Ways You’re Shortening the Life of Your Garbage Disposal

Most garbage disposals have a life expectancy of about 10 years. They may start clogging or malfunctioning more often afterwards. While some garbage disposal problems are inevitable, there are surprising ways you’re shortening the life of your garbage disposal.

It’s not enough that the plumbing system of your garbage disposal is installed correctly. Your garbage disposal needs to be regularly maintained, too, so it keeps functioning as it should. Avoid these mistakes that ruin your garbage disposal:

1. Disposing of kitchen waste down the drain.

This appliance can handle many types of foods—but treating it like a trash can will damage your garbage disposal.

There are things you should never pour down the drain, such as coffee grounds and tea leaves, cooking oil, flour, pasta, rice, and foods that don’t easily break down. Chia seeds, grains, and kernels may be healthy for you, but they’ll clog your drains and cause long-term damage.

Oil, bacon grease, and other fats can solidify, accumulate, coat the blades of your garbage disposal, and clog the drains.

It’s best to toss them in the trash, instead, or add them to your compost. Also, make sure the food waste you put into the appliance is cut up in smaller pieces to avoid clogging or blocking the garbage disposal.

2. Flushing with hot water while grinding waste.

It’s important to always use cold water when running your garbage disposal. It doesn’t just extend the life of your garbage disposal, but it also prevents plumbing and drain problems.

Using cold water keeps grease or fat solid, so they get chopped up as they travel through the pipes. Hot water, on the other hand, will keep fats sticky and lead to build-up.

Turn on the cold water before you turn on the switch and run it for about 15 seconds after you’re done.

3. Overlooking garbage disposal maintenance.

Many plumbing problems are caused by improper plumbing maintenance.

Clean the garbage disposal once every two weeks to avoid clogs and keep it in good working order. Grinding ice cubes will help scrub off its teeth.

To remove excess grease from the garbage disposal’s blades, you may use a cleaner or de-greaser that’s specifically formulated for the unit. Using harsh drain cleaners can damage your sink’s plumbing system.

Not using your garbage disposal often? Even if there’s nothing to grind up, we recommend running the garbage disposal with cold water, anyway, to keep the blades from becoming rusted due to lack of use.

Garbage disposal problems? Contact a local plumber!

Some garbage disposal problems can be difficult to tackle on your own. If the issue is getting out of hand, call a Good Guy! Our repair technician can properly diagnose the issue and perform the necessary repairs with minimum downtime. We’ll see to it your garbage disposal is up and running again before it causes further inconvenience.

You may also reach out to us for other plumbing installation, repair, and maintenance services. Booking a Good Guy takes only a minute or two! You can quickly and easily schedule an appointment online and through our app.