20 Apr. 15

Preventing Garbage Disposal Problems


A garbage disposal is a handy thing to have around the house. Like with anything else, you need to take care of it. It needs to be maintained properly. In keeping with its logic, here are a few do’s and don’ts.


1) You must keep it clean at all times. How? After you are done doing dishes, simply pour some soap inside. Turn it on and let the cold water run through it. Do this for about a minute or two.

2) Get in the habit of running it every day. Run it as needed. You want to make sure all the parts are moving properly and you need to also make sure that nothing could cause obstruction inside of it.

3) When you dispose of food down the chute, only run cold water. This will solidify the grease and oils. It’s going to make it easier for their waste to get chopped up in the chute. Hot water will only cause damage to the disposal.

4) If you have any lemon or orange peelings, grind them up inside the disposal. This will keep your shoot smelling nice and fresh. The foul odors won’t be there as much.

5) Chop up the large waste items and put them in slowly. This will show more care to your disposal.

Now, let’s discuss the things you shouldn’t be doing.


1) Never grind anything like plastic or glass. Metal or paper shouldn’t even be put down there. This will destroy your drain.

2) Never pour any leftover cigarette butts in the disposal. Not only does it smell bad, but it also causes damage on the inside.

3) As I mentioned above, don’t use hot water. This will only clog your drains later. Hot water is a big no-no guys!

4) Never grind really big ticket items either. Things like corn husks and celery stalks need to be disposed of in another way. This will only cause problems. It might even cause your disposal to break. I’m not saying it will, but do you really want to take that chance?

5) Potato peels are okay, but not too many. Too many will cause a paste to form. This paste will gum up the drains in the disposal. This will cause the blades to stick, some of them might not even work.

6) Never gum up the drains. In other words, don’t pour large amounts of waste all in at one time. Pour small amounts in very slowly.

7) Never use harsh chemicals. This will cause more damage in the long run. The best thing to use is something called Borax. It’s a safe agent, and one which will get the job done.

8) Never pour leftover paste into the drains. What happens when you use hot water to heat them up on the stove? The pasta expands. Same thing will happen in the drains. This will cause major clogs. Don’t do it!