THE REAL ESTATE Insider
DON’T TREAT YOUR DISPOSAL LIKE GARBAGE
Blanche Evans, Realty Times
Among the handiest of kitchen tools,
a garbage disposal can last for years
with good maintenance. It’s also
one of the most misunderstood and
mistreated appliances which can cost
you a lot of money and aggravation.
Like any digestive system, there are
appropriate foods for the teeth and
stomach of the
disposal. Garbage
disposals are
supposed to chew
up and liquefy
nearly anything
organic you put
down the mouth,
which makes them
tempting to use
instead of a trashcan
for many items.
So before you put
that banana peel
or egg shell down
the disposal, stop.
Certain foods should never be put
in the disposal, like anything greasy,
stringy, ultra-starchy, fibrous, bony
or rocky. That includes melted butter,
shortening or bacon grease, celery
or carrot sticks and potato peelings,
pasta or rice, corn husks, artichoke
leaves, onion skins, steak bones, and
avocado and peach pits.
What’s wrong with apple and banana
peels? They can clog the blades, and
if you want to stick your hand down
there to pull them out, you’re flirting
with a horror movie. And egg shells?
They don’t liquefy, which means they
break up into little pieces that get
stuck in grease and clog the drain line.
Some foods may fool you. Chicken
skin may seem harmless, but it’s
greasy and fibrous. It’s better to be
safe than sorry, so if you’re in doubt
about a food, use the trashcan instead.
Don’t confuse your disposal with
a trash compactor. While you can
put paper and cigarette butts in
a compactor, they will trash your
disposal. If it’s not food, don’t put it in
the disposal.
Disposals work with water, so make
sure you accompany any food with
lots of water. Don’t stuff the disposal
anymore than you’d cram your mouth
with food. Just as you would choke
without water to flush your bites
down, the disposal can choke, too.
A sure sign your disposal needs some
maintenance is the smell of decay.
Grease build-up and unliquified food
can make your disposal stinky, so to
reduce smells and potential clogging,
run cold, not hot, water down the
drain after running the disposal for
about 15 seconds.
Why cold water? Hot water can help
melt grease deposits, but think about
it -- grease can resolidify further
down the drain, building up to an
inevitable clog.
Improve bad odors
with liquid chlorine
bleach, drain cleaner,
or baking soda mixed
with white vinegar. For
weekly maintenance,
grind ice cubes to clean
the grinder teeth, and
mix in orange or lemon
peels for a fresh scent.
Take your drain apart
periodically, and you’d
be surprised at what
you find. When you
do, clean the pipes with
enzymatic cleaner.
How you use your disposal also
makes a difference. Don’t ever stuff it
full of food. Run cold water first, then
slowly add the food to the running
water. Let water run for a bit after
disposing of any food. Don’t use
extremely toxic cleansers -- they can
destroy the metal or your pipes, or
both.
If your grinder clogs for any reason,
turn it off before you put your hand
to loosen food from the teeth. After
you’ve removed the obstruction, hit
the reset button, run some cold water
and you’re good to go again.