Tips to Have a Functioning Garbage Disposal

As technology has evolved, it has brought many innovations for the home. One of the most appreciated has been the garbage disposal, which allows for the easy disposal of food scraps.

However, many people use disposals for far more than getting rid of food scraps. When they do, that's when the problems begin.

With Fall around the corner, it's a good idea to follow some basic tips to keep your Evansville home garbage disposal working as well as possible.

Complete the Grinding Process

One of the biggest mistakes people make with their disposals is failing to let them complete the grinding process.

By not allowing the process to complete its cycle, food particles can build up in the grinding mechanism and motor, which can lead to problems later on.

Both the motor and water should be left running until all grinding is completed, with the water being left on for an extra 15-30 seconds to let any remaining food particles be washed away.

No Expandable Foods

While foods such as pasta and rice may be favorites of many people, they are not well-received when put into a garbage disposal. Because these foods expand when wet, they will often wind up clogging drains or pipes when thrown into a disposal.

If enough of these foods are put into your Evansville home garbage disposal at once or over a period of time, a plumber will need to be called to unclog the drains and pipes as well as examine the disposal for any additional damage.

In some cases, these foods will expand and get stuck in the disposal's motor, which can cause it to shut down. If this happens, a new disposal may have to be purchased and installed.

It's Not a Trash Can

Contrary to what many people think, the garbage disposal has been designed to work only with biodegradable foods. However, large numbers of people ignore this and still attempt to put anything and everything down their disposals.

Coffee grounds, cigarette butts, metal, plastic, paper, and glass items are disposed of time and time again, usually with less than stellar results.

Broken blades, burned-out motors, clogged grinding mechanisms, and pipes and drains that are clogged up all result from these actions. For people who do this, high repair bills and purchasing new disposals are often in their future. By remembering the disposal is not a trash can, many of these problems can be avoided.

Time to get your Evansville, IN home garbage disposal ready for the holiday season. Call Buds Plumbing & Repair Service at (812) 618-9638 today.