6 Super Simple Tips of Maintaining Your Kitchen Garbage Disposal

When your kitchen garbage disposal is running perfectly, you won’t have a rough time trying to deal with garbage. This appliance keeps your kitchen clean and smelling fresh while simplifying kitchen cleaning especially after preparing meals. When you have a garbage disposal equipment, you’re able to better manage your landfills and this significantly reduces the amount of garbage accumulation. However, if this equipment is not properly maintained, it can malfunction which leads to blockages and clogging of drains.

Clogged drains are extremely inconveniencing and cost a lot of money to fix. The best news is you can avoid all these complications by learning how to take care of your garbage disposal allowing it to serve you for an extended period of time.

Don’t want to incur unnecessary expenses on your kitchen garbage disposal? The following are super simple tips that will help you achieve your goals and have a proper functioning kitchen garbage disposal.

Use Sufficient Water

Each time you operate your disposal, make sure there is enough water running when chopping food. After you’ve completed using the equipment, allow water to run for an extra 10 to 20 seconds so as to eliminate any remaining food debris out of the disposal. This is an excellent technique of flushing the pipes.

Cold Water is Preferred

There’s nothing wrong using hot water as it won’t cause any damage to your disposal. However, cold water is preferred for this purpose as hot water only melts the liquids and fats which can cause a build-up if any of these substances attach themselves to other parts of the disposal.

Stay Away from Hard Foods

Disposals are designed to work well with foods that can be easily grinded into smaller pieces. This means that hard food substances such as bones, popcorn kernels and any other kind of hard seeds are not advisable when using your garbage disposal. When you have smaller pieces getting stuck inside the blades, there’s a likelihood of the blades jamming. In addition, foods with fiber are not ideal for this equipment as the fibers can also damage your blades. Celery stalks, onion skins and eggs shells are just but a few examples of food items you shouldn’t put in your garbage disposal.

Clean Regularly

Just like any equipment, your garbage disposal must be cleaned regularly since over time, sludge gradually builds-up within the system. When cleaning, caution has to be taken as using harsh chemicals can end up damaging various parts of the garbage disposal. A great idea is to clean your disposal when it is opened up for sharpening. Baking soda and vinegar are ideal for pouring down the drain as they trigger a natural chemical reaction that gets rid of any dirt.

Ice is a cheap yet effective technique for cleaning your garbage disposal. Aside from just cleaning, ice also helps to sharpen the blades and breaks up grease accumulation inside the garbage disposal. When ice is poured into the disposal, it is broken down into pieces, melts and reaches all inaccessible areas of the equipment.

With proper care and maintenance of your garbage disposal, garbage shouldn’t cause you sleepless nights and stress in your home.