon or lime into quarters and add to the disposal with the ice cubes to deodorize the disposal while sharpening the cutters.

Eggshells

• While it's rumored that grinding eggshells in the disposal can help sharpen the blades, this isn't true. In fact, it's better to avoid putting eggshells in the disposal at all. Eggshells don't pass easily through the garbage disposal system and can get caught in the cutters, keeping them from working effectively.

Replacement

• If your garbage disposal is more than five years old and not working well, it might be beyond repair. Properly caring for the cutters can extend the life of your disposal, but as with any appliance, garbage disposals have a limited life span. If the disposal is leaving large bits of debris that you have to pull out, taking too long to grind the food or particularly stinky, it's probably time to replace the unit.

Keeping Blades Sharp

• You can extend the life of your garbage disposal and keep your blades sharp with regular maintenance and by keeping certain items out of the unit. Avoid putting any kind of bones down the drain. Hard bones can dull the blades, and possibly get stuck in the blades or in the drain. It's also a good idea keep rice out of your garbage disposal, either cooked or uncooked. Rice is hard for the blades to grind, and it expands in water, even after cooking. Once rice dries onto the blades, or on the sides of the unit, it's very difficult to remove and can affect the performance of the disposal.