With the holiday season rapidly approaching your garbage disposal will start to feel the same strain that your belt does after a big family meal. It will whisk away the burnt part of that apple pie, the dry bits of turkey or your aunt’s creamed onions that she makes every year.
It’s not a challenge to keep your garbage disposal working like a champ. Just some basic tips to keep the family running without a holiday nightmare.
Things that shouldn’t go into the garbage disposal:
Fibrous material, coffee grounds, pasta, liquid grease, bones, fruit pits or seeds and egg shells. These are tough, stringy foods that will jam, tangle and generally gunk-up up the impeller of the disposal. Continued use will cause jams and declining performance.
Cleaning your garbage disposal.
- Ice! Don’t use it. It’s a myth. A lot of people may say that it will sharpen the blades but, most disposals use an impeller and not blades. While ice cubes can still be used to clean the disposals grinding components, ice will generally melt before it cleans the grind chamber.
- Flush and rinse out the unit. Insert the sink stopper and fill the sink with hot water and add dish soap. Open the drain and turn on the unit. This will force “vacuum” the tougher material out of the unit. Next, repeat this process but don’t turn on the unit. Allow the water to drain through the unit. The soapy hot water will melt grease and wash away remaining debris.
- If your disposal is starting to produce an odor you can help the smell by grinding some citrus. Simply chop some lemons and oranges into small wedges, run cold water and slowly feed in the wedges. The fresh citrus scent will help the smell.
- Pull and clean the baffle. If your disposal has a rubber baffle, or flaps, it can be pulled out and cleaned. This will help reduce odor coming from the unit.
There you have it! Your kitchen’s most important appliance is now ready for your holiday festivities!
