Follow These Steps to Make Garbage Disposal Work
Garbage disposal can be very convenient and also helps prevent food waste from ending up in landfills. But garbage disposal is often a mystery to homeowners. But while it may sound intimidating, garbage collection service can actually be quite simple.
Do not leave food waste in the disposer for more than a day
The chute has a reservoir that traps food waste and lets water through, collecting food for grinding and liquefaction. However, food waste should not normally be left in this chamber because the food can dry out, making it difficult to grind (as well as causing an odor). The best practice is to run the disposal at least once a day without turning off the cold water. (It is important to use cold water, as hot water can make it difficult to grind some foods, causing blockages.)
Do not throw viscous or hard foods into the trash
Avoid putting fibrous foods in the bin. As you understand, the strings can wind around the mechanism, which sometimes requires repair. Viscous foods are bad for your body’s inner workings, so save celery for the compost heap. Bones from meat have also been known to clog the grinder and can cause the flywheel that drives the grind mechanism to seize.
Clear rubbish blockages
If you feel that stringy food or some other obstruction is stopping your blades, start by unplugging the appropriate power from your breaker box. Your recycling unit should have come with a wrench and you can turn the flywheel clockwise. The flywheel will be located under your sink and has a wrench hole. In the likely event that you don’t have a wrench, you can usually find one at a hardware store – just bring the model number you have or a picture of the bottom of the unit and ask for help figuring out which wrench to buy. Once you free the flywheel, you can turn the power back on and try to start it. Be aware that drain cleaners can damage your bin tank, and a drain snake can get stuck in the mechanism.
Clean up the disposal and use the ice to sharpen the blades.
Putting ice cubes in the trash chute once a month is a good way to keep the blades sharp and also to prevent food particles stuck inside from getting into the bin.
You should also clean out the disposer once a month to keep it free of clogs and keep the engine running well. Just add some coarse salt to ice cubes and let them sit for about a minute, then pour some white vinegar down the drain. This will help break down fatty food waste and prevent clogging of the trap. You can also mix baking soda with cold water and run the disposal for a minute. If you’re ambitious, you can remove the rubber plug on the sink drain and give it a good cleaning as well, then fill the sink with warm, soapy water that you can run through the unit.
Of course, never stick your hand in recycling.
If you have food scraps at your disposal that seem to be stuck and other methods prevent them from being removed, you can turn off the chopper power at the switch and use a tool or the handle of a wooden spoon to remove it. Never, ever put your hand in a garbage chute.