Do you have a love/hate relationship with your garbage disposal? This kitchen appliance is a useful tool, but it can also be a source of frustration and contempt. Some days it may work perfectly and other days it may fail you over and over again. At My Hawthorne Plumber Hero, we know that garbage disposals can be finicky. This is why we make it our number one goal to dispense the best advice to our customers on how to use their disposals properly to prevent your disposal from breaking down when you need it the most.
How to Care for Your Garbage Disposal
Household garbage disposals are noisy and can give the impression that they can handle any sort of food waste or other garbage. However, this is a false impression. This appliance is actually rather delicate and needs to be treated gently. The average disposal is not built to endure heavy usage day in and day out, which is why a lot of homeowners end up with problems.
If you want to get the most out of your disposal, here are some tips to follow:
- Pay close attention to how much food you are placing in the disposal. You should only put small amounts in at one time to give the appliance time to grind up and wash away all the food particles. This will prevent jams.
- Avoid grinding up food prep scraps. Most of the time these scraps include the skins of fruits and vegetables, which can be quite harmful to your disposal and cause the blades to become immobile.
- Do not put trash in your disposal. If you’re using your kitchen sink as a trash can while you are preparing meals, it is very easy for non-biodegradable items such as wrappers, bread ties, and other bits of food packaging to fall undetected into the disposal.
- When scheduling routine inspections for other plumbing components in your home, you should also include your disposal. A professional plumber can catch tiny issues before they develop into full-blown clogs, leaks, or other problems.
When to Call for Garbage Disposal Repair or Installation
If you are having continual problems with your disposal, call us right away. It is likely that the problem is not too serious, but in the event that it is, early intervention is the key to reducing repair costs and avoiding garbage disposal replacement and installation.
To learn more about garbage disposal repair and all the plumbing services we offer Hawthorne, CA, residents, call our 24-hour hotline at your convenience.