A garbage disposal is a great way to get rid of food waste safely without harming your drains. However, you’ll need to understand how to use the disposal properly and how to maintain it to keep it working the way it should.
Garbage disposals are machines that attach to your kitchen sink drain pipe. Everything that goes down the drain goes through your disposal. Your garbage disposal has a reservoir with blades that pulverize food before sending it through the drainage system. To keep the disposal clean and healthy, you’ll need to perform some maintenance and take steps to prevent clogs and other damage.
Run the Disposal Regularly
Make sure to flush your disposal with cold water every day, even if you do not have waste to put down the drain. This helps keep your disposal clean, removing residue and eliminating odors.
Clean Your Disposal Often
You can clean your garbage disposal in several different ways to keep gunk from building up and rid the drain of foul and rotten odors. One method of cleaning the device is by flushing it. Fill your sink with cold water using a drain stopper, then let the water run through your disposal with the blades spinning. This helps swish around a large volume of water at once for a more powerful clean.
Dish soap and cold water are another method to clean your garbage disposal. You can fill your sink with cold, soapy water and then flush it through the disposal or even just add a few drops of dish soap while running cold water through your disposal.
Citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges help freshen your disposal and rid the appliance of nasty smells. Be sure to remove the rinds or cut them into small pieces before putting them down the drain.
Vinegar and baking soda are often considered a cure-all around the house. These ingredients can also help clean your garbage disposal by lifting stuck-on goo and eating away rotten smells.
Ice cubes can also help clean your system while sharpening the blades inside your garbage disposal. Toss a few frozen cubes down the drain once a week or so. The hardness of the ice cubes helps keep the blades sharp and can help scrape buildup from the walls of the disposal’s reservoir. Ice cubes are a great way to clean the machine since the ice will eventually melt and turn into water.

Keep No-No Items Out of the Drain
Garbage disposals are designed to help flush foods safely down the drain, giving you an easier way to dispose of food scraps and leftovers. However, it’s important to know which items are safe for the disposal and which items can spell trouble.
Grease, Oil, and Fats
Never pour hot grease or oil down the drain. Hot grease hardens as it cools and can form an obstructive blob in your drains. For liquid grease and oil, pour them into a glass jar to cool and then dispose of them in the trash.
Eggshells
Eggshells aren’t necessarily dangerous for your garbage disposal but the slimy membranes that line the shells are. This membrane can wrap around the blades of your disposal which could cause issues with your motor. The slimy substance can also stick around inside the drain or disposal and attract other food debris, eventually causing a clog. Eggshells are easy to dispose of and are great for composting.
Animal Bones
Animal bones are hard and can be sharp. They also are often irregularly shaped. Your garbage disposal is not tough enough to handle bones as they could damage the blades and motor. Bones may also puncture your drains or get stuck due to their odd shapes.
Coffee Grounds
Coffee grounds clump together when they get wet. When you pour coffee grounds down the drain, they could group together and form a mass inside your garbage disposal and drains.
Starchy Foods
Starchy foods such as bread and pasta expand when mixed with water. If you put these foods down the drain, they may enlarge inside the garbage disposal or pipes and will harden when they dry. Once hard, these foods will stick to the drainage system and cause a blockage.
Fibrous Fruits and Vegetables
Fibrous fruits and vegetables have strands that can wrap around the blades of the garbage disposal and other parts of your drainage system. This can cause damage to your system by slowing down the spinning motion of your disposal and hurting the motor. The fibrous strands also build up inside your drain and disposal, leading to food residue and can cause blockages as other foods wrap up in them.
Non-Food Items
Your garbage disposal is designed to handle food only. Never put non-food items down the drain. Common non-food items found in garbage disposals include food wrappers, produce stickers, and paper products. All of these items are harmful to your plumbing system and garbage disposal and should be thrown away or recycled properly.
Fixing Clogs and Blockages
If your garbage disposal is clogged, you’ll need to remove the foreign matter blocking the drain. Never put your hand into the disposal without double-checking that the power is disconnected. You can use a flashlight to look down into the drain and check for items lodged in the way. If you are able, you can reach into the disposal and fish the material out. If the problem lies deeper, you’ll likely need a professional plumber.
Do not stick sharp items into the drain to clear a clog. Knives, wire coat hangers, screwdrivers, and other such items can damage your pipes if you puncture them. Chemical drain cleaners should never be used in your kitchen drains or garbage disposal as they are very harsh and can erode your pipes and disposal. The chemicals might also splash back out of the drain when the disposal runs and could injure you if it comes in contact with your skin or eyes. These chemicals can also stain surfaces they come in contact with, leaving an unsightly problem.
Your Trusted Professionals
You can keep your garbage disposal clean, fresh, and clog-free by following these simple tips and techniques. However, if you do have a problem, be sure to turn to the experts at Absolute Services. Our plumbers have the skills and equipment needed for kitchen plumbing repair. They can remove clogs, fix damaged disposals, and get your kitchen sink flowing again.
We also offer many other household plumbing services such as drain cleaning, repiping, and household plumbing repairs and installations. We also employ professional electricians to help keep the lights on in your home. Count on our electricians for wiring, lighting installation, and surge protection, among other services. Finally, we have dedicated HVAC technicians to help with heating and cooling repairs, installations, and maintenance services in your Kentucky home. With plumbing, electrical, and HVAC experts, our company is your one-stop shop for home comfort and convenience. Maintain your garbage disposal with help from the best plumbers in Elizabethtown by calling Absolute Services today.