How to Maintain Your Garbage Disposal

Like all mechanical things, garbage disposals don’t last forever.

So to give it a little (or maybe even a lot) more longevity, here are a few simple “proper care and feeding” steps you should know and follow:

• Feed the disposal a little at a time. Take care to keep utensils and your hands out of the drain.

• Corn husks and other fibrous items shouldn’t be placed in the disposal as they may clog the drain. Other items to keep out include onion skins, celery, and most soft vegetables.

• Deodorize the disposal. Cut a lemon into small pieces and drop the fruit into the disposal along with some baking soda or distilled white vinegar. Turn on the cold water faucet and then the disposal. The unit will clean itself as it grinds up the mixture.

• Use a strong flow of cold water and keep it running at least 30 seconds after using your disposal. This helps to flush food all the way down the drain line.

• Do not put uncooked meat, fat, or grease into your disposer.

Still, even with all the “TLC” in the world, sooner or later you’re bound to run into a problem.  Here’s what to look and listen for:

• If the disposal won’t run, check the circuit breaker or fuse and replace or reset as necessary. Also check to see if the overload switch has tripped. Find the reset button at the bottom of the disposal unit and push it.

• If the motor hums but the disposal doesn’t run, you may have a jammed impeller, and that’s a repairable problem.

• If the disposal runs intermittently, the switch or stopper may be defective…if so, you’ll need to have it replaced.

• A leaky garbage disposal isn’t necessarily a sign of rust. The cause might be as simple as a loose connection, which can readily be tightened.

• How about that all-too-familiar racket a disposal can sometimes make? When you hear it, chances are you’re trying to grind up something your disposal wishes you wouldn’t.  The result could be a damaged blade, impeller or motor.  But don’t be too quick to repair, since it’s highly likely that it would cost less to replace.

Bottom line, once a disposal stops doing a good job of grinding, or starts to leak, that’s usually the ball game. Give it a little loving care, however, and you might get a few extra innings of play from it. And if yours should act up at any time and no amount of DIY attention is helping, well, that’s what we’re here for:  Your 1 Plumber.  The only one you’ll ever need.