Dishes are made easier when you can throw food and cooking waste down the drain, flip a switch, and have to deal with it no longer. However, it is very easy to fall victim to this illusion of a garbage disposal solving any and all waste removal issues. Proper usage of a garbage disposal is highly important when it comes to your plumbing. Without proper utilization, not only can the disposal break, but your kitchen sink drain and pipes can fall victim to clogs, backups, and other ailments. We have some tips to help you keep your garbage disposal in top shape, which will greatly benefit your kitchen plumbing.

Avoid Fibrous foods

If you are trying to grind things like corn husks, celery, banana peels, and similar foods that have a fibrous construction by putting them in the garbage disposal, you can actually be causing damage to your plumbing system These foods, rather than being chopped up, will instead stretch out and wrap around the blades. In doing this, the blades cannot chop any food that will be placed in the disposal afterwards, meaning more and more whole foods will be forced into the drain. This can cause a backup and eventual clogging of your drain. It is easily avoided, but just as easy to incur this inconvenience.

Use Cold Water to Wash It All Down

It probably seems counterintuitive, but using cold water to rinse and wash your sink and garbage disposal is far more beneficial than hot water. Using cold water allows most things to maintain a more solid state when they are pushed into the disposal. This give them a far better chance of being chopped up and processed in a way that allows the food to push through your plumbing more easily than if it had not been properly cut. This gives you a leg up on preventing clogs further down the line.

Sharpen Your Blades

No, you don’t need a sharpening steel to make your blades sharp and ready to slice through anything. Instead, there are certain foods and waste that you can throw down the disposal and turn it on to grind them up, making the blades sharp. A common practice is to throw your eggshells in once you’ve used the yolks. While this is advantageous, it can also pose a minor issue as the inside of eggshells have a membrane reminiscent of the fibrous foods we suggested you avoid earlier. Instead, ice cubes are a great tool to sharpen your blades. We’ve all dropped ice cubes on the floor, so toss them into your disposal and turn it on to increase the sharpness. Added bonus: there is no threat of ice cubes getting tangled on the blades or clogging your drain, they will just melt away!

Utilizing your garbage disposal properly can strongly contribute to the health of your home’s plumbing system. However, if you run into any issues, the Action Jackson Plumbing team is here to help. Give us a call and we will be happy to help you with any plumbing services or repairs you need!