All About Garbage Disposals
Sink garbage disposals are so common in residential homes today that people have a difficult time imagining what life would be like without them. Before disposals became common parts of kitchens, food waste needed to be scraped off plates and into a composting bucket which was then taken to the trash. This was not only a time-consuming job, but it also put more waste into landfills. Garbage disposals allow a large amount of food waste to instead go into the municipal sewer treatment system without larger pieces of organic waste clogging up the drains.
We have some information about garbage disposals that can help you take better care of the one in your kitchen.
- Disposals don’t chop up food: There are no sharp blades in the disposal’s hopper as people often think. Instead of chopping up food waste, the disposal uses blunt impellers to throw the food waste into an outer grind ring to mash up the food. This is why putting ice cubes down a disposal to sharpen the blades won’t work—because there are no blades down there.
- Broken disposals need professional repairs: When your disposal gets stuck, you can try to reset it by pressing the button on the bottom of the unit, which serves as the breaker switch for the unit in case of too much electric stress. If this doesn’t help, don’t continue to attempt to run the disposal because it will just trip the button again. Your next step is calling for professional plumbing services in Glendale, AZ. It can be hazardous to try to repair a disposal yourself.
- Disposals don’t last forever: A single sink disposal in a kitchen does an immense amount of work over the year (especially around the holiday season, when you’re more likely to be entertaining), and the stress on the motor, the grind wheel, and all the other moving parts will eventually age the disposal past the point of usefulness. When your disposal breaks regularly or isn’t grinding down food effectively, you may need to have it replaced.
- Disposals aren’t trash cans: We can’t emphasize this point enough—actual trash doesn’t go in the disposal. This includes all non-organic items, like paper and cigarette butts. If it isn’t something you eat, it should never go into the disposal’s hopper.
- Not all food waste goes in the disposal: Some organic waste can damage the disposal’s mechanical parts. Fruit pits, unpopped popcorn kernels, meat bones, and anything else your teeth can’t chew must be kept from the disposal. Other food items to watch for: fibrous and stringy foods, pasta, and rice.
- Watch out for the loose disposal: When you notice the disposal is making a rattling sound as it runs that you’ve never heard before, it may be coming loose where it’s attached to the sink. This is a serious issue because the force of the disposal’s movements can cause damage to the sink. It will also allow water to seep between the disposal and the sink, which often leads to mold and water damage. Call for plumbers to see what’s happening and secure the disposal.
Call The Trusted Plumber for garbage disposal service and all other plumbing needs in Glendale, AZ and the surrounding areas.
This post first appeared on https://www.thetrustedplumber.com
