Garbage disposals are a huge help for many busy homeowners. Putting food waste into the disposal means one less item will fill up the trash can. Plus, cooking and cleaning move quickly when you can simply toss scraps into the sink. Without a working garbage disposal, you are likely to run into clogs more often and your drains may begin to smell. That’s why you should take care to protect your garbage disposal from damage.
But many people are misinformed about what can and cannot go down a drain. If you want to keep your garbage disposal running as it should, be sure to avoid the following items.
- Non-Food Items: Sometimes, materials get tossed into the disposal that may seriously harm your unit or your pipes. Your disposal simply cannot handle items like plastic wrappers or cigarette butts. These items may cause your unit to overheat, or they may catch in the drain pipes and cause major clogs.
- Hard Foods: Your garbage disposal is also incapable of breaking down many hard foods such as meat bones or popcorn kernels. These items may prevent your blades from moving, stopping the motor.
- Fibrous Items: One type of food that’s surprisingly harmful to your garbage disposal is fibrous foods that may wrap around the blades. These include items such as celery, corn husks, artichokes and onion skins. If you do choose to put these items down the disposal, break them into smaller pieces first to prevent them from catching on the blades and stopping the motor.
- F.O.G. (Fat, Oil, and Grease): Fats, oils, and grease may seem like innocuous substances to pour down a drain, but these may seriously damage your pipes. These substances solidify as they cool, so when they move down your drain they may line the insides of pipes and create clogs. Furthermore, they may coat the blades of your unit, reducing the effectiveness of your garbage disposal. While running cold water can help your processor break down F.O.G, you should always try to dump these substances down a separate trash receptacle instead.
While these tips can help protect the garbage disposal and your drains, problems may still occur with your unit. If you need repairs for your garbage disposal in Salt Lake City, call the experts at Rentmeister Total Home Service now!